Jamaica: Macro-Socio-Economic and Environmental Assessment of ...

3. Telecommunications
The Telecommunications subsector sustained significant physical plant damage and operational
losses. Detailed assessments are under way, as required by the insurance companies before
reimbursements can be made. Nevertheless, order of magnitude estimates are presented here.
The telephone exchange building and equipment located at Mandeville and another unspecified
location were flooded and the service was turned off, which left the St. Elizabeth, Santa Cruz and
other neighbouring parishes without telephone communications. The submarine fiber optic cable
that links the island with the United States, through which nearly 80 percent of the traffic –
including Internet – is routed, was severed in its land section in the Cayman Islands. Traffic was
re-routed through satellites but service still remains at below standards.
Cell phone services sustained damage as antennas were turned out of alignment by the strong
winds of the hurricane. The lack of electricity made it necessary for the utilities to resort to use
of standby diesel generators and many users were unable to use their phones as they lacked
capacity to recharge their units. The utilities incurred into increased operational costs and this
resulted in lower revenues over the period of recovery, which is expected to last from one to two
months.
Based on partial information available, it is estimated that the cost of direct damage to the
Telecommunications sector is $198.6 million, as required for the repairs and reconstruction of
the assets 6 . Scant information available for two of the utilities would indicate that indirect losses
would be around $1336.7 million. Therefore, the total amount of the impact of the hurricane on
the sector would reach $1535 million, as shown in the following table. It is expected, that as
more detailed information becomes available from the detailed surveys presently underway, the
indicated damage and loss figure would raise.
Table 4-5
Estimated Impact of the Hurricane on the Telecommunications sector of Jamaica
($Million)
Damage and losses
Component
Sector Effect on
Total Damage Losses Public Private external
sector
Total 1,535.3 198.6 1,336.7 --- 1336.7 120
Damage to physical plant
Increased operational costs
Decreased revenues
198.6
252.0
1084.7
198.6
252.0
1084.7
Source: Preliminary estimates made by ECLAC on the basis of limited information.
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