The Spectrum Management Authority (SMA), the state agency charged with monitoring the island's spectrum, says that new cellular services provider, AT&T Wireless, will have enough spectrum to build out its network.

"There is enough spectrum available," Ernest Smith, managing director at SMA, told the Business Observer in an interview.

The rapid build-out of the other cell providers in Jamaica had forced SMA to assign more spectrum than initially intended, raising concerns that AT&T might not have had sufficient spectrum available to provide service.

AT&T, according to Smith, had to settle for inferior spectrum, which meant that it would have to build cell towers much closer together than the other carriers in order to generate continuous signal.

The authorities could not immediately say how much closer towers would have to be distanced.

AT&T Wireless secured its licence two weeks ago, having paid the Jamaican Government US$6 million to become the fourth cell provider in the island.

The government says it has no plans to offer another cellular phone licence at this time. But SMA said that enough spectrum was available for yet another cellular provider. New entrants would be segmented in the higher inferior bands.

"Even with the assignment of spectrum to the new player, AT&T Wireless, we still have provision for additional cell service if the policy of the government dictates," said Smith.

AT&T Wireless operates at 1900 megahertz. It shares space at 1900 megahertz with Cable & Wireless, which also operates at 800 megahertz. Digicel is 1800 and 900 megahertz and Oceanic Digital is 800 megahertz.

"Eight hundred and 900 megahertz can accommodate less players, but 1800 and 1900 megahertz can accommodate more," he said.

The SMA is also in the process of clustering radio stations, some of which are scattered at multiple positions on the FM dial. The agency wants to move each station to one location on the dial, "therefore increasing the amount of space available for new entrants".

Irie FM is in the process of being moved either to the 105 or 107 megahertz band. Fame FM was relocated from 92 megahertz to the 95 megahertz band. SMA is funded by an annual spectrum fee from the users of the spectrum.

Fiscal year 2004/5 target is J$68 million, about 13 per cent more than fiscal year 2003/4.

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