Cayman is regional leader in 5G network availability

At the Caribbean Spectrum Management Conference held in Jamaica earlier this year, the Cayman Islands was singled out as being ahead of the curve in the region when it comes to wireless broadband connectivity. Both Flow and Digicel launched 5G services in June.

Speaking at the conference, Richard Marsden, Senior Managing Director at NERA Economic Consulting, emphasised the need for available spectrum bandwidth to be made available to operators, “When you look at the Caribbean countries in terms of the amount of spectrum they have released for mobile, it varies a lot. The Cayman Islands is unusual in the region in that they have got the spectrum out.

“The operators in the Cayman Islands already have the spectrum they need to deploy the latest 5G technology, including deployment of high capacity, high-speed networks using larger blocks of spectrum allocated in the 2300, 2500 and 3500 MHz frequency bands.”

According to the Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg), this means that mobile operators in the Cayman Islands have been furnished with the necessary ‘raw material’ from which to build state-of-the-art connectivity solutions. “It is now down to operators to invest in the infrastructure that will provide the next generation wireless services for both consumers and businesses, which will enable applications such as virtual reality, 3D streaming and calling, and remote education and healthcare.”

OfReg Acting CEO Sonji Myles said that planning and preparation were key for ensuring the potential for the opportunities that 5G presents. “The Cayman Islands is one of the first countries in the entire region to bring 5G network services online for consumers and businesses and, quite rightly, they would expect us to have done the necessary planning and preparation to ensure it is fit for purpose.”

He explained, “A completely new cellular technology network is not something you just install new equipment for and switch on. It requires careful planning and management of our available radio spectrum before any of that happens.

“As the industry’s regulator, it is OfReg’s role to open up that bandwidth and allocate it effectively to ensure our operators’ and licensees’ networks have the capacity to provide the innovative new opportunities that 5G presents. We are working to monitor and evaluate safe operation, 5G connectivity performance and licensees compliance with their obligations under the terms of their licenses.”