Iliad-owned Free Caraibe launched mobile services in Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Saint-Barthelemy and Saint-Martin, with plans to replicate the disruptive market strategy it adopted in France and Italy.

Free Caraibe is offering a mobile contract for €9.99 including 120GB of data, unlimited calls and texts. The operator is providing 3G and 4G services across the five markets, with 4G population coverage ranging from 75 per cent in Saint-Barthelemy to 97 per cent in Saint-Martin.

French newspaper Les Echos reported Iliad Group first announced it would launch services in the four Caribbean markets and French Guiana more than four years ago.

The newspaper stated Iliad has now invested €35 million in building mobile coverage in the five markets and plans to compete with other local operators including Orange, SFR, Digicel and Dauphin Telecom.

Iliad CEO Thomas Reynaud told Les Echos the group intends to invest about €100 million in the region over a period of five to six years. He described the markets as uncompetitive, with mobile prices “two- to three-times higher” than those in mainland France.

Regulator Arcep awarded 4G licences for French overseas communities and territories in 2016.

In 2020, Iliad signed a network-sharing agreement with multinational operator Digicel Group to deploy and run passive network infrastructure in the five markets.