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The Fair Trading Commission (FTC) has assessed Jamaica’s mobile telecommunications market as being generally competitive.

Jamaica’s competition regulator undertook a study on the telecommunication market, which was completed in September 2020 but is now being made public. The study was initiated pursuant to a request made by the Spectrum Management Authority (SMA), which regulates the country’s bandwidth.

The request was made as the SMA was in the process of reviewing its Spectrum Cap Policy, a tool it uses to drive and safeguard competition in the telecommunications industry. The review by the FTC was to assist the SMA to determine whether the cap was still needed to safeguard competition.

The FTC contributed to the review by assessing the level of competition within the sector and by making recommendations on the Spectrum Cap Policy. The main finding of the study is that “the market is competitive”.

Market is susceptible to coordinated conduct

However, in the absence of easy conditions of entry, competition in the market has been determined to be susceptible to coordinated conduct.

The study found that “the anticipated increased demand for mobile telecommunication services stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic could make it increasingly difficult for future entry to occur, if the mobile spectrum is not properly managed”.

Accordingly, the SMA is tasked with striking the appropriate balance between preserving future entry, and allowing incumbents to meet the increased demand for mobile telecommunication services. To strike this balance, the FTC has recommended that, “the spectrum cap be replaced with a spectrum screen. Specifically, spectrum should be assigned to each operator in the customary manner up to the assignment of 33 per cent of the assignable spectrum”.

The FTC has further recommended that, “requests for assignment between 33 per cent and 37 per cent should be approved by the SMA on a case by case basis”.

The current cap is 30 per cent.

The FTC has suggested that Daryl Vaz, the minister with responsibility for telecommunications, should consider implementing the recommended revisions to the pricing of spectrum in Jamaica.

On November 6, 2020, the SMA issued a Proposed Spectrum Holding Policy document, which incorporated the findings and recommendations of the FTC.

Stakeholders have since provided feedback which has been addressed by the SMA and the FTC. According to the FTC, the consultation is ongoing.

Market study on ISP and cable TV operators

The FTC also carried out a study in November 2020 into the Internet service providers (ISP) and subscriber television (cable TV) operators. The open market study sought to determine the competitive effects of wholesale agreements between ISP and cable TV operators, who provide Internet services to final consumers.

The FTC said it was reviewing, among other things, the terms and conditions under which enterprise broadband ISPs offer services to cable TV operators and assess the extent to which these agreements adversely affect cable TV operators’ service to consumers. The study is slated to conclude in March 2021.