THE EDITOR, Sir:
I NOTE the continuing adverse political comments by sundry Opposition spokesmen, and cartoons that have been published in the media since I attended the recent Cable & Wireless (C&WJ) press conference.
For the record, I would like to state some facts. Firstly, the Ministry of Commerce, Science and Technology gives unbiased and timely support to all telecommunications operators in Jamaica. C&WJ's latest initiative of introducing a flat rate for calls on its domestic fixed line network represents a milestone achievement which this Ministry has long encouraged.
The impact of this move on the Internet Service Provider (ISP) industry in particular must be specifically highlighted, and the object of this response is to draw much needed attention to the fact that ISPs have long operated at a disadvantage, under a rate structure that made it impossible for them to provide islandwide dial-up Internet access at affordable prices.
At the request of the ISPs, I entered into dialogue with C&WJ in order to garner some relief for the ISP sector. In addition, and at the ministry's expense, an ISP market study was conducted in order to enable the Ministry to better understand the reasons for the poor performance of the ISP sector. The study revealed that high operating costs was a significant contributor, and that C&WJ's competitive advantage as the owner and operator of a national network was an important factor.
My support, therefore, was for an initiative that would provide a better operating environment for the ISPs, while allowing more Jamaicans to have affordable Internet access. That was the reason for my presence, rather than the appearance of giving comfort and support to C&WJ for a voice service price increase. I was not even aware of any price discussion, prior to the press conference.
I hope this clears up the widespread misunderstanding which has been evident on your pages over the last week or so.
I am, etc.,
PHILLIP PAULWELL
Minister of Commerce, Science & Technology
