Senior telecommunications policymakers in the Caribbean, as well as regulators, operators, equipment manufacturers and other stakeholders in the sector will be reviewing the impact of liberalisation in the region at two meetings to be hosted by the the Jamaican government and the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) from April 5 - 8.

Both meetings will be held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.
The organisers, in a press statement, say they expect some 150 industry representatives to participate in the seminar on April 5 and 6, that will address the goals of liberalisation in the information communications technology (ICT) sector and whether they are being realised. Participants will also identify strategies to accelerate the accomplishment of the original objectives.

The process of liberalisation, which started in Jamaica in the late 90s and subsequently spread throughout the Caribbean, was intended to promote development through technology and, in turn, transform regional nations and their economies.

Bernadette Lewis, CTU secretary general, pointed to other issues that will be addressed at the event. Among them

. universal access to ICT at affordable rates,

. the regulation of competition, and

. unification in the approach by Caribbean nations to ICT development.

"As our region prepares to launch the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), this forum will provide a timely opportunity for us to work together to strengthen our ICT capabilities and, ultimately, improve the social and economic well-being of our citizens and our nations," noted Lewis.

Government ministers, ICT experts in the public and private sectors, as well as the international community will lead discussions at the two-day meeting.

The organisers say that recommendations from the seminar will be submitted for consideration at the 12th CTU executive council meeting, which will be held from April 7 to April 8.

The policy seminar and council meeting were originally scheduled for the Cayman Islands which were devastated by Hurricane Ivan last September.

The CTU member nations are: Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts/Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & The Grenadines, The Bahamas, Trinidad & Tobago, Cayman Islands, Turks & Caicos, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands.

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