Digicel has restored most of its service in Haiti

The building housing Digicel, the Irish telecommunications firm with Caribbean roots, emerged unscathed from the earthquake from the 12 January earthquake.

It has been reported that the 11-storey structure was built to withstand huge tremors of the kind that that struck Port- au-Prince.

"Where the streets outside the building are now filled with chaos and desperation, inside the buzz of workers tapping away on keyboards fills the floors of Digicel's offices," the AFP news agency said.

Cell phone operators have been working to get networks going again since the earthquake and to let those displaced by the quake contact loved ones in other countries.

Congestion

Digicel is Haiti's leading wireless operator with 2 million customers. Last week it said that about 70% of its cell sites were working.

There is however still some congestion when making and receiving international calls.

Digicel, which began in Jamaica, found a very captive market when it set up in Haiti in 2006.

The company says the operation cost $260 million and it remains a big employer, with nearly 900 people on its staff.

Fewer than one percent of Haitians have landlines, according to Digicel figures, so mobile phones are crucial for communications.

Irish telecoms billionaire Denis O'Brien, who founded Digicel, has said said he is working alongside former US president Bill Clinton on rebuilding Haiti.

"Obviously we need foreign direct investment but on a wider front we need a Marshall Plan,'' Mr O'Brien told AFP.

Psychological support

The company says it has yet to account for all of its employees, at least four of whom were killed in the quake.

But management is counting on having around 650 workers in the office by the end of the week.

Digicel also says it is working to provide material and psychological support to staff.

It has given each of its customers in Haiti the equivalent of $5 in free credit and has teamed up with Shaggy and other Caribbean singers to record a new song to raise money for earthquake survivors in Haiti.

"We must learn to manage this new reality," said Tatiana Policard, the director of marketing. "First to accept it, to de-stress, to rebuild and to move forward."