The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

TRIBUNE Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

ALIV is “trying to grind out every new subscriber we can get,” Cable Bahamas’ top executive says, after the mobile operator produced a positive $14.1m bottom line reversal to generate the highest-ever profit in its 10-year history.

Franklyn Butler, the BISX-listed communications provider’s president and chief executive, told Tribune Business in recent interview that Aliv is now locked in a battle of attrition with the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) for mobile dominance after gaining around 50 percent market share almost a decade after it launched in November 2016.

“We’ve gotten to about 50 percent market share,” he said. “Growth is not as strong now in that space. We are trying to grind out every new subscriber that we can get. We are offering better customer service, trying to focus on the customer experience so continue to keep the numbers and growth at Aliv.”

Cable Bahamas’ just-released annual report for the year to end-June 2026 reveals that Aliv, in which the company has a 47.25 percent ownership interest but Board and management control, swung from a $4.43m loss in the prior year to $9.674m in net income. It played a key role in Cable Bahamas’ overall $18m ‘bottom line’ swing from $6.746m loss in its 2025 financial year to $11.3m in net income this time around.

The BISX-listed communications provider, noting that Aliv served some 169,000 subscribers at end-June 2026, said its mobile subsidiary now carries three-quarters of the ‘roaming’ traffic now entering The Bahamas - which represents data, calls and communications between visitors and their families, friends and work at home.

Aliv’s revenue also increased by 4 percent, or more than $3.6m, to $116.972m for the year to end-June 2026, while visitor roaming revenues rose by 11 percent year-over-year amid a $17.6m investment in the mobile operator’s network.

“Consumer mobile revenue increased by 4 percent year-over-year, with growth recorded across nearly every segment,” Cable Bahamas said. “Aliv also achieved a porting ratio of 2.37-to-one, meaning more than twice as many customers transferred from the competitor [BTC] to Aliv than moved in the opposite direction.

“Monthly prepaid revenue grew by nearly $1m, signalling a shift towards higher value plans and demonstrating continued confidence in the quality, reliability and value of the Aliv experience. Aliv’s influence also extends beyond the domestic market. Visitor roaming revenue grew by 11 percent during financial year 2026, supported by strong relationships with major global carriers.

“The company continued to carry approximately 75 percent of roaming traffic entering The Bahamas, reflecting the confidence international partners place in the performance of its network. During 2026, Cable Bahamas and Aliv mobile invested $17.6m in network improvements, including the completion of the fibre-to-the-home network roll-out in Abaco,” the BISX-listed communications provider added.

“Aliv mobile also activated four new sites across New Providence, Grand Bahama and Abaco and completed 26 capacity expansions, including nine in the Family Islands and 17 in New Providence…. Average daily mobile data traffic increased from 120 terabytes to 160 terabytes, while average mobile download speeds improved from 12 Mbps (megabits per second) to 16 Mbps.”

Cable Bahamas added that its MiFi wireless broadband services generated more than $1m in year-over-year growth, with Aliv also employing an “artificial intelligence (AI) driven customer behaviour and campaign management platform” to give it :deeper insight into customer needs”.

Cable Bahamas’ profitability surge comes as the group moves from its capital intensive network build-out and growth phase, with heavy infrastructure investments resulting in past annual losses, into a new stage where it is now seeking to execute and convert that outlay into net income and improved shareholder returns via the resumption of quarterly dividends and a rising stock price.

Revealing that the roll-out of its Alive Fibr network in New Providence and Abaco is already generating greater yields per subscriber, Cable Bahamas’ annual report said: “In June 2026, Aliv Fibr broadband generated an average revenue per user of $56 compared with $48 on the legacy hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC) platform.

“By the end of June 2026, we had connected 39,092 subscribers to Aliv Fibr in New Providence, compared with approximately 23,000 at the end of financial year 2025. This represents year-over-year growth of approximately 63 percent, with the company adding nearly 15,000 fibre subscribers during the fiscal year….

“At the end of financial year 2026, we successfully completed the full migration of 29 neighbourhoods across New Providence. This resulted in 12,505 HFC customers being migrated to Aliv Fibr, marking an important step in the company’s broader network modernisation efforts.”

Praising the workers behind the fibre-to-the-home roll-out, Cable Bahamas added: “Aliv Fibr technicians completed an average of approximately 1,700 installations per month during financial year 2026, our highest installation volumes to-date. Even as activity accelerated, customer satisfaction with technicians remained a notable strength…

“Financial year 2026 marked the official expansion of Aliv Fibr into Abaco, our first Family Island market. By the end of the fiscal year, the network totalled 576 subscribers. The expansion created new opportunities to serve households, small and medium-sized businesses, hospitality operators, remote workers and organisations requiring dependable, high-capacity connectivity.

“This was also an opportunity to establish a more complete, locally supported service in the Family Islands. Unlike satellite options, Aliv Fibr is built to withstand inclement weather and provide customers with Internet connection for up to eight hours during a power outage.”

Mr Butler, in his message to investors and Cable Bahamas shareholders, confirmed that the company is looking at expanding its data centre capabilities beyond server hosting and disaster recovery.

“During financial year 2026, we also laid the foundation for a new data centre site, moving our offering beyond traditional server hosting towards modern computing capability while adding resilience to our own operating systems,” he said. “This creates new possibilities for businesses, public institutions and digital services that need secure, dependable infrastructure close to home.

“Global telecommunications operators are making the same connection: Eighty percent attribute between 31 percent and 50 percent of their digital value to foundational and core platforms – the networks, cloud infrastructure and data systems that determine how quickly and reliably new services can be delivered…

“The stakes are real. Across the telecommunications sector, 91 percent of organisations are investing in agentic AI to prepare for a workforce in which people and digital tools operate together, yet 47 percent of employees report feeling left behind,” the Cable chief added.

“That gap defines both the opportunity and the responsibility before us. We must adopt new technology with ambition while equipping our people to use it confidently. This requires continued investment in data governance and reinforces our existing focus on data analytics and reporting.”