ST GEORGE’S, Grenada (CMC) — The Secretary-General of the Trinidad-based Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) Rodney Taylor Tuesday said despite the Declaration of St George’s being signed four years ago, mobile users in the region continue to face high mobile charges.

The Declaration of St George’s is regarded as an historic agreement signed here on February 23, 2022, by Caribbean Community (Caricom and major regional telecommunications providers to reduce intra-Caricom mobile roaming charges.

It was signed also by representatives from the Digicel Group, and Cable & Wireless Communications with the core objective being to reduce roaming fees by up to 70 per cent or more for Caribbean citizens traveling within member states, easing the financial burden of voice, SMS, and data usage.

But Taylor, speaking at a news conference here said the reduction of roaming fees has been a clear objective of regional leaders “that you’re able to move freely from Barbados to Trinidad, Grenada, St Lucia without having to even buy a roaming package”.

He quoted Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley as saying “you should roam like you’re at home because you are at home within your region”, and so that’s how the European Union (EU) implemented it, “roam like you’re at home.

“So whatever your home package is, you can go from France to Germany, wherever, and roam within your domestic package, and this is what our vision is.”

But Taylor said that the regional telecom operators “have said we’re not able to do this because there’s disparity in the regulatory regimes within the Caricom member states.

“So they’re required to pay some taxes, for example, in Jamaica and Barbados that they don’t have to pay in Grenada or St Lucia. And therefore, we have some work to do on our side as governments and regulators to ensure that there’s also harmonisation on the regulatory side.

“Therefore, they have no excuse because they run and manage the networks at the regional level.They are regional networks. So coming out of the Declaration of St George’s, you should be able to buy a roaming passport for any destination that you go to within the Caribbean.”

He told reporters that if they get a “high bill” they should contact him “because it should not exist any longer”.

Taylor said that there are other innovations in the market like eSIMS that should help people when travelling throughout the region, adding “I travel the world and I use eSIMS. I buy unlimited data for $10, $15 and I’m on Netflix, YouTube, ordering Ubers, using Google Maps, navigating my way.

“Because the era of high and ridiculous roaming charges should be over by now and certainly within the Caricom Single ICT space, it should not exist.

“So we have some more work to do on the government side, on the regulatory side, using, of course, NTRCs (National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission) and the regional regulatory bodies that we are establishing now to ensure that you no longer have that problem,” Taylor told reporters.

Taylor is among regional and international delegates attending the 22nd Caribbean Internet Governance Forum and the fifth Caribbean Youth Internet Governance Forum (CYIGF) helping to shape the future of the Caribbean’s digital landscape.

The two fora being held in a hybrid format, under the theme “Connectivity to Capability: Shaping a Resilient, Trusted, and Innovative Digital Caribbean,” ends here on Wednesday.

The organisers said that in addition to reviewing achievements over the years, the fora will address various facets of internet governance of current importance to the Caribbean coming as the conclusion of the WSIS+20 review and the implementation of the Global Digital Compact reshape the global digital agenda and call for a coordinated Caribbean response.

They said that discussions will examine how the region can close its cybersecurity maturity gap, harness and govern the rapid rise of artificial intelligence and advance development in ways that are effective, inclusive and sustainable.

Taylor told reporters that while he is “relatively satisfied” with the developments of the sector within the region, there are still outstanding issues to be addressed.

“I am relatively satisfied [but] there’s still a long way for us to go. The region has very good infrastructure, we have good submarine cables that connect us to the rest of the world, we have world-class data centres in the region, there’s a Tier 4 data centre right in Curacao, the other data centres that support regional development ambitions in terms of digital development.

“We have some 5G networks deployed in the region, Barbados… St Kitts is partially deployed, …so…we still have a way to go, for example, we’re not on the cutting edge in terms of mobile communications, and there’s an investment gap that the operators have identified, because that next level, next generation network requires significant investment to get us to that next speed, and for us it’s not just about delivering faster services, but delivering them in a secure environment and ensuring that our young people are not just consumers of the technology, but they’re also developers and creators in the internet economy.”

Taylor said that the CTU would want to partner with Grenada “to help us drive, at the regional level in particular, cooperation within the Curacao member states. I’m actually sincerely hoping that Grenada will be a model for the rest of the region, that it will lead in terms of the delivery of public services to citizens.

“The day that Grenadians no longer have to go into a government, to leave work, take time off, to go into a government office to apply for a service, or to wait weeks or months for anything, is the day that I will be a very happy person.”

The CTU secretary-general said that ne of the key areas of focus for Caribbean governments is artificial intelligence (AI), noting that “since we had the update on the last version of the Internet Governance Policy Framework, AI has dominated the global conversation around information technology and digital transformation.

“So definitely we are working on incorporating artificial intelligence as a component within that Internet Governance Policy Framework. We actually held just a few weeks ago the first Caribbean AI forum, which brought regional minds together to address the issue of artificial intelligence and how the region can leverage this technology, not just use it, not just be consumers and log in and issue prompts ….but how can we leverage it more strategically”.

Taylor said the discussions should also allow for the region to determine “how can we develop our own products using artificial intelligence to serve our needs”

He said another area of concern will be cybersecurity that continues to evolve.

“…so cybersecurity is one that we continue to pay serious respects to our critical infrastructure. We see a number of attacks in the region in terms of ransomware, government offices are being hit, so this is one thing that we need to definitely focus on”.

He said governments will absolutely need to update their legislation and the regulations governing these technologies.

“Cybersecurity legislation is one that we believe is fundamental. Data protection, privacy is something definitely that citizens need to ensure that when they give their personal information to government, that it is protected, it is kept safe, and it is not shared, and it is used only for the purpose for which it was given.”

He said the region will also have to come up to date regarding modern telecommunications legislation given that “we have new players in the market, new satellite providers that provide direct device communication so you can access satellite services on your mobile phone.

“You have to ensure that those are properly regulated as well and operate within the national security framework of our various member states. So, there’s a lot, I mean, the technology continues to evolve faster than we can regulate and faster than we can develop policy, so these forums are necessary for us to be brought up to speed on where the technology is going”, Taylor told reporters.