On June 9th 2004 the Government of Jamaica rocked the Jamaican telecommunications industry by a Ministerial Direction to the Office of Utilities Regulation dated June 9, 2004 that stated effective immediately a Universal Service charge of US$0.035 per minute on all incoming international calls terminating on all domestic networks has been imposed. This levy is viewed in industry circles as a retrograde step re-opening the Accounting Rate Debate which prompted the US Federal Communications Commission to unilaterally lower all rates that US carriers paid to overseas carriers.

On June 2nd 2004 Cable and Wireless Jamaica (C&WJ) CEO, Gary Barrow, announced financial losses of $5.3 billion for the year ending March 31, 2004. The losses have been attributed to a massive write down of the value of the company's fixed assets, including its TDMA network and fixed line equipment.

C&WJ has announced plans to start a J$800 million project to improve its GSM mobile telephone network. The company intends to enhance the strength of 130 cell sites across Jamaica to allow for wider coverage and better service and expects to complete the process by the end of June 2004.

C&WJ has become the first Jamaican cellular operator to offer a GPRS roaming service on a commercial basis. Through this service C&WJ subscribers will be able to access the Internet and data services from compatible handsets and laptops while in areas of the US served by its GPRS roaming partner T-mobile. The service will be free until August 2004.
 

Digicel is part of a consortium that intends to build fiber-optic cable between Florida and Jamaica. Jamaica Network Access Provider, a new telecom company, will be the hub for a fiber-optic cable. Currently there is one fiber-optic ring in the island, which is owned by Cable and Wireless Jamaica
 

On May 11, 2004 Oceanic Digital launched its Mi Phone brand of cellular service in western Jamaica by opening its newest store in Montego Bay. Oceanic Digital invested J$10 million in the opening of this new facility. The CEO for Oceanic is predicting island wide coverage by December and anticipates doubling its current subscriber base of 75,000 by the end of 2004.

The company has also announced plans to offer Internet and data services during the second quarter of 2005.