Business View Caribbean - August/September 2018

86 87 The radio spectrum is a subset of the electro- magnetic waves lying between the frequencies from 9 kilohertz (kHz - thousands of cycles per second) to 30 gigahertz (GHz - billions of cycles per second). These support a wide range of business, personal, industrial, scientific, medi- cal research, and cultural activities, both pub- lic and private. Communications are foremost among those activities and, together with other radio services, are increasingly important to the country’s economic and social development. Efficient and effective spectrum management, therefore, is critical to spectrum allocation in a coordinated manner for the benefit of users at large without compromising national interests. Management of the spectrum is a combination of administrative and technical procedures with legal procedures necessary to ensure efficient operation of radio communication services. Therefore, the objectives of the SMA are to: l Ensure effective management of funding for operational and capital development ex- penses of the SMA; l Provide reasonable revenues to the Gov- THE SPECTRUMMANAGEMENT AUTHORITY OF JAMAICA ernment from the use of the spectrum; l Develop and retain the key skills and com- petencies required to meet the changing needs of the industry locally and internationally; l Promote an appropriate and effective poli- cy, legislative, and regulatory framework; l Develop and upgrade the SMA’s capital resources; l Improve public awareness; l Maintain operational efficiencies; and, l Lobby the relevant government ministries and agencies such as Ministry of Finance, Min- istry of Science, Energy and Technology, etc., to further the growth of the SMA and spectrum management practices. The core functions of the SMA are: l Planning the use of the spectrum and allo- cating frequencies in a way that will minimize interference; l Monitoring users of the radio spectrum to ensure compliance and minimize interference; l The collection of spectrum license fees which are remitted to the Government’s Con- solidated Fund; l Proactive monitoring of the spectrum to identify and eliminate cases of interference reported by spectrum users; l Providing advice to the Government both with respect to policy and legal issues concern- ing the spectrum;