(Jamaica Gleaner) The Government’s auction of two licences for use in the 700 megahertz band ended yesterday with no takers.
In a release yesterday evening, telecommunications minister, Phillip Paulwell, said he was disappointed with the results.
He said there was a robust showing of interest from a number of entities across the globe which took part in a public forum for interested parties via the internet.
However, he said despite this interest, the auction ended yesterday with no bids submitted before the 2 p.m. deadline.
Paulwell says this is just a minor setback as the government remains undaunted in its efforts to introduce more competition in the wireless telecommunications market.
When Paulwell first announced the auction in March, he told the House of Representatives that the licences would go to the highest bidder.
He said both licences would have a 15-year term and licencees would be required to deploy their services across 90 per cent of the country within five years.
