Interview - Flow Montserrat

RESILIENCE

IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY

Sustainable Business Magazine speaks to Randolph Lewis, Country Manager at Flow Montserrat, about the nation’s recovery from the Soufrière Hills Volcano eruption, investment in new technology, and managing through the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

By Daniel Baksi

It’s hard to believe that 26 years have passed since the eruption of Montserrat’s Soufriere Hills volcano. Although residents of the island had been experiencing small tremors for nearly five years prior, and had maintained a watchful eye over the volcano, no-one could have envisioned the full-scale eruption that occurred on July 18th, 1995. Initially small in scale, the eruptions increased in intensity over a period of months, culminating with several major eruptions, and producing vast quantities of ash and pyroclastic flow. The island was covered, flights were grounded, and Montserrat’s southern capital of Plymouth was destroyed.

A quarter of a century since that unforgettable event, Montserrat has been on a remarkable journey of recovery. Approximately two-thirds of Montserrat’s population was forced to evacuate following the eruptions, leaving approximately 1200 people on the island. Since then, the population has tripled in size, with many islanders returning home to help re-build their communities. With a new de-facto capital now located in Brades, Montserratians have turned their attention to the future with, the development of a new town and port in Little Bay, situated on Montserrat’s northwest coast. Flow Montserrat, one of the oldest companies on the island, with operations stretching back as far as 1882, has played an instrumental role in helping Montserrat to rebuild and recover.

FIGHTING BACK

“The eruption of the Le Soufriere volcano initiated a shift-change in the business,” says Randolph Lewis, Country Manager at Flow Montserrat. “In 1995, we operated across the entire island, with our headquarters in Plymouth. In the wake of the eruption, and because of the infrastructure destruction that followed, we had to evacuate to the north of the island, where we now operate from our base in Sweeney, St. John. Getting our business up-and-running in a new location required a lot of investment. We moved all of our transmission equipment, launched a new retail store, and found ways to restore connectivity to much of the island.”

Flow learned a lot from the eruption. “We needed to transition our network from the original copper-based plant, which is particularly susceptible to the impact of

FIELD TEAM

falling ash,” explains Mr. Lewis. “While the volcano is now dormant, it is still considered active. Even now after so many years, we continue to face the challenge of ash-induced corrosion, and it’s something we are actively addressing by switching out the copper for fiber. Once complete, it’ll be a major step-change for how we can deliver our services to customers in Montserrat.”

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Today, Flow connects more than 2,000 households across Montserrat, and has been continually improving its network and service offerings. “We are committed to providing Montserratians with the latest

technology,” says Mr. Lewis. “We have upgraded our network, which previously relied on microwave radio, and have embraced the Government’s decision to invest in a sub-sea fiber connection between Montserrat, Antigua, and Guadeloupe. We’ve secured capacity on this new fiber which will enable us to provide our customers with increased bandwidth, boost their speeds, and keep them connected to what matters most. We’ve also invested heavily in our broadband network, implementing core infrastructure upgrades to deliver worldclass speeds of up to 200Mbps.”

By equipping its customers with a world class service, Flow continues to play a significant role in shaping Montserrat’s future. “We’re committed to investing in our people, our systems and tools, as we prepare for a digital transformation,” says Mr. Lewis. “With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic more people are having to work from home, and these investments will give our customers the ability to do so seamlessly. The Government of Montserrat has also embarked on a campaign to encourage overseas visitors to consider working remotely from our beautiful island. The success of that campaign will rely heavily on our ability to provide a world-class broadband network with fast, reliable connectivity within the region and worldwide, in order to attract those visitors and boost the island’s economy.”

ABOVE AND BEYOND

“The last year in Montserrat has been relatively unique in comparison to most of the other islands,” explains Mr. Lewis. “Though there were recorded cases of COVID-19 on island, we have been fortunate that the num-

RANDOLPH LEWIS COUNTRY MANAGER BEACH CLEANUPV

“WE’RE COMMITTED TO INVESTING IN OUR PEOPLE, OUR SYSTEMS AND TOOLS, AS WE PREPARE FOR A DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION,”

bers have remained extremely small, helped in part because our borders were closed to external visitors for a period. “However, we did not allow this fact to make us complacent. We have gone above and beyond to create a safe environment for our staff and customers. The health of our employees and customers remain our top priority. As an essential service provider, we understand our commitment to providing connectivity and support to the Government, national security, education, healthcare, and the people and businesses of Montserrat. Maintaining the efficient delivery of critical services has been a challenge during this ongoing health crisis. From the outset of the pandemic, we limited possible exposure and transmission by operating shorter hours in our stores, implemented social distancing protocols, and regulated customer traffic. Our staff were provided with the necessary safety personal protective equipment, temperature checks were conducted upon store entry, and we also installed sanitation stations throughout the store. We also enabled additional options for our customers to access our services by implementing our virtual stores via WhatsApp. This allowed us to continue to meet the needs of our customers without the requirement for a physical in-store visit, as well as to reduce the number of visits to homes by technicians.”

As the world looks towards a postpandemic future, Flow will continue to upgrade its solutions and services. “We’ll continue to invest in mobile, broadband and fiber connectivity,” says Mr. Lewis. “We also plan to roll out LTE services, and we will upgrade our broadband. We are firmly pursuing a course of action that will enhance our customers’ experience by providing them with world-class technology, sustainable connectivity overlayed with exceptional customer service that will redound to the benefit of our citizens and by extension the economy.” c