Digicel cable cuts cost Haitian economy dearly
A new study published by Rezo Nòdwès reveals that frequent cuts to Digicel's international and national fiber optic cables have a significant economic impact in Haiti. According to this analysis, each major outage causes an immediate drop in billable traffic for the operator Digicel, which must fund costly repairs in dangerous areas.
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By NAGO News
1 min read
Paralysis of MonCash
MonCash, Haiti’s main mobile wallet with over 2 million users, is heavily impacted by these outages. An interruption lasting 24 to 72 hours can freeze essential transactions for a large part of the Haitian population.
Economic Losses
Internet Society Pulse evaluation tools (NetLoss Calculator) indicate that each day without internet in Haiti costs approximately $53,000 to the GDP. Repeated and prolonged outages multiply these losses, accumulating millions of dollars over a year.
Macroeconomic Impact
Remittances represent about 20% of Haiti’s GDP. These vital flows are slowed or delayed by recurring outages, hindering the economy dependent on diaspora transfers.
Costs for the Informal Sector
The informal sector, dominant in Haiti, also suffers these disruptions. Small and medium-sized enterprises lose direct revenue during major technical incidents, such as an online vendor who lost 15,000 gourdes in one day.
Erosion of Trust
Repeated outages erode customers' trust in Digicel and slow the adoption of advanced digital services, thus weakening a historic market player.
Reporting by Rezo Nòdwès
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