Today, February 23, 2022, is a day of immense significance for the Caribbean\u00a0 Community. It signals a period of extensive collaboration between CARICOM and two\u00a0 of the major telecommunications operators within the region. At the same time, today\u00a0 signals the beginning of new opportunities for the region, opportunities that we should\u00a0 readily embrace.<\/p>\n
CARICOM Heads of Government have long recognised the value of collaboration and\u00a0 cooperation as core principles of regional integration. It is in this spirit that regional\u00a0 leaders agreed in 2014, to establish a CARICOM Single ICT Space, having recognised the critical role that information and communication technology play in our social,\u00a0 cultural and economic development.<\/p>\n
Essentially, the Single ICT Space represents the digital arm of the CARICOM Single\u00a0 Market and Economy (CSME). Clearly, we cannot speak of the region\u2019s future\u00a0 prospects without an understanding of how digital technologies are transforming our\u00a0 economies and the region as a whole.<\/p>\n
The still unfolding global pandemic continues to strike at the heart of our economic\u00a0 sectors, and has brought the issue of technology to the forefront. Both the public and\u00a0 private sectors were placed under pressure to accelerate online service delivery as\u00a0 movement was restricted to curb the spread of COVID-19. Internet access, whether\u00a0 through fixed or mobile access, proved to be absolutely essential across all walks of\u00a0 life. For the past two years, our children have relied heavily, almost exclusively, on\u00a0 online learning platforms.<\/p>\n
The Roadmap for the CARICOM Single ICT Space was approved at the 28th\u00a0Inter sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM in 2017,\u00a0 long before the pandemic. It was envisaged that early adoption by Governments would lead to accelerated and widespread use of ICT across all sectors.<\/p>\n
Progress has not been as fast as we would have liked, but this interim solution gives\u00a0 renewed impetus to our efforts to advance key aspects of the Single ICT Space. We\u00a0 are encouraged by the milestone being recorded today as we sign The Declaration of\u00a0 St George\u2019s \u2013 Towards the Reduction of Intra CARICOM Roaming Charges. However,\u00a0our eyes are set firmly on the ultimate goal which is to achieve the total elimination of\u00a0 roaming charges within CARICOM.<\/p>\n
This declaration essentially means that our citizens will have options to use their\u00a0 mobile phones as they move freely within the Single Space at reduced costs. Our\u00a0 citizens will be able to travel without the fear of incurring the normal exorbitant charges\u00a0 for voice and data usage as they conduct business or keep in touch with loved ones.\u00a0 We firmly believe that this critical reduction in roaming charges will help drive digital\u00a0 commerce, regional integration and economic development, and will have an even\u00a0 greater impact when total elimination is achieved.<\/p>\n
The current unpredictable cost of mobile roaming deters CARICOM citizens from using their mobile phones as they travel throughout the region. Therefore, citizens and\u00a0 policymakers welcome today\u2019s declaration as it would make roaming charges more\u00a0 transparent, predictable and affordable within this Single Space.<\/p>\n
CARICOM must continue to deliver real and tangible, benefits for the citizens of this\u00a0 community. CARICOM must facilitate a space that is conducive to business and\u00a0 leisure \u2013 a space for free and easy movement of people, goods and services, including\u00a0 data-driven services, all within an enabling legal and regulatory framework that\u00a0 secures and protects consumers.<\/p>\n
With a mandate from CARICOM Heads of Government, the CARICOM Negotiating\u00a0 Team, began discussions with representatives of Digicel and CWC in August last year.\u00a0 The objective was to identify effective and feasible measures to totally eliminate roaming charges among the CARICOM member states, in order to ensure the\u00a0 predictability, transparency and affordability of mobile phone charges and to improve\u00a0 the experience of Caribbean nationals.<\/p>\n
The Declaration of St. George\u2019s which we will sign today, means that we have partially\u00a0 achieved our objective and there is still some work to be done as we seek to achieve\u00a0 the optimal position \u2013 total elimination of roaming charges.<\/p>\n
Parties to this declaration have agreed on an implementation timeframe between the\u00a0 second and third quarter of this year, giving consideration to the technical aspects of\u00a0 implementation and the public awareness campaigns that must take place. Today, on\u00a0 behalf of my colleague Heads of Government and the people of the Caribbean<\/p>\n
community, I thank them for that commitment to significantly reduce roaming rates in\u00a0 the region, but I stress again that there is much more to be done as we seek to deliver\u00a0 on our original objective.<\/p>\n
As historic as today\u2019s signing is, we still have some critical milestones ahead of us.\u00a0 Ideally, Caribbean leaders want to see the full elimination of roaming charges within\u00a0 the Caribbean Community and we will continue to push for this in the interest of our\u00a0 Caribbean people.<\/p>\n
However, regional Governments also understand that there are obligations on our part\u00a0 in terms of rationalising and simplifying the ICT regulatory environment to improve the\u00a0 ease of doing business in the sector and to reduce operational costs.<\/p>\n
To this end, we have already commissioned a study with the support of the Caribbean\u00a0 Telecommunications Union on the impact of Over the Top services (OTTs) and Big\u00a0 Tech within the regional ICT sector. I want to thank the CTU for moving so swiftly on\u00a0 this matter. We have also, with the support of the International Telecommunication\u00a0 Union, commissioned a study on the establishment of a single ICT regulator for\u00a0 CARICOM.<\/p>\n
Sisters and brothers, it is imperative that we tackle these issues if we want to make\u00a0 meaningful progress in this new digital paradigm. It must be noted, that there are other\u00a0 jurisdictions, including the European Union, that have sought to address the issue of\u00a0 roaming charges in different ways, such as Roam Like at Home, but even with their\u00a0 political and regulatory structures, it was nevertheless a long and complicated process.\u00a0 Hence, we have reason to savour this achievement today as we press on to total\u00a0 elimination.<\/p>\n
Colleagues, friends, we acknowledge that beyond the telecoms companies that are\u00a0 party to this agreement, there are other players in the market and we will work with the\u00a0relevant regional and national regulatory bodies, such as the Eastern Caribbean\u00a0 Telecoms Authority (ECTEL) and the National Telecoms Regulatory Commissions, to\u00a0 work out feasible ways of incorporating them into this framework to ensure that the\u00a0 market remains resilient and competitive.<\/p>\n
At this juncture, I\u2019d like to acknowledge the support of my colleague from Barbados,\u00a0 Sister Mia Amor Mottley who has been a champion and strong advocate for the total\u00a0 elimination of roaming charges in the region. Sister Mia, thank you for your valuable\u00a0 support.<\/p>\n
I also acknowledge the President of the CTU, Hon. Melford Nicholas, who chaired the\u00a0 Ministerial Advisory Group. Heartfelt appreciation to you and your ministerial\u00a0 colleagues for the guidance provided to the Negotiation Team.<\/p>\n
It is important for me to also acknowledge the support of the Chairman of Digicel, Mr.\u00a0 Denis O\u2019 Brien and the Regional CEO of Cable and Wireless, Ms. Inge Smidts for their\u00a0 willingness to support this initiative from the outset. Without this support at the very\u00a0 top, progress would have been much slower and negotiations would have been much\u00a0 more protracted.<\/p>\n
I take this opportunity to encourage your continued investment in the region, cognizant\u00a0 of the many employment opportunities your companies create and mindful that the\u00a0 information networks you build and support are vital to the growth and development of\u00a0 the entire region.<\/p>\n
My sincere appreciation to the CARICOM Secretariat for keeping this issue on the\u00a0 front burner within the Council on Trade and Economic Development, specifically\u00a0 COTED-ICT. I look forward to providing an update to my colleague Heads of\u00a0 Government next week in Belize and to discuss the way forward.<\/p>\n
Mr. Selby Wilson, Lead negotiator for the CARICOM Team, thank you for your able\u00a0 leadership and the wealth of experience you brought to the table given your long track\u00a0 record in the industry. Thanks also to your team for the tenacity and commitment\u00a0demonstrated during these negotiations. I also recognise the efforts of negotiators\u00a0 representing the telecoms providers; thank you for your commitment to this process.<\/p>\n
There are others who have supported our efforts including the Commonwealth\u00a0 Secretariat, providing legal opinions and assisting with the drafting of the declaration we will sign shortly. Sincere thanks to you.<\/p>\n
I previously mentioned the support of the ITU in relation to work on the establishment\u00a0 of a Single Regional Regulator, but I must also acknowledge the administrative\u00a0 support that they offered throughout the process, ensuring that negotiation points were\u00a0 captured fairly and impartially as the talks progressed.<\/p>\n
Having identified some of the key stakeholders involved, you should now have a better\u00a0 sense of the extensive collaboration which led to this milestone. Many lessons were\u00a0 learned during the process and we believe this model of collaboration can lead to\u00a0 accelerated implementation and positive outcomes with respect to the Single ICT\u00a0 Space, but more importantly for the CARICOM Single Market and Economy.<\/p>\n
As stakeholders, we have individual interests, but through our collective efforts, we\u00a0 can bring greater benefits to the people and countries of this region.<\/p>\n
I thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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