January 2017 | Business View Caribbean

94 95 The SpectrumManagement Autho rity of Jamaica The S pectrum Mana gement A uthority of Jamaica A Conversationwi th Dr. David McBean T he Spectrum Management Authority (SMA) is the national regulator for the radio fre- quency spectrum in Jamaica as authorized under the Telecommunications Act of 2000. he radio frequency (RF) spectrum is a valuable natural resource which facilitates the use of wireless technology for the development of the ICT (Informa- tion and Communications Technology) sector and is an enabler of businesses in other sectors of the economy. The radio spectrum is a subset of the electromag- netic 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, industri- al, scientific, medical research, and cultural activities, both public and private. Communications are fore- Dr. Dav id McBean