(Jamaica Gleaner) The Government of Jamaica is to auction two licenses for use of the 700 MHz band, with a view to attracting new entrants to the mobile telecommunications market.
In making the announcement a short while ago, Phillip Paulwell, the minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, told the House of Representatives that the Government hopes to issue the licenses by July 15.
He also said the licenses will be open to current mobile providers but it is hoped that at least one will be taken up by a new investor.
According to Paulwell, radio frequency spectrum is absolutely essential for any application that requires wireless technologies.
Paulwell said the Government will begin pre-auction activities in early April 2013 with the issuance of an Information Memorandum which will be advertised internationally, as well, as posted on the websites of the Ministry and of the Spectrum Management Authority.
According to Paulwell, the 700 MHz band, which is considered to be low band spectrum, tends to be more penetrative and propagates farther, meaning that the signal goes through walls more easily, giving better coverage inside buildings, and requiring fewer towers to cover a specific geographic area.
“This dramatically reduces the cost of deployment, especially when compared to the costs of deployment of systems operating at higher frequencies,” Paulwell said.
He also said the 700 MHz band will provide a cost-effective option to deploy 4G technologies such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) in Jamaica.
“We believe that the attractiveness of the 700MHz band will bring investors in a new telecommunications entity to our shores. In Jamaica, approximately 108 MHZ of valuable spectrum is available, and the 700MHz band may accommodate a maximum of three all-island licenses. At the moment, however, only two licenses will be on auction,” Paulwell said.
Both licenses will be valid for 15 years.
Paulwell told the House that the licenses will be awarded to the highest bidders, determined as “fit and proper” by the regulators.
