Patrick Terrelonge

Jamaica's attempt at accelerating internet usage could be thwarted unless the appropriate rate structure was put in place, Patrick Terrelonge, the chief executive officer of InfoChannel, has warned.

Terrelonge, speaking against the background of the 65 per cent hike in local telephone calls from November 1, urged the authorities to consider either a flat rate "or another suitable system" to avoid negative impact of the increase on internet access.

"As local telephone calls become more expensive, internet use will also become more expensive and this will lead to fewer people having access to the facility which obviously contradicts national policy," said Terrelonge.

InfoChannel is Jamaica's second largest internet service provider after Cable & Wireless Jamaica (C&W). The company has been a long-time advocate for the dismantling of C&W's monopoly of the telecommunications industry, and has been in litigation over the issue.

In his statement on Monday, Terrelonge pointed to the USA where he said more than 55 per cent of all domestic traffic was now internet related. "This is being possible because of the existence of a flat rate instead of the more expensive usage sensitive billing system which was introduced in Jamaica a few years ago," he said.

As part of the rebalancing of its revenue structure, Cable & Wireless will on November 1 reduce its international call rates by an average of 25 per cent -- the company having introduced a flat rate of $18 per minute to all international destinations. But the company also jacked up the rates on local calls.

Some internet users are charged a fee based on the rate for local calls and would therefore be directly affected by the increase by C&W.

Terrelonge, who was this year nominated as a Business Observer Business Leader, suggested that the regulators "could introduce a system in which calls to internet service providers are not chargeable or attract only a flat rate which the provider pays". An alternative, he said, was for the telephone rates to internet users to be lower.

"With full deregulation virtually accomplished and Jamaica-firmly established on the information super highway, it would now be counter -productive to put internet service out of the reach of all those who would wish to have access to it."

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