People should be able to choose and pay for the cable channels that they want to watch.

That’s sounds like the ideal cable landscape, but just ask the average Jamaican cable TV customer how many of the channels their cable service providers deliver including the programming they prefer to watch.

To make matters worse, the sliding dollar and a restrained economy have forced most Jamaicans to severely cut expenditure and focus instead on basics; probably forgetting that in this communications age, cable, like the cellular phone, is no longer considered a luxury, especially where young viewers are concerned.

And that is where young, smart chief executives like Jamaica’s Christopher Dehring comes in with his latest project, Digital Interactive Services Limited (DISL) — a privately owned Jamaican company with an islandwide special subscriber television licence issued by the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica.

Dehring had hoped to get his new project off and running in December. However, it is now projected to get going in the first quarter of 2017.

A highly respected and accomplished business professional, Dehring has a reputation for being a dynamic, commercial-oriented leader, as well as an experienced entrepreneur and business manager.

His CV starts with explaining his association with Jamaica’s first investment bank Dehring, Bunting and Golding (DBG) — as well as serving as Managing Director ofthe 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, Chief Marketing Executive of the West Indies Cricket Board, a manager at Citibank NA, and Chairman of LIME Caribbean/Cable & Wireless and the Caribbean Cement Company.

Now he looks set to add his earnest desire to create Jamaica’s first islandwide cable company, with focus on low costs and maximum satisfaction, to that enviable record of achievements.

DISL’s special licence allows it to use both wired and wireless technology to deliver multiple television channels to its customers across Jamaica. Its ReadyTV network is set to employ the very latest in digital technology to deliver over 200 entertainment, informational and educational channels for Jamaican viewers.

ReadyTV’s tagline, ‘TV when YOU ready’, defines the brand’s promise to its customers: to deliver convenient, reliable and affordable television and radio content to its subscribers. It is ‘cable’ television when and how customers want it, not the other way around.

Dehring, who also has a reputation for being a dynamic, commercial-oriented leader, as well as an experienced entrepreneur and business manager, pointed out that despite the number of cable operators — last check with the Broadcasting Commission shows that there are approximately 50 licences — there was still a significant number of Jamaicans who cannot afford cable facilities.

“At least a third of households don’t have cable services, while another third only have analog, the quality of which is still very basic. So, there is still a sizeable market for digital-quality cable service,” he insists.

So, characteristically, Dehring now plans to take on the challenge of introducing an islandwide service using state-of-the-art technology and making cable much more affordable for the average Jamaican. He is supported by fellow directors Orville “Shaggy” Burrell, David Cassanova, Magnus Johansson, and Gerard Borely.

“Technology is rapidly changing, and so what we are going to be introducing is really state-of-the-art technology that I think will leave people amazed at the quality of the service and the convenience of access which we will provide to revolutionise the way people access cable,” he told theJamaica Observer.

“For instance, there is pretty much a standard waiting time. You order cable from your cable service provider and you can wait for 7-10 days, sometimes longer, before you can get cable TV. What we are talking about is virtually instant access to services islandwide,” he noted.

In terms of programming, he explained that there will be some of the usual standard programming that Jamaicans have come to expect, as well as new content.

“We will try to introduce a new and a more innovative way of accessing programmes, that will make it more affordable in terms of the packaging. Some of the challenges we are facing is in terms of the standard way the packages are sold. It really leaves out any consumer who can’t afford it in that sort of monthly post-paid way. So we will be pricing the packages in a way that Jamaican cable consumers can appreciate,” he added.

“And we are aiming to be the first, true all-island cable service provider. That is our objective, and the first call for our services will be those people who do not have access to any form of cable,” he stated.

“People in the Corporate Area’s inner-city communities are a very important target market. These are people who deserve to have a good service available to them, in a form and at a price that matches their pocket. They will be our primary target, as well as the people who currently do not have access, because the service is not available in their areas,” Dehring noted.

“We are going to be launched by the first quarter of 2017. Obviously, we are going to have a trial period to iron out the kinks. But, by the first quarter of 2017, our service will be up and running,” he pointed out.

He says that the service will also have a national development focus as well, by providing the most basic form of information and education.

“And we believe that out of that a cottage industry can be developed. We certainly will be the largest platform in Jamaica and we will provide the coverage area, covering more households than any other cable service provider,” he boasted.

“We believe that we can be the platform that allows local content developers to showcase and generate income from their content. So we are going to be reaching out to content developers across Jamaica, to develop content and showcase local talent and earn revenue,” he said.