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CARANA News Caribbean Countries Benefitting from Telecoms Reform Article courtesy the Barbados AdvocateFIVE Caribbean countries have benefitted from telecommunications liberalisation and the resultant lowering of telephone rates thanks to the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) in St. Lucia, the world’s first regional regulatory body of the telecommunications sector. In an Impact Assessment report prepared by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the CARANA Corporation, it was disclosed that telephone rates had been slashed considerably in St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, Grenada and Dominica. In 2000, for example a call from the region to the US averaged EC$3.25 per minute; today it is EC$0.90 per minute. Furthermore, more than 500 new jobs were created in the Caribbean region “in the area of internet services and customer premises equipment services”. These successes were revealed last month at ECTEL in St. Lucia during a review session between Director of Technical Services for ECTEL, Mr. Donnie DeFreitas, and Michael Taylor, Project Management Specialist for the USAID/Caribbean Regional Programme office. Several new telecommunications providers are now operating in the sub-region. AT&T Wireless and Digicel operate in Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Lucia. In Dominica, licenses to provide regular telephone service were issued to Marpin, SAT Telecom, and C&W while AT&T, Orange Caraibes and C&W received cellular licences. Grenada saw licences being granted to GNP TWTC, Digicel, AT&T and C&W but only the latter three are operational. In St. Kitts & Nevis, C&W, The Cable, Carib Globe, and AT&T have also been granted licences. It was in May 2000 that the Prime Ministers of the five countries were signatories to an agreement that established ECTEL. This established ECTEL as the regional regulatory authority providing advice and recommendations on all regulatory matters for those countries. Potential providers could apply to the National Commissions for licences to become wireless and full fixed service providers. One of ECTEL’s programmes, the Eastern Caribbean Information Communication and Technology (ECICT) programme, was sponsored by USAID for three years during the period July 2001 to April 2004. The CARANA Corporation, a leading provider of global development solutions to government, private business, and individuals, was contracted by USAID to execute the programme. DeFreitas explained the benefits of the relationship. He said CARANA provided training for ECTEL staff, personnel of the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRCs), Ministers of government and representatives from Member States in regulatory matters. Specialised training was also provided on how to negotiate effectively. Other achievements include the offering of regulatory advice; the start of drafting of legislation the provision of books for the authority to establish a library and the provision of computer and ancillary equipment CARANA also installed a server which connects ECTEL to the outside world via its website www.ectel.int. He added: “Books from the library are being distributed to the five ECTEL participating countries on the topics Law, Finance and Accounting, and Telecommunications to update relevant personnel”. Access to expertise from telecommunications Ministers and Attorneys-General in the region was another benefit. DeFreitas said “beneficiaries gained regulatory, legal and technical insight and exposure to regulatory systems throughout the world.” [Posted May 21, 2004]
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