Campbell

The Government is to present legislation in Parliament this month for the establishment of a single regulator for the telecommuni-cations and media industry, Information and Development Minister Colin Campbell said Wednesday.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Caribbean Media Conference and Expo at the Hilton hotel in New Kingston, Mr. Campbell said a single regulator was necessary given the level of growth in the industry.

The regulator would take account of the current functions of the Broadcasting _Commission, the Spectrum Management Authority and the telecommunications portfolio held by the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR).

Amendments

There will also be amendments to the Broadcasting and Radio Re-diffusion Act to allow advertising on cable television.

"It is estimated that all the necessary legislative, regulatory and administrative steps can be accomplished in 12-18 months, after which we can have a single independent regulator deal with licensing, spectrum, universal service obligations, standards and of course content," said Mr. Campbell.

According to him, the telecommunications and media sector are now valued at almost $100 billion.

The information minister said that, although broadband Internet penetration was still at a low three to four per cent, it could revolutionise the national information infrastructure. He urged media interests to pay greater consideration to the potential of the Internet.

"When we speak of media in this age we must realise that because of convergence, media and technology are not divorced or separate concepts," he said.