BOGUE, St James — A study is currently being done to determine the reason for the lack of 5G mobile network technology adaptation in Jamaica, according to the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR).

“We have not heard discussions of deployment of 5G in Jamaica and we haven’t had much deployment in the Caribbean,” OUR Deputy Director General, Telecommunications Evona Channer said in response to a journalist’s question during the media launch for the 20th Annual Conference of the Organisation of Caribbean Utility Regulators (OOCUR) at ATL Automotive Group (West) showroom at Bogue City Centre in Montego Bay, St James.

“We have embarked on a study to look at what may be the inhibitors, what are the challenges that may be preventing the deployment of 5G in Jamaica,” Channer added.

She said once available the findings will be released to the public.

5G is the fifth generation cellular network technology that uses higher frequency waves than current mobile networks which allow for lower-latency, higher-capacity and faster speeds. The 5G network is capable of providing speeds up to 100 times that of 4G LTE, with 5G peak download speed at 20 Gb/s (gigabits per second), or 20,480 Mb/s (megabits per second).

5G mobile networks should not be confused with 5G WiFi, often referred to as 5GHz WiFi. The WiFi technology is derived from the 5GHz radio frequency band it operates on, which offers faster speeds and less interference than the more common 2.4GHz band used by older WiFi routers.

Since 2019 several countries around the world have been deploying 5G networks despite security and health risk concerns. The radio frequency waves used by 5G networks travel shorter distances through urban spaces, hence the need for service providers to implement more transceiver masts positioned closer to ground level in comparison to current technology such as 2G, 3G and 4G LTE that are normally placed on high towers. Jamaica’s two mobile service providers, Flow and Digicel, no longer use 2G networks in Jamaica.

The high costs associated with obtaining a 5G-capable mobile device and the implementation of a 5G network appear to be factors hindering rollout in Jamaica.

In March, the Jamaica Observer quoted Stephen Price — the general manager of Cable and Wireless Jamaica, which trades in the consumer market as Flow Jamaica — as saying that while Flow has not yet launched 5G services in Jamaica, the company is preparing its network for eventual deployment. Price said Liberty Latin America has already deployed 5G in several regional markets, including the Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, and Costa Rica.

He also noted that the Jamaican market is exploring the deployment of 5G but is hesitant over concerns that not enough customers will be able to afford the devices the network caters to.

“Think about it: If you think about the 5G devices that are available in our market — they are the [Samsung] S24 and S25 and the iPhones — they are really on the high end, pricey side, and when you think about bringing these devices into the country you say to yourself, ‘I am going to pay the CIF cost, they are going to put the duties on top of that, then the Common External Tariff and then GCT.’ So you have all those increments that go into the price of a phone before it hits the market, so it makes it a very expensive proposition,” Price explained.

It was a similar sentiment shared with another media house by the head of group communications at Digicel Group Antonia Graham, in 2021.

During the Standing Finance Committee of Parliament’s review of the 2023/24 Estimates of Expenditure on March 2, minister of science, energy and technology Daryl Vaz noted that telecommunication providers have been reluctant to roll out 5G infrastructure.

“Speaking to the telecoms providers, they don’t seem to be in any haste or rush to roll out 5G, and they do claim that there is still so much more that they have to do in terms of 3G and 4G,” Vaz told the committee then.