The liberalization of telecommunications in Jamaica has far reaching effects. Liberalization removed the monopoly of Cable and Wireless on the Jamaican telecoms industry. According to Golding (2012),
"Prior to 1999 the Jamaican telecommunications sector was dominated by Cable and Wireless Jamaica, (C&WJ) …[because] in 1988 the company was granted five exclusive licenses each for 25 years, which would be valid until 2013, with options for extensions for a further 25 years. The licenses made C&WJ the sole provider of the island’s domestic and international telephone service and guaranteed an after-tax rate of return of 17.5% - 20%. The Minister responsible for telecommunications had the authority to establish minimum standards of service quality… C&WJ basically regulated itself with limited government supervision. The Jamaican Government (GoJ) in an effort to develop a competitive and vibrant telecommunications industry and to move Jamaica towards knowledge-based connected society, embarked on an effort to liberalize the telecommunications industry. This led to the phased liberalization of the sector in September 1999."
There is a tendency to discuss positives that liberalization have caused without linking those changes to societal issues that came about with improved telecoms access. Certainly, liberalization has changed the way that Jamaicans communicate, do business and access communication. It is responsible for the growth that is evident in the entertainment business, the way people access educational opportunities and a slew of other developments such as the regularization of the cable television industry and mobile communication industries.
It is true, that liberalization of this sector has resulted in important economical, social and educational changes. However, it is also the catalyst for the uncontrollable rise in cybercrimes. Liberalization although positive for the most part occurred in a society that was ill-prepared to police the societal ills that came with it. I speak of deviant and dishonest practices that have impacted the Jamaican society in many ways, i.e. the grow in the pornography and child pornography sector; web-supported white collar crimes; wide scale hacking; computer and telephone scamming; sexting, cyber stalking, voyeurism, increased petty crimes, such as the stealing of cell phones, tablet computers, to name a few. The Jamaican society was made ready to extract the improvements in lifestyle, but the common man was not prepared to defend himselves against the potential victimization that came with liberalization of the telecoms industry.
This forum provides a platform through which we can examine the opportunities and identify the threats of liberalization.
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