Gov’t Looking at 700 Mhz Band for Analogue TV Broadcasting

The 700 MHz (megahertz) band, which is currently used for analogue television broadcasting, is now being considered for broadband wireless service.

This was disclosed by Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Phillip Paulwell on July 24, during his contribution to the 2012/13 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives.

He noted that this was particularly attractive because it tends to be more penetrative and propagates further.

"This will allow operators deploying mobile networks to reduce their costs since these bands will require fewer towers to cover wider geographical areas. The allocation of the 700 MHz band will therefore provide a more cost effective option for the deployment of 4G and Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks in Jamaica,” Mr. Paulwell said.

Four G (4G) has the capacity to deliver data rates of up to 100 Mbits/s (megabit) download, and up to 70 Mbits/s upload, and thereby enable video application on the downlink as well as uplink.

"This will allow video-sharing, surveillance, conferencing and streaming in higher definition than is possible with existing 3G technologies. We intend to allocate one licence for the 700 spectrum by auction, for which there will be a reserve price. We will also attach to that award a new international fibre optic cable licence,” Mr. Paulwell said.