On May 14, 2020, the Spectrum Management Authority (“SMA”) requested that the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) conduct an assessment of competition within the Telecommunications sector. The SMA made the request pursuant to its ongoing exercise to determine whether the Aggregate Spectrum Cap Policy (“Cap”), which is currently used as a measure to safeguard competition, should continue. The Cap limits overall spectrum holdings of mobile operators to 120 MHz with respect to the 700 MHz, 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz and the 1700/2100 MHz (AWS) bands. In conducting the assessment, the FTC benefitted from information provided by the SMA, the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), Digicel Jamaica Ltd (‘Digicel’), and Cable and Wireless Jamaica Limited (‘FLOW’).
The main conclusion of this study is that the mobile telecommunication market is competitive. In the absence of easy conditions of entry, the competition in this market would be highly susceptible to coordinated conduct. The anticipated increased demand for mobile telecommunication services could make it more difficult for future entry to occur if the mobile spectrum is not properly managed. The SMA, with oversight responsibility for the assignment of mobile spectrum, has a singular opportunity to safeguard the competition in the mobile telecommunication sector by striking the appropriate balance between preserving the ease at which entry of a third operator and allowing incumbents to meet the increased demand for mobile telecommunication services.