OfReg issues draft licensing regime for satellite comms
(CNS): The Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg) has published a consultation paper outlining its draft determination on a licensing framework for satellite-based telecommunications services here in the Cayman Islands. These services, including Starlink, are currently banned. The draft regime emerged out of a stakeholder consultation last year and the feedback received, OfReg said in a release.
Part of its aim is to foster innovation, improve connectivity and strengthen resilience across the sector, as these communication services are likely to become important tools for future resilience.
OfReg began looking at satellite services after it was contacted by parties expressing interest in the regulator permitting the licensing and use of satellite-based telecommunications. Those parties included international satellite service operators, global satellite operator associations, local businesses, the general public, ICT licensees and CI Government entities.
The paper proposes a new licence class for Satellite Service Providers (SSPs); a refined spectrum fee structure and application process; clarification on the regulatory treatment of Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs), revised definitions for service categories to ensure clarity and service neutrality; policy considerations on the application of directives regarding local traffic routing; and policy considerations on innovation, consumer protection/demand and disaster resilience.
OfReg Interim CEO Sonji Myles said the document reflects the careful consideration of stakeholder input and the evolving needs and demands of the people and industries of the Cayman Islands.
“The proposed framework is a critical step towards enabling fair and efficient licensing of satellite services,” he stated in a release about the open public consultation on this draft regime. “It strikes a balance between promoting innovation, safeguarding competition and maintaining robust regulatory oversight in the public interest.
“As we strengthen our communications infrastructure, particularly in light of natural disaster risks, satellite-based connectivity will become a complement to current service offerings and an essential tool in our national resilience toolbox,” Myles added.
The consultation period is open until 2 May. The public is encouraged to read the full document here and provide feedback to consultations@ofreg.ky
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Category: Business, ICT, Politics, Private Sector Oversight
Here’s a thought OfReg – just get the f*** out of the way.
Your proposed licensing regime will add nothing but cost, and no consumer benefit whatsoever.
Just wait. You will have to be licenced to sell Starlink dishes, or you will be forced to buy bandwidth from an intermediary rather than Starlink direct. And those intermediaries will either be the existing cable companies or someone carefully selected by CIG 😉 All because Ofreg will say they need to control its use.
So is Netflix banned, Disney Plus? Streaming services are all able to be used over the internet instead of local TV. what’s the difference? The local Internet is crap here. They should just allow the service for the betterment of the people.
Rubbish. Internet is so much better in Cayman vs the US. Try going to rural US and try to work. Cayman is so much better. So I call rubbish unless you prove me wrong with examples. Cayman is miles ahead, albeit, yes more pricey; but QOS is miles ahead of the rubbish out there. Where else in the world will you actually get an engineer who cares about your quality of experience.
Hey offreg. Get out of the way and stay out of the way. Let’s save a ton of money and disband this group of useless bureaucrats.
They don’t like Elon Musk.
History has proven time and time again that nobody should like that opportunistic Nazi. Unfortunately, many like-minded shitstains still support him. What can ya do though?
Not much, thanks.
I would switch in a heartbeat. I rarely hit speeds any of the providers sell to you because it is always ‘up to’. In reality you can only hit those speeds at 3 am and when no one else is online! Also unlimited does not mean unlimited but they have been using that term forever. Once you hit a GB limit buried in the small print, the ‘fair use policy’ kicks in and your IP is throttled down. Easy to hit the limit with a family of five on the same IP address.
Which provider? I haven’t ran into any throttling on Logic fibre.
I made a protest vote along with my Cayman family based on the stalling and blocking of Starlink. This sustained negativity is really blocking innovation and choice hiding behind bureaucracy that the public has to pay for. I am counting on this new government to stop the off reg crap. Turn Offreg off. Send them home and turn on Starlink for the deserving Caymanian public to make an adult choice.
That’s Internet, imagine if you could get electricity from the sky what they would do to block it. Oh wait… that would be solar energy
Protecting the people by limiting our options….
OfReg is clearly protecting businesses not the people!
Do you practice to be ignorant or does it come naturally? If you read the article and the linked paper they are clearly trying to enable satellite internet. What I found interesting was they were restricted by a Government directive … the more I learn about this entity and the laws and red tape they have to work with the more I understand why they don’t or batter yet can’t address certain things. If you read the offereg paper you will see the Director is being creative to get around bureaucracy.
OfReg is so out of touch on this. Hard to tell if it’s incompetence or on purpose. But the CEO citing ‘safeguarding competition’ pretty much confirms it. They are choosing to put private business interests ahead of the public good.
Starlink provides cheaper, better, more resilient access to the internet, which all Cayman citizens, residents, and visitors depend on. It even works in most storm scenarios.
CIG could set up a network of Starlinks across the country, power them with solar panels, and the entire country would be easily connected with renewable energy. This would benefit residents, businesses, tourists, cruise ship passengers, business travelers, literally everyone wins except the current utility companies that are running on outdated business models that only work when policy makers ban their competition. One undersea cable goes down and the entire country suffers the consequences. It’s 2025; we can do better than this.
Powered by solar. So access only during the daytime then?
Or are you just ignoring the additional components/costs?
You own a dish you pay Starlink for the bandwidth used. If its a government network who pays for that?
Boss what are you talking about? So you want them to regulate and not safeguard the community? You automatically applied “safeguard” to commercial entities and not the community. I want Starlink too but Ironically, Starlink is a commercial entity as well that will invest nothing locally and will hire zero residents locally… all money paid will not remain in jurisdiction… but the impact of these realities will likely not mean anything to most… nonetheless I challenge you to read the OfReg paper – I did and now I understand what they are up against and what they are trying to do. You say they are out of touch but the paper clearly shows that they are literally making steps to give us what we want all by using piss poor laws handed to them. I just wish that the keyboard warriors would seek to understand facts before they type. But I guess that’s asking too much… Damned if they do dammed if they don’t.
This SHOULD be a very short consultation. This requires zero infrastructure modifications/enhancements in Cayman (i.e., no digging up roads to install cables, no cell towers to be erected etc).
This simply adds another option for Cayman consumers. I don’t want to hear anything about “consumer protection” etc. A consumer can make their own assessment as to whether to buy a dish and sign up for a plan.
(I remember 25 years or so ago, when the then Cable & Wireless blocked websites offering voice-over-internet-protocol telephony, so we could continue to be charged $1 a minute to make a long distance call by C&W over landlines).
yawn…ofreg being ofreg and just creating more fees and red tape at the expense of the consumer.
thanks for nothing.
It almost like ofcom has been protecting the flow/logic cartel !
We have 2 fibers coming into cayman both are in a terrible state (go and have a look at the landing sites CNS) broken sheathing and the SMB one is almost totally broken.
We need Starlink as a proper backup solution.
Starlink is not currently banned in the Cayman Islands. The use of Starlink is restricted and requires a license but it is not banned. Terminals are being legally sold in the Cayman Islands.
Tell me how and where
If you perform a Google search you will find what you are looking for.
You say they but according to Starlink after 3 months of continuous activity in cayman they can shut you off. Starlink is not available with a cayman address, but MBE will ship,it in or cost u less have some for sale.
Ofcom want 6% fee off Starlink and so far they have not agreed that.
Iota a 2 month shut off for away from base use. Unless you get a global roam account in which case doesnt matter where you use it, provided the local regulatoro doesnt ban its use and give Starlink grief.