Telecommunications in Jamaica include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephony, and Internet services. The sector is regulated by theOffice of Utilities Regulation (OUR) and theSpectrum Management Authority (SMA) under theMinistry of Science, Energy and Technology (MSET)[1][2].
Jamaica’s telecom market is one of the most advanced in the Caribbean, with near-universal mobile coverage and growing broadband access.[3] Liberalization in the early 2000s led to rapid expansion in mobile services, driven byDigicel Jamaica andFlow Jamaica (formerly LIME/Cable & Wireless).[4]
Before liberalization, the market was dominated byCable & Wireless Jamaica which provided fixed-line and international services, until new entrants were allowed in the early 2000s.[5]
In 2001, the government opened the telecom market to competition, issuing mobile licenses toDigicel andOceanic Digital (MiPhone).[6] By 2004, overall teledensity surpassed 100 per 100 inhabitants (driven by explosive mobile growth), placing Jamaica among the leaders in the Caribbean at that time.[7]
MiPhone (Oceanic Digital) was acquired byAmérica Móvil in 2007 and rebranded asClaro Jamaica.[8] In 2011-2012 the Government approved and Digicel completed the acquisition ofClaro Jamaica, consolidating the market into two main operators (Digicel and Flow/Cable & Wireless).[9][10]
In the 2010s, both companies expanded 3G and LTE networks.Digicel launched LTE service in June 2016, followed byFlow which progressed its LTE rollout during 2016-2017 after spectrum applications and initial site activations.[11][12]
From 2021 onward, the regulator initiated consultations and spectrum processes to prepare for next-generation services (including 5G). Public statements and industry events in 2022-2024 discussed trials and readiness, though widescale commercial deployment remained limited.[13][14][15]
Jamaica is a member of theNorth American Numbering Plan (NANP). The NANP Administrator (NANPA) has allocated thearea codes 876 and 658 for use in the country, which is a single numbering plan area (NPA) with anoverlay numbering plan. The national telephone number format is NPA-NXX-XXXX, where N is one of the digits 2 through 9, and X is any digit.
For international dialing to Jamaica, thecountry code is1.
For accessing international destinations from within Jamaica, theinternational call prefix is011.
Calls from Jamaica to other NANP nations, such as the U.S. and Canada, are dialed as 1 + NANP area code + 7-digit number.
Jamaica has a fullydigital telephone communication system.[16]
The country's three mobile operators –Cable and Wireless (once marketed as LIME – Landline, Internet, Mobile and Entertainment now named FLOW),Digicel, and at one point Oceanic Digital (operating asMiPhone and now known asClaro since late 2008) until the carrier was acquired and the relevant spectrum sold to Digicel – have spent millions in network upgrade and expansion. Both Digicel and Oceanic Digital were granted licences in 2001 to operate mobile services in the newly liberalised telecom market that had once been the sole domain of the incumbent Cable and Wireless monopoly. Digicel opted for the more widely usedGSM wireless system, while Oceanic opted for theCDMA standard. Cable and Wireless, which had begun withTDMA standard, subsequently upgraded to GSM, and currently utilises both standards on its network.[citation needed]
With wireless usage increasing,landlines supplied by Cable and Wireless have declined from just over half a million to roughly three hundred thousand as of 2006.[16] In a bid to grab more market share, Cable and Wireless recently[when?] launched a new land line service called HomeFone Prepaid that would allow customers to pay for minutes they use rather than pay a set monthly fee for service, much likeprepaid wireless service.[citation needed]
Two more licenses were auctioned by the Jamaican government to provide mobile services on the island, including one that was previously owned byAT&T Wireless but never utilized, and one new license.[citation needed]
Another entrant to the Jamaican communications market,FLOW, laid a newsubmarine cable connecting Jamaica to the United States. This new cable increases the total number of submarine cables connecting Jamaica internationally to four.[citation needed] The company's parent was acquired by Cable and Wireless Communications in November 2014 and finalized in March 2015. The newFLOW was re-launched as a successor to LIME and the old Flow on August 31, 2015; offering mobile, fixed voice, fixed broadband and TV services to the market. It has now become the first quad-play provider in Jamaica. The company runs a vast copper network (inherited from LIME) islandwide as well as a Hybrid Fiber and Coaxial network (from the old Flow) in the metropolitan areas of Kingston and Montego Bay. They also have small Fiber-to-the-home operations in certain sections of St. James that began in 2011 (under LIME). On the mobile side, the company had completed its 4G HSPA+ rollout (capable of speeds up to 21 Mbit/s) across the island in November 2015 and has announced plans to move to LTE within the year 2016. However,Digicel has become the first LTE network operator in Jamaica, going live with their network on June 9, 2016.[18]
There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitorse-mail or Internetchat rooms without judicial oversight.[25]
The law provides forfreedom of speech andpress, and the government generally respects these rights in practice. An independent press, generally effective judicial protection, and a functioning democratic political system combine to ensure freedom of speech and press. The independent media are active and express a wide variety of views without restriction. Broadcast media were largely state owned, but open to pluralistic points of view. Although the constitution prohibits arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, in practice the police conduct searches without warrants.[25]
A law decriminalizingdefamation was passed by the Jamaican House of Representatives in November 2013 after being approved unanimously by the Senate the previous July. It took six years to amend the libel and slander laws, which – although little used – made media offences punishable by imprisonment.[26]
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This article incorporatespublic domain material fromThe World Factbook (2014 ed.).CIA. This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theUnited States Department of State.
