The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Bahamian businesses and consumers want their communications providers to first focus on improving the quality and reliability of existing services before exploring the introduction of 5G (fifth generation) technology.

The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA), in launching its public consultation to gauge the level of demand for, and interest in, 5G communications services, said initial feedback from private sector focus groups saw many participants "express concern with respect to the apparent failure" of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), Cable Bahamas and Aliv "to deliver high quality, reliable service" to meet their company's needs.

And, on the consumer front, while "80 percent or above" of 530 survey respondents pronounced themselves happy with the quality of their fixed and mobile services, those voicing dissatisfaction were unhappy about download speeds, Internet reliability and the scope of service coverage - especially in the Family Islands.

URCA, stating that demand for 5G services in The Bahamas is likely to be "limited" at present based on the initial feedback, pledged to focus on improving the availability of communications services - especially Internet connectivity - throughout The Bahamas as well as enhance its regulation and monitoring of service quality.

And BTC and Cable Bahamas/Aliv, in their submissions to the regulator, voiced concerns over whether a Bahamian 5G roll-out is "economically viable" at present given that the limited demand was unlikely to cover "the high capital costs" they will incur through investing in new and upgraded infrastructure.

The cost that Bahamian communications operators would face in introducing the latest communications technologies were not detailed in the URCA consultation. Increased traffic, growth in services and demand for improved affordability and user experience were all cited in its report as key drivers of 5G demand, with Ericsson, the communications equipment supplier, estimating that at least 50 percent of mobile data will be delivered via this technology by 2028.

With "access to reliable, affordable and high quality Internet connectivity becoming ever more important", especially in the knowledge-driven economy post-COVID, URCA held nine focus group meetings in late 2022 with 52 representatives from the private sector, key industries and wider society to better understand the level of interest in, and need for, 5G services.

While attendees felt 5G enhancements could be important for key sectors such as tourism, where Nassau Cruise Port is already considering developing a Wi-Fi zone featuring a 5G private network to cater to its annual 4m-plus cruise passengers, most placed more emphasis on improving existing communications service delivery.

"The general view is that the focus for now should be to improve the delivery of current services, both in terms of geographic availability and quality of service/experience. All participants in the focus groups agreed that priority should be given to extend the availability of reliable Internet services to remote areas and the Family Islands, as well as ensuring high quality of service across all islands," URCA said of the feedback.

"Generally, the participants indicated that existing electronic communications services, if optimised, are sufficient for most of their day-to-day operational needs as of now and in the near future. While many participants expressed intrigue into the potential of 5G and mentioned some speculative use cases, there were no clear or strong use cases emerging for 5G arising from the focus group meetings.

"URCA notes that many participants expressed concern with respect to the apparent failure of the three main operators in The Bahamas to deliver high quality, reliable service to meet the demands of their respective businesses and/ or mandates. Many of the participants also expressed a strong desire for improved customer service, increased affordability, increased transparency in customer communications, and more resilient service delivery by BTC and Cable Bahamas."

URCA added of the private sector's assessment: "Current (mobile and fixed) Internet connectivity services available are commonly considered sufficient to meet prevailing demand for Internet connectivity in The Bahamas if provided to an adequate quality of service and customer care standard......

"The participants expressed a strong desire for better service delivery nationwide, particularly in the Family Islands where network coverage gaps remain, and the need for (reliable and fast) connectivity is urgent. There is a relatively high degree of dissatisfaction with the current service level, in terms of reliability, quality of service, customer support or care and thus value for money.

"In this context, some participants claimed that the cost of Internet, especially for businesses, is too high in The Bahamas. This may, in part, be related to many of the participants purchasing connectivity from both BTC and Cable Bahamas as redundancy in the event of a loss of service."

Besides tourism, where 5G services may be needed to meet the demand from US visitors, other potential 'early adopters' were identified as security companies (artificial intelligence devices, cameras and CCTC); financial services (online payments); logistics (high speed delivery over mobile networks); and education.

"The industry groups raised questions around the affordability of 5G services if deployed in The Bahamas. In particular, given the expected investment needs, there was a concern that 5G services, if implemented, may be cost prohibitive to end users/businesses in The Bahamas," URCA added.

These concerns were shared by BTC, Cable Bahamas and Aliv. The latter two acknowledged that 5G would require a large investment by all carriers, while BTC said the technology will likely be required in the medium-term to enable more mobile Internet capacity.

5G's deployment, BTC said, will require operators to share facilities and also a reduction/elimination of import taxes to lower the cost of communications equipment. It also argued that carriers will have to increase capacity to foster greater spectrum needs, called for a reduction of communications licence fees, and warned against the introduction of a third mobile operator on the basis this would make it impossible for existing providers to earn a return on 5G investments.

As for consumers, URCA said of its 530-strong survey: "The majority of the survey respondents did not feel that their existing mobile or fixed Internet services constrain them. Fixed and mobile users are overall (80 percent or above) satisfied with their current download speed, the reliability of the service and the network coverage. These results do not vary significantly across mobile and fixed services, although different issues are reported by respondents.

"Dissatisfied survey respondents mainly reside in the Family Islands or in New Providence. For those end users that are dissatisfied, the key issues stated were the download speed, Internet reliability and coverage. In particular, some mobile data users in the sample complained about the lack of service coverage (not receiving any mobile data service) in the Family Islands.

"In relation to both fixed and mobile Internet services, a number of survey respondents complained about the low-speed of their Internet services and they also reported frequent drops of service and intermittent/high-latency internet for example during streaming. The survey results also show that consumers in the Family Islands are not satisfied with their services, which may be linked to coverage issues persisting since the passing of Hurricane Dorian in 2019."

Summing up its findings to-date, URCA said any 5G investments by Bahamian communications providers over the next three to five years will likely be centre on supporting existing data needs with larger capacity and more cost-efficient delivery.

"5G investments related to enabling new use cases may take a considerably longer time to emerge and roll-out in The Bahamas due to the magnitude of investments," URCA cautioned. "At this stage and in the short-term, the demand for 5G is expected to be limited in The Bahamas and, if anything, it would be circumscribed to specific and prospective use cases in certain industries....

"Given the feedback received to-date, URCA’s focus going forward will be on monitoring developments and requests from such targeted demand amongst industry groups. For specific sectors that will require high-speed connectivity in the form of 5G (tourism, national security and logistics), URCA’s priority will be enabling and facilitating these use cases."

Given the demand for improved reliability and coverage, URCA said it plans to review its universal services regulatory framework and the incentives available to incentivise the roll-out of communications infrastructure to remote Family Islands.

"URCA sees a need to address the issues relating to the availability of Internet services throughout all islands of The Bahamas. This will require targeting prevailing coverage gaps, and ensuring a minimum level of connectivity at affordable prices also in the more remote islands," the regulator added.

"A key component of this will be URCA’s upcoming review of the current universal service regulatory framework and to establish whether operators have incentives to invest in networks in more remote areas."