Mr. Sonji Myles, Interim CEO, OfReg

5G, the latest mobile technology, is now available in the Cayman Islands and the Cayman Islands has been identified as being a regional leader in the assignment of its radio spectrum, enabling the technology to work. This newest generation of cellular networks bring greater speed, capacity and functionality, enabling users to do more things even faster using their mobile devices.

Properly planning and preparing the country’s communications infrastructure for 5G in advance was critical to its successful rollout according to utilities regulator, OfReg. This meant making sure that sufficient bandwidth on Cayman’s radio spectrum was made available to licensees and operators to enable the potential and opportunities that newer and faster mobile services present to consumers, businesses and public services.

Radio spectrum comprises the airwaves needed for devices of any kind to connect wirelessly and is a valuable national resource. At the recent Caribbean Spectrum Management Conference held in Jamaica earlier this year, industry leaders highlighted the importance of wireless broadband connectivity across the region and the huge opportunities it presents. The Cayman Islands was also singled out as being ahead of the curve in the region in this respect.

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.”

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, Mr Sonji Myles, explained that planning and preparation was 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.

“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.”