In 1999, Data Pro International began operations in the Corozal Free Zone, and the following year this was extended to include telecommunications services.
Court cases continued through 2001 and 2002, with BTL's majority owner Ashcroft and Intelco's Glenn Godfrey going back and forth over which of the two would be the better service provider and whether the other wanted competition at all.
In 2004 it was proven that Godfrey, a known PUP ally and former representative of the party, had received favorable loans from Belize's Social Security Board and Development Finance Corporation, of which he was chairman.
Within months Belizeans in all six districts had signed on to SMART (officially advertised as a "Speednet product"), which offered cellular services at slightly lower rates than BTL.
SMART soon became the choice of younger Belizean professionals who felt uncomfortable dealing with the crusty, aristocratic BTL and wanted personable, attractive and efficient service with no headaches.