ICT Policy- September 2009

5. COMPETITION

Competition attracts investment, facilitates innovation and benefits consumers. Provision must therefore be made to promote competition and diversity through appropriate legislation on mergers and acquisitions.
Under the current arrangement sector-specific ex-ante regulation is treated in the Telecommunications Act and coexists with ex-post enforcement of general competition law. Moving forward, the ex-post approach is expected to be the dominant means by which competition is regulated. In the short to medium term however, provision has to be made for ex-ante regulation to deal with issues such as call termination, interconnection, and to safeguard against (inter alia) the misuse of shared information.

5.1 Policy Element - Competition Regulation

a. Policy Issue
(i) The fair competition legislation does not make provision for the regulation of mergers and acquisitions. However, it is necessary to prevent the concentration of market power that can result in the manipulation of prices or stifling competition.
(ii) The existing regulatory arrangements do not clearly delineate the responsibilities of the Competition Regulator and ICT sector regulator(s). As a consequence there is uncertainty in the ICT sector as to the authority responsible for resolving critical competition issues.

b. Policy Objective
To advance Jamaica's vision of regional leadership in ICTs by enabling multiple and diverse platforms for connectivity and providing an adequate and efficient regulatory regime to resolve competition issues in the ICT sector, having particular regard to the dynamic and peculiar nature of the services, the need for speedy and equitable resolution of issues and to promote competition without duplicating specialist resources.

c. Policy Statements
(i) Legislative provision will be made for Sector specific definitions and clearly signal the intention to promote competition in ICTs.
(ii) Provision will be made for the Sector Regulator to have jurisdiction for:
- Non-access anti-competitive issues inclusive of matters pertaining to change of ownership and control, and ex-ante competitive safeguards;
- Discriminatory access to inputs, including essential facilities networks; and
- Interconnection.
The Competition Regulator however will retain jurisdiction for other matters which affect competition in the ICT sector.
(iii) There will be legislative provisions to empower the Regulator to intervene where there is discriminatory conduct on the part of the carriers and service providers.
(iv) The new legislation will make provision for licensing ‘terms and conditions' for discontinuance of specified services between parties.
(v) Access obligations will be grounded in the ‘equality of access' principle.

5.2 Policy Element - Number Administration

a. Policy Issue
Telephone numbers constitute a finite national resource which must be administered in the public interest. There is the need to expand the authority of the Regulator to effectively manage this resource.

b. Policy Objective
The optimal allocation and management of telephone numbers and codes to all existing and new service providers and to allow for the application of new numbering schemes as deemed suitable.

c. Policy Statements
(i) The Regulator will, consistent with international best practices, have responsibility for:
- Managing a numbering system to meet current and future demands for telephone numbers and codes;
- The allocation of numbers and codes on an equitable and commercially reasonable basis;
- Cost effective management of the numbering plan;
- Developing and promulgating standards for the utilization of numbering; and
- Ongoing interaction with the appropriate international bodies engaged in telephony management and switching to ensure that local numbering plans are known to the international telecommunications sector.
(ii) The legislation will make provision for an efficient method of administering the numbering system, inclusive of:
- The recall and reallocation of number resources to promote efficient management of the numbering system, as required;
- Number portability; and
- New numbering options.
(iii) Provision will be made for recovery of administrative costs.

5.3 Policy Element - .jm ccTLD Domain Administration

a. Policy Issue
The .jm ccTLD (country code Top Level Domain) is an integral component of the ICT infrastructure. It must be developed taking account of the need for adequate security measures and management protocols in order to usher in a new wave of innovative technologies and products to increase economic development and further encourage an open competitive environment.

b. Policy Objective
The Government will facilitate management of the ccTLD registry to ensure that this economic resource reaps the maximum benefits for all Jamaicans.

c. Policy Statements
The Government will make provision for:
(i) Administrative and technical management of ccTLD;
(ii) Policies and procedures for the registration of the ccTLD Domain Name;
(iii) The .jm ccTLD to be administered by an entity with the requisite capacity;
(iv) Promotion of the .jm ccTLD as a unique branding opportunity for Jamaican entities and individuals;
(v) Automated and shared registration systems to allow registrars and designated entities to register .jm names and facilitate local and global distribution of registrations; and
(vi) Development of a Dispute Resolution Policy to resolve cyber squatting.