The distributional consequences of mobile phones in Jamaica

The paper seeks to understand the nature of distributional consequences associated withmobile phones in Jamaica. By distributional consequences we are referring to the changesin the distribution of key aspects of social and personal development. Mobile phones area pervasive technology in almost all societies. They are even more important in societiessuch as Jamaica which have had traditionally low levels of fixed-line telephonepenetration. While the potential benefits from such a communication technology areenormous, from a policy level, it is also important to understand how these benefits (andcosts) are absorbed by different groups in society given a particular set of nationalconditions.To understand this dynamic, we first explain the framework and methodology which we will use in this paper. Next, we look at national socio-economic conditions of Jamaica.This is followed by an examination of the development and diffusion of mobile phones inJamaica and the current industry environment. We then review the various publicinterventions in the sector including major telecommunications policies. Finally weanalyze the various distributional consequences of mobile phones based on the nationalconditions, industry structure and public interventions that have been outlined.