The TCI Telecommunications Commission has awarded the two available licences on the 700 MegaHertz spectrum to Digicel and Islandcom.
The Commission says that due to its technical characteristics, the 700 MegaHertz spectrum is ideally suited for the deployment of mobile broadband services providing people in this country with services unparalleled in much of the Caribbean. Here’s Phadrian Astwood with more on this.
What does this mean for the consumer? Well, the TCI will be one of the first countries in the Caribbean to benefit from 4G LTE-based mobile broadband services. A key objective of the Commission’s licence award has been to achieve the fastest possible deployment of the latest generation of mobile broadband technology throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands. In return for its licence, Digicel has agreed to improve on minimum deployment requirements so that at least 75% of the population will have access to 4G LTE services within 18 months and 98% within 30 months. In addition, Digicel has committed to providing several additional public benefits, including free 4G LTE-based Internet connectivity to all public/Government primary and secondary schools and community colleges. On top of this, a subsidized 4G LTE device and data bundle will be on hand for students and teachers and there will be one Digital Classroom with equipment and training for every public school – and one per each campus of the community college. With this latest generation of broadband services, consumers and businesses will have access to significantly higher data transmission speeds – compared to currently deployed mobile wireless technologies. There will be a more consistent quality of service and a far richer mobile multimedia experience. These blocks are considered as “prime” spectrum because 4G LTE mobile devices are currently available on the market which can deploy them. This is Phadrian Astwood for RTC News.
The Commission’s Prime 700 MHz Spectrum Assignment completes a comprehensive public consultation process that started in 2011 and was the first time the Commission has conducted a comparative selection process to assign spectrum. There was excess demand for the available prime 700 MHz spectrum blocks under consideration.
