BUSINESS BRIEFS
Hawaii papaya production up 6%
Advertiser Staff
Hawai'i papaya production rose 6 percent in September to an estimated 2.8 million pounds compared with September 2006.
Cumulative sales for the first three quarters of 2007 totaled 20.6 million pounds, which also was 6 percent higher than the comparable period in 2006, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Harvested area totaled 1,375 acres, which was up 72 percent from June 2007 and 4 percent above last year.
MOBI CELL COVERAGE EXPANDING
Starting tomorrow, Mobi PCS customers will have access to an expanded local calling area that includes the Neighbor Islands. That means O'ahu residents will be able to use their Mobi phones on Maui, the Big Island and Kaua'i at no additional charge.
Mobi launched O'ahu's first flat-rate, unlimited cellular service in January 2006.
"Expansion of the local calling area for our O'ahu customers is a significant step in our statewide expansion," said Bill Jarvis, president and chief executive for Mobi PCS.
Information on coverage in specific areas of each Neighbor Island is available at any Mobi PCS store, through Mobi dealers as well as online at www.mobipcs.com.
GOYA TO HEAD SPRINT HAWAII SETUP
Sprint Hawaii yesterday announced that Dale Goya has been appointed general manager for the wireless phone company's Hawai'i operations.
Goya will be responsible for the Hawai'i market, including management and execution of consumer and business customer relationships and retail operations at 13 stores. He also will oversee local marketing strategies and monitor network performance and build out for Hawai'i. Hawai'i has 170 Sprint employees.
Goya, who was born and raised in Hilo, Hawai'i, has been with Sprint for more than 14 years.
He began as a major account manager selling to state, local and hospitality industries.
While at Sprint, Goya also ran the Hawai'i consumer long-distance and Radio Shack partnership. Prior to coming to Sprint Hawaii, Goya worked in the telecommunications field in Los Angeles.
VERIZON EXPANDS WIRELESS NETWORK
Verizon Wireless said it has expanded its wireless broadband network to include several new areas on the Big Island, Maui, Kaua'i and O'ahu.
The expansion enables more customers to access e-mail, corporate data, the Internet and more at faster speeds.
The wireless broadband network coverage area in the state now extends to:
The company broadband service provides average download speeds of 600 kilobits per second to 1.4 megabits and average upload speeds of 500 to 800 kbps.
