January 2017 | Business View Caribbean

98 99 CONTACT TCI Asia tci.smsregion1@spx.com Americas tci.smsregion2@spx.com Europe, Middle East, French-speaking Africa tci.smsregion3@spx.com English-speaking Africa tci.smsregion4@spx.com 3541 Gateway Blvd. Fremont, CA 94538 USA +1 510.687.6100 TCI HEADQUARTERS Jamaica’s Spectrum Management Authority Builds on 10-year Partnership to Manage the Airwaves The radio-frequency spectrum is a national resource essential to the broadcasting and wireless communications on which modern societies depend. Monitoring this spectrum for sources of interference and unauthorized signals, and managing the operations of authorized users, has become an important mission for countries at all stages of development. In 2006, Jamaica’s SpectrumManagement Authority (SMA) invested in technology from TCI International, Inc. to establish the country’s first national spectrummonitoring network. The Silicon Valley–based supplier of proprietary hardware and software provided SMA with a suite of automated systems, including both stationary and mobile units, designed to look for and identify signals of interest, and locate their geographical sources. This capability improves SMA’s ability to detect and eliminate sources of interference that degrade radio, television and communications signals, including vital frequencies used for aviation, maritime operations and emergency services. Jamaica supplemented these systems in 2012 and again in 2015 with additional monitoring stations from TCI, as well as upgrades that introduced enhanced methods of pinpointing the spots from which unauthorized signals originate. Supported by a TCI service contract for preventative and corrective maintenance, SMA believes its relationship with the company over the past decade has proven to be a durable one. According to Henry Batson, Director of SMA’s Spectrum Engineering Division, “Our partnership with TCI over the last ten years has allowed the SMA to significantly improve its spectrum management capabilities. This is a major factor in positioning Jamaica’s telecommunication infrastructure to deliver world-class services to its citizens and investors.” Through their ongoing relationship with TCI, Jamaica’s spectrum management specialists have taken advantage of in-depth training and support opportunities offered by the company. An annual seminar at TCI headquar- ters in the San Francisco Bay area provides practical knowledge and technical insights on topics ranging from analyzing and tracking down spurious radio signals, to complying with radio regulations and licensing autho- rized broadcasters and wireless operators. Technical Training Seminars at the TCI factory also provide in-depth discussions, hands-on experience with the company’s technology and best practices for using its products. Jamaica selected TCI based on the company’s worldwide reputation for leading-edge technology, maintenance and technical support, as well as its service to customers in more than 100 countries. For the past decade, those capabilities have been helping to manage and develop Jamaica’s growing communications infrastructure — fulfilling a commitment to make state-of-the-art communications a reality throughout the nation. SMS AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS HF/MF Antenna Products tci.antennaproducts@spx.com COMINT Systems tci.comint@spx.com The SpectrumManagement Authority of Jamaica most 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 co-ordinated 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. Dr. David McBean is SMA’s Managing Direc- tor. The following is an edited transcript of a recent conversation between Dr. McBean and Business View Magazine. BVM: What are the main functions of the SMA? McBean: “We do several things. We license and we authorize certain categories of users to use the spectrum. For example, for the broad- cast services (TV & Radio stations), we issue authorizations for frequency use; for some other services licenses are issued– services range from amateur radio to television, mobile, maritime, aeronautical, and satellite services. “We also are guided by the deliberations of bodies like the International Telecommunica- tions Union, the Caribbean Telecommunications