STARTING A TELECOM BUSINESS IN JAMAICA

Devon SterlingIn partial fulfillment of the successful completion of the course “Telecommunication Public Policy Development & Standards (TCN 6880)”, in the program “Telecommunication & Networking”, spring 2011, at the Florida International University.

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the Jamaican business and regulatory environment from the perspective of starting a wireless information technology business in the country. It starts by looking at the geography and demographics in terms of physical terrain, population densities and social factors to gain an understanding of the physical and social environment in which the business will operate. An examination of the political and government model as well as the jurisprudence provides ample cues on the developmental philosophy of the nation and its stability going forward. Of paramount importance is the telecom regulatory policy that will impact not just the industry but also the nature and operation of the business and ultimately is viability and/or profitability. The business environment looks at the state of the industry in terms of incumbents, services offered, market size, market penetration among other factors. The paper concludes with an examination of the opportunities available based on the business environment and a recommendation as to a particular type of business to consider.

1. INTRODUCTIONStarting a business in any country requires an understanding of the broad and complex environment within which this entity must exist. There are many considerations that must be attended to including geography, demographics, social and cultural factors, industry regulations, governance model, type of jurisprudence, business environment, just to name a few. All of these considerations must make their way into any analysis out of which will flow the investment decision - whether to invest or not - and the specific market and product/service to move forward with. The oft repeated business adage rings true here; “failure to plan is planning to fail”. This paper looks at some of these

considerations in the context of starting a telecom business in Jamaica.

2. GEOGRAPHY & DEMOGRAPHICSJamaica is the third largest island in the Carib-bean Sea. The island is 235 km long and 84 km wide. It is located 898 km south-east of Miami, 145 km south of Cuba and 161 km south west of Haiti. The island has an area of 11,420 square km. The terrain of the country is such that in-land ar-eas are very mountainous and are not well served by infrastructure services such as well planned road network, water distribution sys-tems and wired telecom services. These in-land areas are largely comprised of rural communi-ties where the primary industries are farming and mining. In contrast, the urban areas are scattered along the cost of the island and these areas are better served by infrastructure ser-vices. Primary industries in these areas are tourism and financial services.The country’s population is approximately 2.8 million [1], 54% live in the urban areas - 30 % of the land area - resulting in fairly high population densities whereas the remaining 46% of the population occupies 70% of the country (in-land areas) resulting in low population densities for these areas. The map below gives an indication of the population spread across the island.

Map of Jamaica showing population densities [the world trade press]

The darker shaded regions represent the urban areas while the lighter shaded regions represent the rural areas.

The CIA factbook [6] estimates the country’s literacy rate at approximately 88%, meaning that 88 out of every 100 people are functioning at or above post primary educational standards. The same source puts the workforce at approximately 1.3 million, which is divided among the primary productive sectors as follows: Industry--17.1%; agriculture--17.9%; services--64.9%. There are over six universities and several colleges offering tertiary level education. The government also operates a national skills training academy. This skills training academy provides industry specific training and certification in order to respond quickly to specific workforce skill demands in the economy. ICT is a major focus and as such the academy has partnered with Cisco and operates a Cisco academy. There are also several institutions offering professional IT certification courses and the uptake is very high as is indicated by the number of these institutions. This provides for a relatively balanced workforce including broadly educated university graduates and specifically trained industry workers.

3. GOVERNMENT MODEL Jamaica’s government is organized on the (British) West Minister model. It is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy with the head of state being the queen of England. The monarch is represented by a local functionary, the Governor-General, who is appointed by the queen on the advice of

the prime minister. The role of the monarch in government is largely ceremonial such as opening parliament and signing some public appointments. The government is structured around the principle of the separation of powers. It consists of three branches: The Executive - Composed of the Prime Minister and Cabinet members selected by him. This branch sets policies. The Legislature - Composed of the two houses of parliament (The Senate & the House of Representative). This branch makes and repeals laws. The Judiciary - Court of Appeal and courts of original jurisdiction. Interpret and enforces the law.However, the executive is selected from the legislature, a fact which causes debates about the independence of these two branches. Parliament is composed of an appointed Senate and an elected House of Representatives. The Senate is composed of 21 members appointed by the governor general; 13 on the advice of the prime minister and 8 on the advice of the leader of the opposition. General elections are held every 5 years however the prime minister may ask the governor general to call elections sooner. There are 60 elected members forming the House of Representative, representing the 60 constituencies that the country is divided into. However, for administration of government services, the country is divided into 14 Parishes. These parishes have elected councils that exercise limited powers of local government including collection of certain taxes and provision of certain cervices. However, all local government councils come under the portfolio responsibility of the Minister of Local Government, a member of the executive.The judiciary is modeled on the U.K. system and still maintains the U.K. based Privy Council as the country’s highest and final court. Under certain circumstances, cases may be appealed to this court. There is increasing discussion about replacing the Privy Council as the ultimate appeal body with either the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) or a domestic (Jamaican) institution. The diagram below depicts the structure of the court system (Ministry of Justice, Jamaica).

There are two major political parties, the Peoples National Party and the Jamaica Labour Party. Both grew out of pre-independence trade union movements and they both still maintain strong ties with their respective trade unions. As a result, industrial disputes can sometimes tend to have political overtones. Elections are for the most part, colorful spectacles and benefit from certification of local and regional bodies and observation and commentary of international watchdog groups. The country has had a relatively long democratic tradition with augers well for continued stability.

4. TELECOM REGULATORY POLICIES & ENVIRONMENT Jamaica telecom regulations and policies as they stand now tend to mirror the regulations recommended by the World Bank through the ITU Telecom Handbook.

4.1 HistoryIn 1987 the government sold majority stake in the island’s sole telephone operator to Cable & Wireless (an English company) along with a 25 year exclusive monopoly license renewable. At the time, the principal legislative instrument governing the telecommunications sector was the Telephone Act, 1893. The terms and conditions of the license effectively determined the policy and regulatory framework for the sector. The license provided for the prices to be regulated by the minister under the rate of return method with an allowable after tax return of 17.5% - 20% [7].

In 1995 Jamaica became a signatory to the GATS – General Agreement on Trade & Services - which obligated members to liberalize certain sectors of their economy, telecommunication being one of them. In 1998 the country began discussion with the monopoly provider to retire the then current license and begin phased liberalization of the telecom sector starting in 2000. The Telecommunications Act ( 2000) gave ef-fect to the Government of Jamaica’s policy of a phased approach to liberalizing telecommunica-tions services in the country [8].

Phase I (March 2000 – Sept 2001) saw compe-tition being introduced into some segments of the market including domestic mobile, customer premises equipment and data services (utilizing Cable & Wireless facilities).

Phase II (Sept 2001 – March 2003) during this phase the Minister granted licenses allowing for competition in domestic voice facilities and ser-vices (e.g. wireless in the local loop and wired services including the resale of CWJ’s switched domestic voice minutes). Licenses were also granted to offer internet access over the infra-structure of subscriber television (STV).

Phase III commenced three years after the pas-sage of the Act. During this phase, allmarkets were opened to competition including voice and data facilities.

The act conferred regulatory responsibility for the sector to the multi-sector regulator, the Of-fice of Utilities Regulation (OUR). Under the Act the OUR have the following sector-specific regu-latory functions and powers:

Oversight of license requirements and authorization,

Assessment of the incumbent’s (or any dominant operator’s) Reference Inter-connection Offer, and resolution of inter-connection and wholesale disputes,

Management of numbering resources on a non-discriminatory basis,

Regulation of retail prices and service quality,

The power to prescribe rules to safe-guard competition, and their application to operators with market power. Exam-ple include rules addressing separation of accounts, keeping of records, and preventing mis-use of commercially sen-

sitive information supplied to the incum-bent to facilitate interconnection, and

The power to mandate number portabil-ity, indirect access (such as carrier pre-selection), and unbundling of the local loop.

However, it is the Minister who issues licenses upon the recommendations of the OUR.The Act also provides for an Appeals Tribunal consisting of three members, all of who are ap-pointed by the Minister. One member must be a former judge of the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal. The last level of recourse for parties who feel unfairly treated is the Courts.

4.2 Structure of the regulatorThe regulator is an independent body consisting of six members. It is led by a Director General (chairman) appointed by the Governor General and five Deputy Director Generals, appointed by the Prime Minister for a period of 3 – 7 years re-newable. The regulator is empowered to hire consultant experts when the need arise and is in control of its own budget, derived from annual regulatory fee on the industry.

4.3 The licensing processThe responsibility for administering the licensing process is shared between the OUR,whose role is primarily administrative and the Ministry which issues telecommunications li-censes. The process is as follows:

The Minister issues directions in writing to the OUR specifying the categories and number of licenses to be issued.

Upon receipt of the direction, the OUR publishes a notice in the Sunday edition of a daily newspaper, inviting applica-tions for the licenses.

The OUR evaluates the applications re-ceived, on the basis that they are com-plete and the applicants are deemed fit and proper persons to hold a license un-der the law.

The OUR then recommends to the Min-ister, the licenses to be issued by his Ministry.

A list of applicants is published no later than seven days after receipt, in the Sunday

edition of a daily newspaper inviting interested parties to review the applications overa minimum period of thirty (30) days as required under the Act. Confidential materialcontained in the applications must be so identi-fied and will be treated with the highestlevel of confidentiality by OUR staff. Applications are then evaluated and recommen-dations forwarded to the Minister [9]

4.5 Licensing types & requirementsThere are three broad categories of telecommunication licenses issued by government in the form of Carrier, Service Provider and Dealer licenses. These categories are further broken down into the following license types [ ]:

LICENSE AUTHORIZATIONData service provider

The licensee is authorized to provide data services

Domestic car-rier

The licensee is authorized to own and operate fixed facili-ties specified in the applica-tion

Domestic voice service

The licensee is authorized to provide fixed services speci-fied in the application.

Free trade zone (ftz) carrier

The licensee is licensed to own and operate licensed facilities so designated by the Ministry.

Free trade zone service provider

The licensee is authorized to provide the services speci-fied in the application only through the use of facilities of a duly licensed FTZ car-rier.

International carrier

The licensee is authorized to own and operate Interna-tional Data, Voice and Tran-sit facilities.

International service provider

The licensee is authorized to provide telecommunications services in relation to Inter-national voice and data ser-vices.

International voice service provider

The licensee is licensed to own and operate licensed facilities so designated by the Ministry.

Internet service provider

The licensee is authorized to provide telecommunications services in relation to Inter-net access

Internet service provider licence (subscriber television)

Issued to entities licensed under the Broadcasting and Radio Redifusion Act to pro-vide Subscriber Television Service, authorizing the pro-vision of services in relation to Internet access.

There are no restrictions to a company applying for multiple types of licenses. The primary requirements for application for any of these licenses include:

Financial proof of ability to setup and deploy the service.

Registration of a (local) company to operate the service.

Good standing with oversight body for financial sector (Financial Services Commission, Bank of Jamaica)

Good standing with tax authorities (local company)

There are no ownership restrictions however anecdotal evidence suggest that companies who commit to/list on the local stock exchange are given more favorable consideration.

4.4 Interconnection Interconnection arrangements are monitored by the regulator. The regulation, mindful of the former monopoly status of the sector, places the burden of interconnection on incumbent(s) / dominant carriers. The regulator designates carriers as dominant or otherwise. Each is required to lodge with the regulator their “Reference Interconnection Offer”, a document outlining the requirements and charges for interconnection to their network. This is done to mitigate unfair pricing and to bring a level of transparency to the process. The process begins with an “Interconnection Request from the new entrant”, this is followed by Interconnection Offer by the company to whom the request was made. If the requester feels that

the offer is unfair then a complaint is lodged with the regulator, who then compare the offer to the Reference Interconnection Offer” on file and makes a determination and communicates it to both parties.

4.6 Universal accessOne of the goals of the regulation is universal access. This is defined as service in every household for voice, and access to service by everyone in a community for data. To accomplish this, particularly in the rural areas that are not well served due to lower population densities, certain providers with the requisite national infrastructure are designated “Universal Service Providers” by the regulator. The Minister with responsibility for telecommunication will negotiate to contract with one (or more) of these providers, and in the case where negotiation fails, will mandate the provision of government subsidized service to these areas. This is paid for out of Universal Access Funds – a levy on telecom operators in the industry designed specifically for this purpose.

4.7 Consumer protectionAnother goal of the regulation is consumer protection. Each provider is required to adhere to minimum standards in the form of a service level agreement set by the regulator with input from the industry. The regulator can investigate on its own, or upon consumer complaint(s), any alleged unfair practice or breach of standards by a provider. If an investigation reveals an infraction of the standards, the service level agreement provides for monetary compensation to consumers.

4.8 Spectrum licensesSpectrum management and licensing comes under a separate regulator, the Spectrum Management Authority (SMA). The same act (Telecommunication Act, 2000), liberalizing telecommunication in the country and transferring regulatory authority for telecom to the OUR, also established the SMA. The SMA also offers various licenses under three broad categories:

CATEGORY LICENCES

Private Radio Land mobile

Wireless Broadband

Commercial Data Low Power FM

Broadcast Low Power FM

(short term)

Earth Station VSAT (Regular) VSAT (short term)

Other Aeronautical Maritime Mobile Amateur Alien Amateur Domestic Mobile

Specifics of some license types including duration and requirements are detailed in appendix A.

5. BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

Jamaican has a free-market economy with a GDP of approximately U$24 billion[6]. Market re-form which began in the early 1990s has resulted in the removal of exchange controls, floating of the exchange rate, cutting of tariffs, stabilization of the Jamaican currency, reduction of inflation and removal of restrictions on foreign invest-ments. As a member of WTO and a signatory to various free trade agreements with the wider Caribbean, the United States and the European Union, the government is committed to maintain-ing strict fiscal discipline, greater openness to trade and the free movement of capital and labor. The economy is fairly diversified with agriculture, mining, manufacturing, tourism and finance/insur-ance services being major sectors that drive eco-nomic growth. Primary export industries include tourism and mining. According to data from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica [1] the country’s force stands at 1.317 million; the breakdown ac-cording to major industries confirms the impor-tance of services to the local economy. Agricul-ture – 17%, industry – 29.7% and services – 64.6%. CIA factbook data [6] on GDP breakdown corroborates this trend. Unemployment currently stands at about 12% but is slated to decrease as the world economy recovers. The shifting of the economy, post independence, from agriculture to

services have resulted in the government spend-ing between 6% and 10% of GDP on education and skills training[1]. This has resulted in the de-velopment of over 6 local universities and col-leges and a national skills training academy.

5.1 ICT landscape (Mobile cellular)Jamaica’s success with the introduction of (cellular) communication technology services, post liberalization has been quoted as a model by the World Bank. Prior to liberalization, Cable & Wireless, Jamaica (C&WJ) was the sole provider of both fixed-line and mobile services. Liberalization saw the licensing of two new mobile operators, namely Digicel and Oceanic Digital Jamaica (later, sold and renamed Claro). The two new players had a tremendous impact on the sector. In particular it led to explosive growth in mobile usage which saw teledensity figures move from single digit in 1998 to 44% in 2001, 101% in 2004 and now 119% in 2011.

With respect to teledensity, Jamaica now ranks among the highest in the world. According to In-ternet World Statistics [5], from as far back as 2004 Jamaica’s teledensity exceeded what would be expected based on its GDP per capita (see Figure 1). In fact Jamaica’s performance compared favorably to countries with much higher GDP per capita including New Zealand, Singapore and the United States.

Figure 1: Cross-Country Comparison of Tele-density by Income [5]

Typical for the region, the relative size and rapid expansion of the Jamaican mobile sector continues to underpin growth in the telecommunications industry. Despite recessionary periods during 2009 and 2010, largely due to the broader global economic environment, the mobile sector is poised for

strong growth between 2011 and 2016 on the back of the launch of new 3G and 4G networks [3]. In particular, mobile broadband is likely to become a major revenue driver with stronger competition emerging between the three major players in the industry, Digicel, Claro and LIME (formerly C&W). In fact this market is seen as so strategic and pregnant with opportunities that both LIME and Digicel have moved their headquarters for regional operations to Jamaica and have committed to increased investment in the sector. With a current (2011) mobile penetration rate of 119% [3] the Jamaican voice market can be described as mature or saturated. Future growth in this market can be expected to be incremental at best and will center on the movement of customers between providers. Competition in mature markets tends to be primarily on the basis of price; and from the beginning, competition between the three big players have been so fierce as to be hostile. A consequence of this has been them even refusing to collocate to save infrastructure cost resulting in each building out their own country-wide cellular network. The result is an island blanketed with cellular towers.

5.2 Data services and CATVThe figure below highlights the local internet market and the degree of internet penetration.

Jamaica Internet Usage and Population Sta-tistics (IMF):

YEAR Users Population % Pen.2000 60,000 2,597,100 2.3 %2002 600,000 2,675,504 22.4 %2006 1,067,000 2,692,569 39.6 %2008 1,500,000 2,804,332 53.5 %2009 1,540,000 2,825,928 54.5 %2010 1,581,100 2,847,232 55.5 %

Note: Per Capita GDP in US dollars, source: International Monetary Fund.

There are approximately 1.6m internet users in Jamaica representing 55.5% of the population [6]. However this must be seen in light of recent studies [11] showing that only 15.6% of households have internet access. This makes sense only if one ties it in with the fact that 54% of the population lives in relatively densely populated cities representing 30% of the

country, and that these areas are well served by ISP. However, most rural communities comprising the remaining 70% of the country lacks this service and those that do, have access only through public spaces such as schools and libraries. Therefore internet penetration here does not translate into household having the service but rather refers to individual having some form of access to the service whether through school, work, libraries or other public places. In fact the actual penetration rate with respect to household access is very low at about 15% [1].Whereas voice service is over 90 % (wireless) cellular, internet service and CATV is primarily through cable architecture, therefore, as expected, both of these services have similar levels of penetration. For the most part, LIME dominates the internet business, with Flow, a relatively new entrant to the market offering triple play service (voice + data + tv) over a fiber optic infrastructure being the other big player in this area.

5.3 Infrastructure profileJamaica is linked to the Internet backbone by no fewer than 3 submarine cables giving the island bandwidth capacity greater than some developed countries with significantly larger populations. Wired infrastructure is primarily deployed in the urban areas which tend to be coastal flatlands and have the population densities to attract investments. This type of infrastructure consists of a mixture of fiber and copper – copper for the former monopoly (LIME) and fiber for the new entrant (Flow). As mentioned before, the island is blanketed with cellular towers giving all three cellular providers 100% island-wide coverage.

5.4 Access to relevant technologiesThe United States is the primary developer and seller of the technologies used in this industry and the proximity of the country to the US, its open trade policies and trade agreements

makes access to the technologies simple and less costly. There are also government incentive programs in the form of duty free access to capital goods and tax write-offs that could offset the startup cost. A further opportunity to consider is the Universal Access goal of the regulation. Government has committed and is moving towards provider universal (internet) access utilizing universal access funds. Along with competing for regular business, there is opportunity to contract with government for this business thereby increasing revenue.

6. CONCLUSSION 6.1 Investment climate As with most economies in the Americas, influenced by the United States, Jamaica’s economic model is based on the free market approach. This approach is predicated on a number of assumptions including, a free society with stable government, a transparent legal framework, free and open markets with regulations only to mitigate market failure and create a level playing field, and skilled labor. This model, it is argued, will lead to opportunities and the free flow of capital in the form of investments needed for national development. From the analysis above it can be seen that the country is following this blueprint and has indeed reap tremendous success in the telecom sector so far. It has a democratic and stable government, a mature and well understood judicial framework, a skilled workforce and an open economy. All of which makes for a business friendly environment.

6.2 Opportunities / recommendationFrom the information gathered above it can be seen that the (cellular) wireless market is saturated and does not offer much in the way of growth potential, therefore investment in this area is not recommended. However, with such low internet and catv penetration rates (15%), there are significant opportunities for investment in these areas. The geography of the country would render investment in a wired architecture cost prohibitive and the population densities in the rural areas comprising over 70% of the land-area could not support the expenditure on the

necessary infrastructure. Therefore the best way to access these markets would be to offer these services wirelessly. Current 4G, including WiMax and LTE, and upcoming 5G technologies are feasible options to consider. There are three basic approaches to entering these markets:

Setup the wireless infrastructure from the ground up including transceiver towers.

o This approach would require

significant time and money and therefore increase exposure to risk

Try to acquire one of the local operators

o This pre-supposes that an

acquisition request will be welcomed. There’s also a premium to be paid for brand name and future earnings which may also be expensive.

The preferred approach is a partnership/agreement

o This approach is the quickest to

market and would involve leveraging the infrastructure of the cellular provider(s) via some kind of mutually beneficial deal that would provide access to their cell towers. The dominant player in the market, Digicel, would have fewer reasons to enter into such an agreement since they more than likely would have interest in the same market and have the revenue to do so. However, it’s feasible that a deal could be reached with one of the weaker operators (Claro) who would see this as an opportunity to partner up, gain critical mass and improve their standing in the market place.

REFERENCES

[1] Statistical Institute of Jamaicahttp://statinja.gov.jm/

[2] The Jamaica Telecommunication Policy (2007) http://www.mmt.gov.jm/PDF%20Files/MMT/Draft%20Telecoms%20Policy%20%28MMT%29%20-%20May%202007.pdf

[3] Jamaica - Telecoms , Mobile and Broad-band Report 2011

http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/8a9f8f/jamaica_telecoms

[4] Jamaica: The Benefits of Mobile Competi-tion

http://www.ictregulationtoolkit.org/en/PracticeNote.aspx?id=1896

[5] Internet World Stats

http://www.internetworldstats.com/car/jm.htm

[6] CIA Fact Book

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/jm.html

[7] F. A. Brown, Telecommunication Liberalization in Jamaica

http://bookstore.teriin.org/docs/journals/IJRG-Dec-02-Paper2.pdf

[8] The Telecommunications Act (Jamaica)

http://www.our.org.jm/images/stories/content/Telecommunications/Legislation/Act/Telecommunications%20Act2.pdf

[9] Licensing of Telecommunication Services

http://www.our.org.jm/images/stories/content/Telecommunications/Licencing/ApplicationProcess/Licencing%20of

%20Telecommunications%20Services%20-%20May%2027,%202001.pdf

[10] H.G. Hamilton, Measuring household ICT and individual use: Jamaica’s experience

http://unstats.un.org/unsd/economic_stat/ICT-Korea/Documents/Hamilton_Jamaica.pdf

[11] H. Dunn, The Caribbean ICT Indicators and Broadband Survey

APPENDIX A

TYPES OF SPECTRUM LICENSES

Land Mobile

License Application Category: Private Radio Validity Period: 1 Year Processing Fee: Range J$2,500.00 - J$22,500.00 Spectrum Fee: Based primarily on fee schedule as established by the Radio and Telegraph Control Act. Regulatory Fee: 35% of License Fee

REQUIREMENTS:

For companies only

For incorporation which took effect prior to February 2004:

o Certificate of Incorporation or Cer-tificate of Registration

o Memorandum of Association o Articles of Association

For incorporation which took effect subse-quent to February 2004:

o Certificate of Incorporation or Cer-tificate of Registration

o Articles of Incorporation A letter stating the nature of business of the

applicant and the specific purpose(s) for which the system is required. This should in-clude approximate workforce to be em-ployed, etc.

A letter from the applicant’s technical repre-sentative accepting responsibility for the planning and maintenance of the station

A schematic/network diagram of the system (if applicable)

Technical proposal outlining the operational characteristics of system (if applicable).

System information to include but not lim-ited to network data, equipment type and model, equipment specification, area of spectrum interest, amount of spectrum re-quired, and maximum system data rate

The application form (duly completed) SMA Applicant Vetting/Address verification

form (duly completed) Required processing fee (based on the num-

ber of points of presence). Upon grant of license, the following fees are

payable upon demand: o Spectrum License Feeo Regulatory Fee

For Individuals only

The application form (duly completed); The SMA Applicant Vetting/Address Verifi-

cation Form (duly completed) Schedule of application for Spectrum Li-

cense to indicate the number of points of presence

Required processing fee (based on the num-ber of points of presence);

Upon grant of license, the following fees are payable upon demand:

o Spectrum License Fee o Regulatory Fee

Wireless Broadband

License Application Category: Private Radio Validity Period: 1 Year Processing Fee: J$70,000.00 Spectrum Fee: Based primarily on fee structure as established by the Radio and Telegraph Control Act Regulatory Fee: 70% of Spectrum License Fee

All Applicants for a Wireless Broadband Spectrum License are required to provide the information re-quested herein. Please respond to each item of re-quest and where not applicable, this should be clearly stated. An authorized officer of the Company must certify (sign and affix the company’s seal) the accu-racy and veracity of the information provided.

Requirements:

1. Company data o Copy of relevant documents of in-

corporation, viz:o For incorporation which took effect

prior to February 2004: Certificate of Incorpora-

tion Memorandum of Associa-

tion Articles of Association

o For incorporation which took effect subsequent to February 2004:

Certification of Incorpora-tion

Articles of Incorporationo Other particulars of applicant, in-

cluding -

1. address of company’s reg-istered office,

2. name of principal appli-cant (must be a Director of the Company) and contact details including telephone & fax numbers as well as e-mail address,

3. name of company’s tech-nical officer and contact details including telephone and fax numbers as well as e-mail address;

A detailed list of the shareholders inclusive of the absolute and per-centage value of shareholdings and organizational chart showing the relationship between the sharehold-ers and any affiliate company, that is, any company for which the prin-cipal shareholders of the Applicant are majority shareholders. A detailed list of all current and former Directors of the Company, including dates and positions. Certificate of Good Standing from the Companies Office of JamaicaCompleted Declaration of Appli-cant FormApplication Processing FeeUpon grant of license, the follow-ing fees are payable upon demand:

Spectrum License Fee Regulatory Fees

Legal and regulatory• Copies of the relevant applications or licenses issued pursuant to the Telecommunications Act, 2000 pertain-ing to the provision of mobile services in Ja-maica that is, Domestic Carrier and Domes-tic Service Provider License. • List of all telecommunications licenses, permits or au-thorizations issued to the company or its as-sociated companies stating clearly the re-spective jurisdiction for each and the valid-ity period of the license or authorization. • List of all applications pending for telecom-munications licenses, permits or authoriza-tions made by the company or its associated companies, indicating the respective juris-diction for each • Details of all suits, actions or administrative proceedings past or present to which the company or its associated com-panies have been implicated.

Commercial data

License Application Category: Private Radio Validity Period: 1 Year Processing Fee: Range J$2,500.00 - J$22,500.00 Spectrum Fee: Based primarily on fee schedule as established by the Radio and Telegraph Control Act Regulatory Fee: 70% of License Fee

For companies only

Copy of relevant documents of incorpora-tion, viz:

For incorporation which took effect prior to February 2004:

o Certificate of Incorporation or Cer-tificate of Registration

o Memorandum of Association o Articles of Association

For incorporation which took effect subse-quent to February 2004:

o Certificate of Incorporation or Cer-tificate of Registration

o Articles of Incorporation A letter stating the nature of business of the

applicant and the specific purpose(s) for which the system is required. This should in-clude approximate workforce to be em-ployed, etc.

A letter from the applicant’s technical repre-sentative accepting responsibility for the planning and maintenance of the station

A schematic/network diagram of the system (if applicable)

Technical proposal outlining the operational characteristics of system (if applicable).

System information to include but not lim-ited to network data, equipment type and model, equipment specification, area of

spectrum interest, amount of spectrum re-quired, and maximum system data rate

The application form (duly completed) SMA Applicant Vetting/Address verification

form (duly completed) Required processing fee (based on the num-

ber of point of presence). Upon grant of license, the following fees are

payable on demand: o Spectrum License Feeo Regulatory Fee

For individuals only

The application form (duly completed);

The SMA Applicant Vetting/Address Verifi-cation Form (duly completed)

Schedule of application for Spectrum Li-cense to indicate the number of points of presence

Required processing fee (based on the num-ber of point of presence);

Upon grant of license, the following fees are payable on demand:

o Spectrum License Fee o Regulatory Fee

VSAT (Regular)

License Application Category: Earth Station Validity Period: 1 Year Processing Fee: J$25,000 Spectrum Fee: $500,000 for VSAT / $1,000,000 for Earth Station Regulatory Fee: 70% of Spectrum License Fee

The completed application form; SMA Applicant Vetting/Address verification

form (duly completed) A letter stating the nature of business of the

applicant and the specific purpose(s) for which the Earth Station/VSAT is required;

For incorporation which took effect prior to February 2004:

o Certificate of Incorporation or Cer-tificate of Registration

o Memorandum of Association o Articles of Association

For incorporation which took effect subse-quent to February 2004:

o Certificate of Incorporation or Cer-tificate of Registration

o Articles of Incorporation A letter from the Satellite Company indicat-

ing its intent to enter into an agreement with the Applicant, the assigned frequencies, and the station to be communicated with, in re-spect of proposed service;

A copy of the manufacturer’s technical spec-ification for the transmitter, receiver and an-tenna;

A letter from the applicant’s technical repre-sentative accepting responsibility for the planning and maintenance of the station;

A copy of the Company’s Domestic Carrier License, International (Voice/Data) Carrier License and International (Voice/Domestic) Service Provider License (issued by the OUR)

Processing Fee Upon grant of license, the following fees are

payable on demand: o Spectrum License Fee o Regulatory Fee

VSAT (short term)

License Application Category: Earth Station Validity Period: 3 months Processing Fee: J$5,000.00 Spectrum Fee: J$65,000.00 or US$1,050.00 Regulatory Fee: J$11,375.00 or US$183.75

Requirements:

SMA Applicant Vetting/Address verification form (duly completed) A letter stating the nature of business of the appli-cant and the specific purpose(s) for which the Earth Station/VSAT is required; For incorporation which took effect prior to Feb-ruary 2004:

Certificate of Incorporation or Certificate of Registration

Memorandum of Association Articles of Association

For incorporation which took effect subsequent to February 2004:

Certificate of Incorporation or Certificate of Registration

Articles of Incorporation

A letter from the Satellite Company indicating its intent to enter into an agreement with the applicant, the assigned frequencies, and the station to be com-municated with, in respect of proposed service; A copy of the manufacturer’s technical specifica-tion for the transmitter, receiver and antenna; A letter from the applicant’s technical representa-tive accepting responsibility for the planning and maintenance of the station; Processing Fee;

Upon grant of license, the following fees are payable upon demand:

Spectrum License Fee Regulatory Fee

Maritime Mobile

License Application Category:

Other

Validity Period:

3 months / 1 Year / 4 Years

Processing Fee:

J$2,000.00

Spectrum Fee:

Based primarily on fee schedule as established by the Radio and Telegraph Control Act

Regulatory Fee:

35% of Spectrum License Fee

Maritime Mobile has various categories, fees of which are broken down as shown below the require-ments.

Requirements:

For Companies Only:

Maritime Authority of Jamaica Registration Comprising:

o A copy of Declaration of Ownership for Vessels

o The completed application formo A Copy of Ship Station License

For Individuals Only:

Application form duly completed

Completed radio station technical charac-teristics

Copy of provisional license from the rele-vant licensing Authority, where applicable

Copy of Identification card

The fees quoted below are applicable to companies and individuals.

Processing fee must be submitted with ap-plication;

Upon grant of license, the spectrum license and regulatory fees are payable on demand:

For Domestic Ships (owned and operated within Jamaican seas) the fees are detailed below:

o For a private ship station (ships be-low 10 gross tons) - $2,000.00 per annum

o 10 gross tons and over but not ex-ceeding 300 gross tons - $10,000.00 per annum

o over 300 gross tons but below 1,600 gross tons - $30,000.00 per annum

o 1,600 gross tons and over - $50,000.00 per annum

For International Ships carrying the Jamaican Flag, the fees are:

o Spectrum License fee of US$280.00 for a period of 4 years

o Spectrum License fee of US$70.00 for a period of 3 months

Regulatory Fee for Domestic Ships is charged at a rate of 35% on Spectrum License fee.