Who is spying on jamaicans?

Streetlights equipped with 5G being used to monitor communities

Despite several pronouncements that 5G network is not yet being utilised in Jamaica, experts in the telecommunications industry have revealed that street lights are being utilised by the government to monitor citizens.

According to experts in the telecommunication field, the government has been testing the usage of 5G technology on the general population since 2018 as part of a pact with the Chinese government. It was alleged that street lamps, equipped with surveillance features, are being used to gain information on those who traverse the roadways.

“Powerful ‘beams’ are sent to persons mobile tablets, or any device with a GPS, including newer laptops,” one of the sources said.

The Freedom Come Rain has not been able to verify this information with government officials, but the Andrew Holness administration had hinted that it wants to roll out the 5th-generation mobile network (5G) technology. Technology minister Daryl Vaz told the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives in 2023 that some of the infrastructure work is already being done, but, according to him, some providers do not seem eager to implement the technology. It was revealed that the Spectrum Management Authority had begun preparing for telecommunication service providers to introduce 5G broadband technology in the country.

If the Jamaican government is indeed colluding with China to undertake this project, it is unlikely that the information would be made public, since in late 2020, Donald Tapia, the former US ambassador to Jamaica, had urged the administration not to utilise the Chinese 5G telecommunications technology on the basis that it poses national security risks. Tapia, who had been appointed by current US president Donald Trump during his first term in the White House, had cautioned that the Chinese were using a local network to listen in on his telephone conversations.

But the Chinese government, through its embassy in Jamaica, had hit back at the US diplomat. The Chinese consul said it strongly rejected and condemned Tapia’s warning that Jamaica not partner with China or Chinese enterprises like Huawei on 5G mobile technology infrastructure.

“5G technology is without borders and for the benefit of the people in every country in the world. It shouldn’t be politicised. Huawei and other Chinese enterprises have been doing business in Jamaica in accordance with market principles and international rules and abide by Jamaican laws and regulations. Operating in Jamaica for more than a decade, Huawei is a localised company with a track record in high-quality products and solutions, as well as cyber-security. Without providing any evidence, Ambassador Tapia has stretched the concept of national security and abused his status as an ambassador to influence Jamaica from carrying out normal exchanges and cooperation with certain Chinese enterprises. Such practice goes against market economy rules and the WTO principles of openness, transparency, and non-discrimination. It is a blatant act of bullying, to which both China and Jamaica should firmly oppose,” the consul stated.

The Chinese consul did not say whether it was providing Jamaica with 5G support, but instead noted that both countries have a good relationship.

“China and Jamaica are strategic partners. Over the years, our two countries have developed good relations based on the five principles of peaceful co-existence and conducted friendly cooperation on the basis of consultation on an equal footing and mutual benefit, bringing tangible benefits to the Chinese and Jamaican people. China will work with Jamaica to unswervingly expand and deepen bilateral strategic cooperative partnership,” it said.