ROSEAU, Dominica — The director of Dominica’s telecommunications Bennet Thomas says a reduction in roaming charges will greatly enhanced trade within the member countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

The OECS groups the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts-Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands.

Last month, Grenada’s Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell called for the total elimination of roaming charges within the Caribbean Community (Caricom) as the regional grouping moved one step closer to that initiative by signing the St George’s Declaration on Roaming” with two of the telecommunication providers in the Caribbean.

Mitchell said at the signing ceremony with Cable & Wireless and Digicel that essentially, the Single ICT space represents the digital arm of the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) that allows for the free movement of skills, goods, services and labour across the 15-member regional integration grouping.

Thomas, speaking on a radio programme here, said many times consumers are not using their phones when they travel because “of what they call bill shock.

“You use your phone and when you reach back home you have a massive bill. By reducing the cost of roaming, persons are able to move freely without fear of a huge bill and that enhances what we call the development of the ICT space in the Caribbean where persons are now free to move goods and services and people can move around because they are no longer afraid of having that huge bill on their hands when they return home.

“We see a lot of trade happening in the region, people have to use their telephones [and] the reduction in roaming agreement that was recently signed …will enhance trade, movement of persons and of course people will be easier to communicate with their friends and relatives, especially during times of emergency when the bills can rise…”

Earlier, Telecommunications Minister Oscar George speaking on the radio programme said he remained optimistic that the roaming charges would be reduced and that regulations to reducing the charges will be developed as the OECS pushes for a new electronic communications bill.

“We will have a separate regulation just to target roaming…we are taking it serious both from a local stand point and of course the regional front, so much so we have established a regional ministerial committee to explore the issue of roaming.” He said an advisory committee has also be established.

“So we are taking it very seriously…and last month we had the signing of the St George’s Declaration…and I think that is very significant for us as a region because we want to completely eliminate or ideally eliminate roaming but it is a bit more difficult than we think”

He said that the first step would be to reduce the charges.