I am pleased to be here at the 17th Annual Conference and Trade Exhibition in San Juan, Puerto Rico and to share with you my thoughts on the theme of this Conference "The Technology Explosion - Extending our Reach".

I believe that we in the Caribbean must extend our reach into the new vista that the technologies are offering.

I suggest to you - the major decision-makers in the Telecommunication sector - that we must courageously take steps that will ensure our Caribbean economies are in step with the rest of the changing world.

I know that I am preaching to the converted when I say that the rapid pace of technological advancement is changing our business and our lifestyles; and that new technologies are making it possible to deliver information services anywhere, 24 hours per day and with convenient, portable and mobile devices.

We face many complex issues and challenges relating to the changing nature of the telecommunications business. These include the whole area of regulating the industry, as well as the costs and methods of delivery of new services demanded by customers.

The Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organisations (CANTO) must be commended and supported for bringing to the forefront some of the major issues that Caribbean Telecommunication Operators and Policy Makers are facing with the open telecommunications market emerging in the Region.

While we are convinced of the benefits of liberalisation, we are also conscious that there is no blueprint, no road map to the fully liberalised market. As the Caribbean grapples with this transition period, there is a perception that Government policy makers and Telecommunications Operators are on opposite sides of the fence. However, the fact is, we are really in the same boat, in the same sea, and must learn to row together. We must work together to find solutions that benefit not just the Operators or Governments; but, more importantly, the people that we serve.

The importance of establishing an appropriate regulatory framework, interconnection and universal service cannot be underestimated during the transition due to the pivotal role these issues will play. The socio economic issue in the Caribbean is one in which there are vast disparities in the levels of income, skills and educational attainment, as well as disparities in the levels of access to telecommunication services.

Regionally, poverty levels exceed 30 percent, while unemployment ranges from 10 percent to 40 percent. The wage disparity among the employed labour force is very wide. Access to secondary school places is limited to less than 50 percent of the age-specific groups, while only 30 percent of the secondary school population graduates successfully; and approximately one percent access tertiary level education.

The Caribbean is therefore set to exhibit all the classical signs of the "digital divide" with a widening gap between "information rich" and "information poor", reflecting the gap exhibited between the Developing world and the Developed World.

As attractive as the benefits of the new technologies are to the countries of the Caribbean, there is the real threat that Information and Telecommunication Technology would result in a further widening of the gap between the rich and the poor. Recognising the power, value and contribution which access to basic communication and information services can make to the acceleration of social and economic development, the United Nations had declared "The Right to Communicate" as a fundamental Human Right.  

In December 1997, the UN General Assembly further endorsed "The Universal Access to Basic Communication and Information Services," thereby committing the UN System to the objective of universal access to basic communications for all. The question of what this concept should mean to us in the Caribbean and under what circumstances it should be implemented needs special consideration. 

This Conference is an ideal Caribbean Forum that can properly and objectively debate this issue, and offer advice to the Governments of the Region. I ask you: What therefore is the role of Government in these circumstances?

The Government of Grenada believes that the underlying principle of Universal Service dictates that the provision of telecommunications technology for information is essential for promoting social and economic development.

The Government of Grenada has determined that it has a moral obligation to ensure that, through appropriate policies, legislation and projects, affordable telecommunications services are available to all citizens without discrimination. But, availability by itself does not guarantee that benefits will flow automatically or equitably through to the population. 

Ladies and gentlemen, a responsible Government cannot leave either the benefits from, or the effective use of, telecommunications services to chance. Governments must seek to encourage and support the development of the ICT industry, the provision of social and remedial programmes, and the stimulation of training and skills enhancement.

Moreover, the benefits of access to affordable telecommunications services will still accrue to limited sectors of the society unless appropriate policy goals and specific project activities are pursued.

This Conference could well assist in formulating a pragmatic policy approach on Universal Service in the context of social and economic circumstances of the Caribbean. Such a policy should seek to widen the  base market for those services. It should consider the utilization of price structures, inducements and the supply of service-products that meet the requirements and the demand capacity of the various segments of the population.

Mr. Chairman, the prospect of competition in the Caribbean telecommunications sector raises peculiar difficulties for the formulation of policies to implement Universal Service. I put it to all the executives and decision-makers in the sector that one major consideration must be to induce the growth and expansion of the effective market by bringing major segments of the population into the purchasing loop.

In order for you to survive and progress in the competitive environment that is beginning to characterize the telecommunication and information sector in the Caribbean, you must be led by a perspective of growth and expansion supported by rapid introduction of new technologies and new services, the use of marginal cost pricing and product mixes, as well as skilful promotion and marketing. 

The commitment of Caribbean Governments to the WTO means there is a limit to the postponement of liberalisation of the Telecommunication sector in the Region. The financial rewards and other advantages to the head-starters are clear. Those Operators who refuse or vacillate about introducing the benefits of the new technologies to the population will find the market served by another provider, even an external provider.

Notwithstanding the structural weaknesses of the Caribbean economies, increasing consumer awareness and widening individual preferences for a variety of advanced telecommunication services have been the regional  responses to the rapid pace of technological developments and converging of technologies. Exposure to television, frequent travel to metropolitan centers in North America and Europe, and the general flow of information have created a demand for the latest devices.

The strength of demand contradicts the average level of income and economic development, and often exceeds our capacity to provide the infrastructure. Telecommunication operators, service providers and governments must respond to such developments. The convergence of technologies, inevitable liberalization of the telecommunication sector, customer awareness and preferences for enhanced value added services, as well as global trends in telecommunications are collectively contributing to the rapid evolution of the sector.

Take the case of Internet Protocol: Voice over the Internet

Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask this Conference to focus some attention on the current international debate with respect to the convergence and the development of integrated networks. Particularly, I want to suggest that you help the Governments of the Region to resolve the dilemma on Internet Protocol Telephony.   This is an area that we inevitably must face as a Region and we cannot afford to ignore. As you know, the technology of Internet Protocol Telephony, or IP Telephony, allows the conveyance of voice, fax and related services, partially or wholly over packet-switched IP-based networks. IP Telephony is largely synonymous with Voice over Internet Protocol.

The attractiveness of the Internet to carry telephone calls lies principally in its apparent cost advantages over the public switched telephone network. The use of IP-based networks offers to reduce prices to consumers, and the costs of market entry for operators, especially for long-distance and international calls.  Cheaper long-distance calls represent major benefits to householders, as well as small businesses seeking to develop international markets for goods and services. Moreover, the relative ease and speed of providing that infrastructure makes it attractive to low-income countries seeking to embrace and encourage the "information poor" and the development of promising entrepreneurs.

IP-based networks could, therefore, be attractive to Caribbean Countries such as Grenada because of the prospects for providing multi-media telecommunications services and new applications, merging voice and data, converging telecommunication and broadcasting.  

We cannot help but notice that major public telecommunication operators are investing steadily in IP-based networks.   We also note the general opinion that the migration to IP-based networks will be financially feasible not on the basis of carrying voice alone; but when it can carry voice alongside data, text and video.

The Government of Grenada, which has been a participant in recent  negotiations on the liberalisation of the telecommunication sector in the OECS Member States, is not unmindful of the dilemma that must be resolved in the next 12 months with respect to IP Telephony.  IP Telephony offers the prospects of reducing the costs of international calls that brings enormous benefits in terms of closer integration into the world economy and the global information society.

At the same time, it will have some impact on the revenue streams of the incumbent public telecommunication operator, unless that company is able to embrace the new technology or able to cope with new forms of competition associated with IP-based telephony services. 

Similarly, Government itself will be challenged to adjust its regulatory and policy frameworks in the light of the new integrated technologies, and in response to the changes that will take place in the international telecommunication industry in both regulations and market liberalization. Caribbean Governments and telecommunications operators must focus on the major policy factors if we are to share in the economic growth generated by the emerging knowledge-based world economy.

Most importantly, Mr. Chairman, we must focus on our human resources. I firmly believe that highly skilled professionals are essential to the development and provision of new services within the communications sector. In the Caribbean there is a serious lack of skilled IT professionals.  Worldwide, the skills gap related to IT has been identified as one of the most threatening constraints to the expansion of both the IT sector and the contingent national economy.

Grenada is mindful of the urgent need to improve the IT skills of its labour force. We have taken certain steps to bring basic skills to our secondary school population, and to encourage the private sector to promote human development in all aspects of IT skills. We recognize that a great deal more needs to be done. The lack of IT-skilled labour will slow down the prospects for economic growth and prosperity in the sector.

The Government of Grenada advocates that the challenges of increasing Information Technology skills should be tackled jointly by Governments, communication and information operators, as well as by learning institutions in the private and public sectors.

I urge this Conference to address this skills problem seriously, and take time to identify both short-term and long-term measures in this regard. The Caribbean needs some consensus on the development of our human resources and the mobility and loss of skilled individuals to other jurisdictions.

Ladies and gentlemen, as takers of technologies, we have little choice but to accept the integrated nature of the emerging technologies. Telecommunications, information technology, media and IP networks such as the Internet are linked. The same services can be delivered over a number of platforms and be received through a range of terminals. This convergence of technology will continue and intensify.

Our focus in the Caribbean, therefore, should not be on fighting against the development and introduction of IP Telephony or other convergence technology in the Region, but on finding the best ways to exploit the benefits for Operators and the Civil Society alike.

Mr. Chairman, the Caribbean has little choice but to recognize the significance of competition. Effective competition can lead to many services, and give users freedom to choose their services. Competition will also result in lower prices. Lower prices will lead to higher demand for a wider range of communication services. It improves the market of all Operators.

Before I close, I take this opportunity to extend an invitation to the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organisations to come to Grenada from June 10th to 13th for a National Smart Partnership Dialogue.   The Government of Grenada is in the process of formulating a National  Information Technology Strategy and Action Plan. This is long overdue, but I believe that through the consultative process, we will develop an appropriate and effective policy.

In this regard, the Government is holding the Dialogue to further advance the development of the Policy in collaboration with the Commonwealth Partnership for Technology Management and we would welcome your input to this process. Moreover, I can certainly guarantee you will enjoy a visit to the Spice Isle of the Caribbean.

In closing, ladies and gentlemen, I urge you to seek ways by which we in the Caribbean can find a unified approach to tackling the many challenges emanating from the rapid advancements in Information and Telecommunication Technologies. Most importantly, we must be mindful that whatever we do, must be for the benefit of our people.

I thank you and look forward to any questions you may have.