Marsh Harbour, Abaco - Thousands of Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) customers can now experience improved cellular service, as the company launched its 4G network in Abaco over the weekend.
There was no space left in the St. John the Baptist Anglican Church hall, as scores of people lined up to participate in the launch event on Saturday.
Last month, BTC officials confirmed to Guardian Business that the revamp of the island's system would be completed by mid-May.
"We have completed 35 of 41 cell sites on Abaco to date and expect to have the remaining few completed within the next several weeks," said Marlon Johnson, BTC's vice president of brand and communications. "When the work is done, customers will enjoy greatly improved service, fewer dropped calls and much faster speeds as Abaco goes from a 2G platform to the blazing speed of 4G."
Arlene Clarke, BTC's senior manager on the island, stressed the need for residents and visitors to the Abacos to have the latest technology available to them, as the island represents BTC's third largest sector throughout the country.
"We have approximately 7,000 wire line customers and 3,000 cell phone customers. Throughout the Abacos, we have nearly 22,000 customers. From these numbers alone, it underscores just how crucial the Abaco market is, not only to the company's success but to the national economy as well," she explained.
The country's telecommunications giant has undergone major upgrades to its network since the company's privatization last year.

However, Tellis Symonette, BTC's senior vice president of commercial and family islands, admitted to Guardian Business that the upgrades have not been without their share of challenges.
"Over the last year, there have been a lot of upgrades to our network system in order for The Bahamas to now have 4G capability. It required us to rip out the entire network and put in new platforms. Of course when you do that, you are going to have issues with the network. However, as we come across these things, they are being addressed," he noted.
Abaco's 4G launch comes after New Providence has been blanketed in 4G, Grand Bahama is nearly 100 percent converted and Bimini and the Berry Islands went live earlier this month.
4G is the fastest available speed for wireless users.
Now that Abaco has been completed, BTC officials are looking to finish off Exuma and then head over to the island of Eleuthera.
These launches are part of the company's goal to have a national rollout of the network by late August.
BTC launched 4G in Nassau in December 2011, coinciding with the opening of its flagship store in the Mall at Marathon.
Two parties were held for the Abaco community in celebration of the 4G launch. On Saturday night an event was held at Snappa's Bar and Grill in Marsh Harbour, featuring Bahamian artists KB and Veronica Bishop. On Friday night, a pre-party was held in the DNR Sports Pub in Marsh Harbour, which featured Dylan McKenzie.

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