A new telecommunications outfit owned by the former head of Scotiabank Jamaica, Bruce Bowen, and his wife Suzanne Fernando-Bowen, is finalising plans to enter the Jamaican market, though the full scope of the business is yet to be disclosed.

Amid the groundwork being undertaken by the company formed in April 2019, Rock Mobile Limited is already making a pitch to regulators regarding the equitable distribution of spectrum so that new market entrants can have a fighting chance against the big telecoms providers.

The market is dominated by Digicel Jamaica and Flow Jamaica, large carriers that are assigned chunks of radio frequency, or spectrum, to operate. But Rock Mobile wants a more fluid use of the spectrum to move from a cap system to a ‘screen’ that would allocate spectrum on a needs basis.

Rock thinks the screen will help the Spectrum Management Authority, SMA, maintain a competitive landscape for new entrants. Rock Mobile, whose presence was unknown prior to its weighing in on the SMA’s proposed rewriting of spectrum allocation policy, spoke on market issues generally, without any specific reference to its own operations and needs.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20210129/bruce-bowen-prepping-rock-mobile-market-entry