Former Prime Minister of Jamaica PJ Patterson says the building out of the telecommunications sector in the Caribbean is easily among the most important investments ever made in the region.

Addressing the graduation ceremony of the Digicel Graduate Programme on Thursday, on the topic of the Caribbean Metaverse, Patterson said “the true impact of the telecommunications sector on the Caribbean region simply cannot be measured – no matter what metric you use.”

Patterson, as minister of development, planning, and production, laid the groundwork to remove the telecommunications monopoly in Jamaica. He noted that “we encountered stubborn resistance against competition and cellular telephony during tough extensive negotiations.

“However, we developed convincing arguments that telecommunications technology was too important to escape the rapid and catalytic force in the global market.”

The statesman-in-residence at The P J Patterson Centre for Africa-Caribbean Advocacy also pointed out that “as part of a carefully planned development strategy, US$700 million was invested in infrastructure.

“We worked with the private sector and designed and implemented a roadmap to the information superhighway that included finance, training, and market development,” he said, adding “The investment of time, effort, and money in building out the telecommunications sector is easily among the most important investments ever made in the region, certainly in the 21st century, for it is the platform of growth upon which the future of the Caribbean depends.”

Patterson told the Digicel graduates that “I want you to use your imagination to design the metaverse that you devise to operate in the Caribbean; to fashion the digital world you want to live in. I call it the Mas Metaverse because I want you to think through what the Caribbean digital lifestyle should look like – the good, the bad, and even the ugly that you must avoid.

“To achieve sustainable development, we must drive our entrepreneurial and creative skills which are critical and indispensable elements in our learning as a people. Let’s capitalize on the shared space in the Caribbean creative imagination that manifests as carnival and recreation in the region – extending into Latin America,” he said.