One more thing:Denis O'Brien has clearly decided that Digicel has enough on its plate trying to expand its mobile operations in the Caribbean, Central America and the Pacific Islands by not submitting a bid for a licence in the Middle East state of Qatar.
On Wednesday, ictQatar, the local telecoms regulator, said seven groups from the original list of 12 that had been pre-qualified for the mobile licence had submitted bids by last Sunday's deadline.
Digicel was one of those who pre-qualified to submit a bid to the regulator but didn't step up to the plate. Vodafone, AT&T and Verizon are among those who will vie for the licence, which will be awarded in November.
O'Brien might have been deterred by the price tag on the licence. Reports from the region suggested it could cost an eye-watering $500 million (€355 million) in a country with 800,000 residents, albeit wealthy ones.
Ironically, the regulator in oil-rich Qatar is none other than Irishman Willie Fagan, a former executive with cable television operator Chorus.
O'Brien is clearly keeping his powder dry for the sun-kissed island of Fiji, where Digicel is one of 10 groups having a tilt at winning one of the two or three licences on offer there.
