From banking to telecoms
Bruce Bowen prepping Rock Mobile for market entry
Published:Friday | January 29, 2021 | 12:19 AM
A new telecommunications outfit owned by the former head of Scotiabank Jamaica, Bruce Bowen, and his wife Suzanne Fernando-Bowen, is finalising plans to enter the Jamaican market, though the full scope of the business is yet to be disclosed.
Amid the groundwork being undertaken by the company formed in April 2019, Rock Mobile Limited is already making a pitch to regulators regarding the equitable distribution of spectrum so that new market entrants can have a fighting chance against the big telecoms providers.
The market is dominated by Digicel Jamaica and Flow Jamaica, large carriers that are assigned chunks of radio frequency, or spectrum, to operate. But Rock Mobile wants a more fluid use of the spectrum to move from a cap system to a ‘screen’ that would allocate spectrum on a needs basis.
Rock thinks the screen will help the Spectrum Management Authority, SMA, maintain a competitive landscape for new entrants. Rock Mobile, whose presence was unknown prior to its weighing in on the SMA’s proposed rewriting of spectrum allocation policy, spoke on market issues generally, without any specific reference to its own operations and needs.
“Consequently, while Rock does not object to the proposed spectrum screen at this time, it is urging the SMA to focus on maintaining a competitive landscape of which entry of new operators is a critical element,” said Rock in its comments to the Proposed Spectrum Holding Policy. “Broadband penetration in Jamaica still remains woefully low when compared to our Caribbean counterparts.”
Additionally, Rock said that Jamaica lags behind others in national digital development: “Accordingly, managing the vagaries of COVID-19 must have at the forefront increased capacity, innovative service offerings, and service to unserved and underserved communities”.
Rock Mobile is held directly by Rock Capital Partners Limited, a company registered in Jamaica in June 2017 that the Bowens also own. Bruce and Suzanne are also the sole directors of both companies.
It’s unclear what telecoms services Rock Mobile plans to provide and the potential scope of the operation. Bowen told the Financial Gleaner that he would respond at a later time regarding the company’s business model.
“I am reluctant at this point to comment about what we are doing, but expect that in a month or two, we should be ready to discuss our plans. We will certainly reach out to you at that time,” he told the Financial Gleaner earlier in January.
Bowen, a Canadian, was appointed president and CEO of Scotia Group Jamaica Limited, Jamaica’s second-largest banking conglomerate owned by Scotiabank Canada, in 2008, replacing William ‘Bill’ Clarke. He ran the bank for five years, passing the baton to Jacqueline Sharp in 2013, a Jamaican who became the first woman to hold the post in more than a century of the bank’s operation in Jamaica.
Bowen subsequently took up a posting in Canada as head of Scotiabank Canada’s English-speaking Caribbean operations, but eventually cut ties with the banking group in 2016. He and Fernando-Bowen continue to reside in Jamaica, according to company filings.
It’s unclear what attracted the former banker to the fast-paced, ever-changing world of telecommunications and technology, but he and Fernando-Bowen appear to be clear-eyed on the potential hurdles.
“Rock’s considered view is that policies and regulations affecting the telecommunications industry must support ease of entry by new operators. Accordingly, Rock wishes to also urge a policy of transparency as regards spectrum holdings and allocations. This is essential for effective and fair operation of the policy,” the company said in a statement posted on the SMA website, in response to the document fully titled ‘Proposed Spectrum Holding Policy—A Review of Mobile Spectrum Holding Policy’.
The SMA is proposing the removal of the spectrum cap, under which the agency set a maximum amount of spectrum that any operator could hold, and utilising a ‘spectrum screen’ instead, where the allocation is done on the basis of need for certain bands above 120Mhz.
“The screen as proposed by the SMA considers the total spectrum suitable and available for commercial mobile services, and establishes a trigger point at which the SMA will conduct a more detailed competitive analysis for assignment. Therefore, mobile service providers will be able to freely acquire spectrum up to the predetermined threshold, after which, each transaction will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis,” the agency said.
SMA proposed a trigger of 30 per cent.
The large telecoms issued responses saying they were not opposed to shifting from caps to screening, but Digicel had a differing view on the trigger, saying “a trigger point in excess of 40 per cent, and potentially to 50 per cent, could safely be set while meeting all of the policy objectives that the authority was directed to take into account”.
The screen is meant to give new entrants adequate spectrum and also allow existing players to request more spectrum in the future. Digicel, with the largest local mobile network with over two million customers, would want the flexibility to get more spectrum allocated in order to better handle spikes in usage on its network.