January 2017 | Business View Caribbean

102 103 frequency bands, but they have to tell us which portions of the bands they’re using on particu- lar towers. So, at all times, we retain authority over what’s being broadcast in a specific way. But, we manage that in collaboration with the users. For example, our major cell companies have in excess of a thousand towers. We don’t monitor every last one; we do random monitor- ing. You work together with your licensees. We also have a very sophisticated, state-of-the-art monitoring system, which consists of both fixed sites and two mobile vehicles that we can use for more targeted investigations.” BVM: Is there a proliferation of “pirates” in Ja- maica-unauthorized companies or people infring- ing upon others’ bandwidths or frequencies? McBean: “Not so much. That is one reason why we have the monitoring network. Maybe about a decade ago, it was a major problem. Also, when international calls were very expen- sive, there was an incentive for people to en- gage in call bypass and use satellite and other radio equipment to try and bring in internation- al calls, illegally. But we work closely with the security forces in terms of seizing equipment and bringing people before the courts because it’s a criminal offense.” BVM: Has anything of interest occurred re- cently within the SMA? McBean: “Yes, there are a couple of things. Let me start on the commercial side, first.We just licensed a new cellular operator – a local The SpectrumManagement Authority of Jamaica ber of frequencies, but in terms of ‘usable’ fre- quencies, there is a finite number.” BVM: Will you ever run out? McBean: “We may run out of space in partic- ular bands, depending on demand. A classic example is the FM band, which is pretty much full, because of the number of radio stations and because Jamaica is very hilly. So, we have to grant companies which are island-wide a range of frequencies to re-use to get full-pop- ulation coverage. So, there are certain bands where a limitation will exist, just because of the frequencies available. Sometimes, this will be fixed by advances in technology. At one point FM relieved congestion in the AM band; the next wave of radios will be digital radios, which will use less bandwidth.” BVM: Cellular telephone towers are owned by the companies, themselves. Do you control their use? McBean: “When cellular companies are awarded a license, they have use of specific