Milford Williams, Gleaner Writer
Internet cable being laid along Merrion Road in St. Andrew on March 13. - NORMAN GRINDLEY/DEPUTY CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
THE ARRIVAL of Flow Communication in Jamaica promises sub-stantial change in the communication sector.
Flow is already offering broadband services to the corporate market and is preparing to roll out services to residential and small business markets soon. This includes the provision of local and inter-national data services through its fibre optic cable network.
Jean McPherson, director of marketing at Flow, said the company will provide the residential market with Internet access at higher speeds than is presently the case.
There will also be domestic and international voice service as well as digital cable service with over 250 channels.
"We already have licensees for domestic and international voice and data services and have applied for our cable television licence," she said.
TAILOR-MADE SOLUTIONS
According to McPherson, several packages are available to the commercial market at very cost effective rates, which vary according to configuration, and the amount of capacity required.
Prices are quoted individually after working with the potential customer on a solution that meets their requirements.
"We have the ability to tailor our broadband solution to meet the needs of the customer so they only have to pay for what they need. Our network is very flexible and we can make adjustments to capacity within 48 hours," she said.
On the issue of charges, Flow says services will be priced so that average Jamaicans can take advantage of the state-of-the-art telecommunication services.
"We are aggressively deploying our network and once services to the residential market become available, the relevant rates will be made public."
Flow's incorporation will also see the creation of new jobs. At present close to 80 persons are employed, and there are plans to have at least 300 employees in the future.
JOB CREATION
Hundreds of other persons are indirectly employed in the short term through their suppliers and contractors.
In the longer term, Flow expects that through affordable and available broadband services, thousands of jobs will be created as a result of entrepre-neurship, new business investments and increased business efficiency and profitability.
McPherson reports that their objective is to have broadband service in at least 100, 000 of the 750,000 households in Jamaica by end of this year.
So far, they have completed several major projects to meet the target.
Among them is the completion of the undersea portion of the network built to link Jamaica to the Dominican Republic and the rest of the world.
"We are on track with our business plan and will accomplish in three years what it typically takes at least ten years to achieve. Our build out is islandwide, and will occur in phases," said McPherson.
She says many local radio and TV stations will be carried as channels on their cable television service.
This will provide an avenue for local content providers to have a quick and cost-effective way of distributing their content and will also foster the development of the industry in Jamaica.
EXPERIENCED MANAGEMENT
Flow's ability to achieve fast build up can be attributed to their experienced management team and its demonstrated track record of successfully engineering, constructing and managing state-of-the-art broadband commu-nication platforms.
At the helm of the organisation is Richard Pardy, chief executive officer, who oversaw the world-class assembly of the Cable Bahamas Broadband network.
Cable Bahamas provides Internet services to over 70 per cent of the Bahamian market and is the market leader in video services. The Bahamas has the highest Internet adoption rate in the Western Hemisphere.
Work is already in progress with the Ministry of Education to provide free internet service in schools within communities where they have rolled out.
Some of the schools already wired and powered include Kingston High on King Street and Ardenne High in St. Andrew.
McPherson said that Flow's services would offer ordinary Jamaicans true high-speed Internet access that is reliable and consistent.
With this, it creates new opportunities for Jamaicans to develop web-based business opportunities.
