KINGSTON, Jamaica — Within the next few months, the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) will have the capacity to independently verify the quality of telecommunications services being provided to the public.

Minister of Energy, Transport and Telecommunications, Daryl Vaz, said that the entity is in the final stages of procuring equipment “which will allow them to independently verify and impose the sanctions that are in the Act”.

He made the disclosure during a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Ministerial Update with Chief Executive Officer, Giovanni Dennis, at the PCJ Building in Kingston on Thursday.

The development comes amid persistent complaints about mobile phone service, including dropped calls and calls being diverted directly to voicemail.

“There is a minimum quality of service level that has been established. I think the issue has been that the OUR has not had a way to independently verify the metrics,” he noted.

Vaz said that the service challenges predate the passage of Hurricane Melissa in October 2025.

“Melissa has made it worse, but what I can say is that the reports that I have from both Digicel and Flow is that by July of this year, they should be fully complete in the restoration from Melissa, with the alignment of the antennas and all the different things that they have had to do,” he pointed out.

He noted, however, that restoration efforts alone will not solve all of the sector’s problems.

“I do believe that the equipment and the ability of the OUR to verify independently, and with their own equipment, the quality of service, will go a far way,” he said.

Vaz also signalled broader changes ahead, including a review of the OUR’s structure, legislation and enforcement powers.

He pointed to the importance of increased competition in the market, noting that Jamaica currently has two dominant telecommunications providers while a third licensee has yet to fully roll out its services.

“I’m hoping that by later on this year, they will be in a position to do so. I do believe that competition will play a critical role in getting better quality service by telecoms,” Vaz said.

— JIS