Jamaica’s telecom sector remains propped up by the mobile sector, which accounts for 82% of internet connections as well as 88% of voice lines. It also accounts for the lion’s share of sector revenue. The merger between Digicel and Claro’s Jamaican business in 2012 strengthened Digicel’s position in the market. Both Digicel and its only rival, Flow (supported by its new owner Liberty Global), have extended their LTE networks across the island. Digicel during the year signed a sale and leaseback arrangement affecting a number of base stations, and launched its MyCash m-money service. The tower deal formed part of wider efforts to generate revenue as the Group seeks to cope with a debt pile which by early 2020 had reached some $6.8 billion. For its part, Liberty Global has taken complete control of its local unit, trading under the Flow Jamaica banner.
The regulator has endeavoured to develop the MVNO sector in a bid to improve competition. Although it had intended to licence up to 12 operators, only one licence was issued, to Symbiote Investments. This company launched Caricel Jamaica but at the end of 2018 the government revoked the company’s licenses, and in March 2020 several employees were charged with breaching terms of the Telecommunications Act.
This report contains overviews, analyses and statistics of the Jamaican fixed-line, mobile and broadband markets together with information on convergence issues and on the country’s fixed line incumbent and major mobile operators.
Key developments
Caricel employees charged with breaching Telecommunications Act;
ReadyNet trials satellite broadband services;
Digicel launches MyCash m-banking service;
Liberty Global extends ownership of C&W Jamaica;
Regulator consults on network sharing conditions for telcos;
Flow embarks on $150 million investment program in Jamaica, secures spectrum in the AWS band between 1710MHz and 2200MHz;
East-West cable between Jamaica, the British Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic augments capacity for data and telephony services;
IXP opened to improve domestic internet traffic flow and reduce costs;
Report update includes the regulator’s annual report for 2018/19, market updates to Q3 2019, operator data to Q4 2019, Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, recent market developments.
Companies mentioned in this report
Columbus Communications, Digicel, Cable & Wireless, Flow, LIME, Liberty Global
Table of Contents
Key Statistics
Regional Market Comparison
Caribbean Telecom Maturity Index
TMI versus GDP
Mobile and mobile broadband penetration
Fixed and mobile broadband penetration
Country overview
Telecommunications market
Market analysis
Regulatory environment
Regulatory authorities
Fixed-line developments
Number Portability (NP)
Quality of Service (QoS)
Infrastructure sharing
Termination rates
Mobile network developments
Licences
700MHz auction
1710MHz and 2200MHz
MTRs
Mobile market
Introduction
Mobile statistics
Mobile broadband
Mobile infrastructure
4G (LTE)
Major mobile operators
Digicel
Flow Jamaica
MVNOs
Mobile content and applications
M-banking
Fixed-line broadband market
Market analysis
Market analysis
Broadband statistics
Fixed-line broadband technologies
Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) networks
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks
Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks
Other fixed broadband services
Fixed network operators
Telecommunications infrastructure
Overview of the national telecom network
International infrastructure
Submarine cable networks
Smart infrastructure
Appendix – Historic data
Related reports
List of Tables
Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities - Jamaica – 2020 (e)
Table 2 – GDP developments - 2010 – 2020
Table 3 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration - 2010 – 2025
Table 4 – Change in the number of mobile prepaid and contract subscribers - 2010 – 2019
Table 5 – Decline in SMS traffic - 2015 – 2019
Table 6 – Development of mobile market revenue - 2014 – 2019
Table 7 – Development of mobile ARPU by service - 2013 – 2019
Table 8 – Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers - 2010 – 2025
Table 9 – Growth in the number of Flow Jamaica’s mobile subscribers – 2016 – 2019
Table 10 – Growth in the number of fixed-line broadband subscribers and penetration – 2010 – 2025
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