Salutation

When in 1985, the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community decided to create a single economic space within the Community by implementing the CARICOM Single Market & Economy (CSME), the international information retrieval and supply services industry, impacting across sectors, was radically different, but already rapidly evolving as a result of technology convergence. That change in dynamics brought about by the new information & communication technologies has radically altered the sector's role in facilitating and expanding the successful completion, reach and influence of the CSME.

The creation of the CSME was critical to the survival of the CARICOM countries in the new global environment of relaxed trade barriers and limited preferential access to markets.

The decision to carve a CSME was the Community's answer to the challenges posed by aggressive global trade liberalisation at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and subsequently, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Part of the CSME framework, as envisaged, was the agreement to provide for the free trading of goods and services. This included facilitation of nationals of Member States to establish businesses, provide services and transfer capital throughout CARICOM, free of artificial barriers or any discriminatory restrictions. These are rights inherent in the provisions for Rights of Establishment, Provision of Services and Movement of Capital, which are now contained in Chapter III of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that creates the CSME, and which came into provisional application in 1998. Increasingly, the information and communication industry is impacting on that process and new considerations continue to emerge.

Initial focus in the Region was naturally placed on telecommunications (you heard yesterday from Minister Phillip Paulwell of the decision of CTU Ministers in 1998 to focus on telecommunications), given the widespread negotiations for liberalisation already in progress in the Community, specific commitments made under the WTO (GATS) Basic Agreement on Telecommunication (BTA) and the thrust to open and reform this sector to drive social and economic development objectives. It was also recognised that activity in the area of information services generally, had significant impact, not only in the wider successful delivery of information retrieval and supply services, but also as enabler for all the other services.

It was also accepted that while the issue of telecommunications was a critical entry point for assessment of information services within the context of creating a regional services regime, it had, in addition, to be viewed in relation to implications for the movement and cross-border flow of the other services and the opening of opportunities offered by a CSME and by wider global liberalisation.

What advances and convergence of technology have allowed and, specifically, what Information & Communication Technology promotes, given its inherent international nature, is a more innovative and creative approach to further exploring, exploiting and expanding, the benefits of the CSME, internally and in the global context.

The main objectives of the CSME are social and economic transformation and a better quality of life for the people of the Community. To do this, we, as a Region, have honed our best strategies for success - establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which will be inaugurated in under two weeks' time; the battle against HIV/AIDS and crime; and aggressive policies and programmes for poverty reduction.

Heads of Government recognised that these objectives could be better achieved by ICT-enhanced competitiveness in services and seizing opportunities offered by E-Commerce, especially for Small & Medium-size Enterprises (SMEs), including the micro-firms which represent a critical part of the traditional business structure of the Region, and the development of national and sub-regional information & broadcasting services. Indeed, the development of public information and audio-visual services has also been gaining greater attention in Community discussions.

Heads further acknowledged the increasing challenges posed by the digital revolution, including the digital divide, to smaller economies such as ours and underscored the need for a regional approach and agenda, which would focus on achieving a "connected" Community.

Policy development

There is general agreement that the ability to effectively deploy ICTs in CARICOM Member States, and eventually at the Community level, demands certain pre-conditions and inputs, including further liberalisation of telecommunications as critical infrastructure and an acceptable level of connectivity, the enabling legal and regulatory environment and the adequate statistical frameworks to support the sector. It was further agreed that it was imperative that these issues be approached from a Community-oriented perspective that was guided by, and at the same time advanced Community interests. There was also expressed consensus that regional institutions have a key facilitation role in this regard. As a result, the Community, through the CARICOM Secretariat, has been engaging in dialogue and action, towards meeting these conditions in Member States and at the sub-regional, regional and international levels. The CTU, as the community institution responsible for telecommunications, also has a role to play.

As ICT issues, including telecommunications, increasingly impact across the broad spectrum of social and economic micro and macro activity, with considerable implications for efficient and effective governance, the Region has sought to create the policy and strategic framework to maximise benefits of ICT development. For convenience sake, ICTs have been classified into two broad portfolios for attention at the regional level in CARICOM within the Community's Quasi-Cabinet Prime Ministerial responsibilities:

1.      ICT Technological Development is dealt with within the Science & Technology portfolio (held by the Prime Minister of Grenada); and

2.      ICT Business and Trade is dealt with within the portfolio of Services, including IT and Telecommunications (held by the Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda)

The Heads at the Twenty-Third Meeting of Conference in July 2002 in Georgetown, Guyana formally committed to more aggressively developing policies and programmes for unlocking the enormous benefits of ICTs in the interest of the Community. They recognised, the role that ICTs were positioned to play in advancing the objectives of this Community. More importantly, they recognised, through their sheer cohesive capacity, the value of ICTs in truly realising the dream of the visionaries of integration.

With a view to adopting a CARICOM ICT Strategy in 2003, policy recommendations for CARICOM were adopted and strategic objectives established, including:

• Promotion of e-enabled human capital, to enhance human capacity through online communities and on-line learning (e-communities);
• Creating an enabling e-business environment for the growth of on-line businesses (e-business) and creation of new business opportunities; and
• Efficient functioning of governmental machineries to build civil society and democratic government (e-government).

In July 2003, Heads approved an ICT strategic approach in the CARICOM ICT Connectivity Agenda 2003 and the Georgetown Declaration on CARICOM ICT Development 2003 to guide policy making within context of Community policy-making process.

In 2004, the ICT Ministers considered and approved an ICT for Development Agenda as a framework for the Region's ICT activities leading up to not only the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) but also to the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

ICT as an enabler for growth, competitiveness and development in the CSME

The degree to which a country is prepared to participate in the Information Society is significantly influenced by its network readiness. Network readiness in turn is significantly dependent on telecommunications. With the convergence of telecommunications, broadcasting and computing, telecommunications has become the basic platform around which all other communications services revolve.

As such ICT diffusion and the benefits associated with it, are significantly dependent on the size, scope and quality of the telecommunications network that underpin it. How each country chooses to plug into and make the transition to an information or knowledge society will depend on two factors: 1) its capacity to supply low-cost and widely available telecommunications services; and 2) cost and accessibility of the computer infrastructure.

In the last part of the twentieth century, the almost simultaneous arrival of two major innovations - mobile phones and the Internet - not only changed the face of communications, but also gave impetus to dramatic economic growth.

Understanding and using information and communications technology to improve competitiveness is becoming an imperative imposed by international markets. In international trade the way traditional businesses function has been radically transformed. Large companies are looking to outsource information-processing services to lower cost countries using direct electronic communications. For the countries offering lower cost alternatives, this practice translates either into direct investment, joint ventures or local supplier opportunities.

Beyond investment and growth opportunities spawned by multinationals, the benefits of ICT and Internet technology for the local market and economy are significant. For example, local businesses can reduce costs by sourcing more effectively, collaborating with other companies to introduce product and service innovations, acquire intellectual property or develop new Internet enabled marketing and distribution channels.

There is broad consensus that ICTs have great potential to contribute significantly to the social and economic progress of developing countries. ICT can be used to enhance the effectiveness of policies and measures addressing most of the major problems including those concerning the productivity and hence the competitiveness of the enterprise sectors of developing countries.

Within the context of development, ICTs are usually considered in accordance with the two established economic perspectives i.e. the supply side and the demand side. The former considers those issues that affect the production of the goods and services sectors that make up the ICT industry. The latter considers the diffusion and utilisation of ICT goods and services in the economy. Both have the potential to significantly contribute to the development objectives of nation states and in fact it is widely agreed that the two are inextricably interwoven and fundamental to development.

For developing countries, the growth of e-business opens the possibility of increased exports in traditional sectors and new opportunities in emerging sectors such as digitised goods and services as well as increased competition in domestic markets.

I would like to highlight some of the issues affecting the impact of e-business on the competitiveness of enterprises:

Firstly, changes in the structures and operations of markets - faster and larger market information flows enhance the transparency of markets and increase the number of buyers and sellers.

Location - now that there are an increasing range of goods and services (for example - entertainment products) whose production and delivery can occur partly or entirely online - the comparative advantage of countries can change and the economies of location altered.

Participation in international production processes - Internet access allows just-in-time systems to expand. Companies that are out of the loop will have fewer chances of obtaining business.

Distribution costs - the transaction costs associated with international trade represent a seemingly insurmountable barrier. Cost savings can be achieved through, among other things, the effective use of e-business and related ICT applications.

Present landscape

It is widely accepted that clear policies and a sound regulatory foundation are needed to attract investment and foster the development of new technologies and services.

Member States have been implementing considerable efforts and activities towards the development of ICTs in the Region, at the national and sub-regional levels. The CARICOM Secretariat, through networking with key focal points, has been monitoring and assisting these developments.

Most of the reform has been taking place in the telecommunications liberalisation sector, only one but a critical input in ICT development, since it has been determined that the main constraint faced by the member states are high international telephone rates and the high cost of broadband connections.

However as has been noted globally, policy and regulatory reform has generally proceeded at a slower pace than technology development. Some of the reasons for this include: different national priorities; resistance to change and, not least of all, the fact that all policy makers and regulators - both new and old - are struggling to address changes resulting from convergence of the information and communication sectors.

If I may briefly examine the issues which are relevant in establishing a regional position regarding Telecommunications and ICTs; these include:

Interconnection in particular rules, principles, guidelines and pricing;

Universal Service with regard to the imposition and enforcement of these requirements;

Universal Access in particular the imposition and enforcement of requirements;

Licensing - Procedures and Fees and the requirements in this regard can be prohibitive to market entry. An emerging issue for the CSME is also the harmonisation in the region of these requirements;

Number portability and numbering schemes also are important and principles and policy in this regard will have to be developed;

Resale can be critical to the roll out of infrastructure and permission and principles in this regard will also be relevant;

Equipment interoperability and standards will also be important not only to keep technological standards high but also to lay a foundation for future development in the industry;

Facilities Leasing, Provision and Pricing will also be important in determining the entry points in telecommunications markets and these should also be borne in mind;

Technical Standards, in particular technical interfaces and interface protocols should also be considered.

Carrier Pre-selection will also be critical to consumer use of the telecommunications system.

Additionally, it is established that there are four core requirements necessary for development of an ICT sector:

1.      Infrastructure Framework

A core communications and technology network infrastructure, with relative ubiquity of access, capacity and "low" cost.

2.      Human Capacity

Establishment of a critical mass of knowledge workers, with emphasis on technical skills

3.      Policy Framework

Support of a transparent and inclusive policy process and strengthening institutional capacity to implement and enforce policies

4.      Enterprise (Legal Framework)

Improving access to financial capital, facilitating access to global and local markets, enforcing appropriate tax and property rights regimes, enabling efficient business processes, consumer protection, privacy protection and stimulating domestic demand for ICT.

In the development of our trade agenda, it is understood that smaller economies like ours have to be mindful of implications for wider development and contribute to it. This is particularly so with policies for deploying ICTs and in defining positions relating to specific arenas, the need for this broader consideration was even more apparent.

This is an area whose inherent pervasive and crosscutting nature also means that it can be locked into difficulties which can compromise other areas of development. The community therefore recognizes that the heavy impact of ICTs on trade, particularly with respect to connectivity and reach, cannot be considered in vacuum and a new lens is required for focusing on the industry.

Member states have been giving space and definition to their social & economic development planning and implementation, both in terms of ICT as a traded service and more significantly, as critical infrastructure for trade, particularly international trade.

The Way forward

We are all realising the significance of effective ICT systems in the development of the region and many countries have awarded licences to new entrants. However progress has been slow on some issues, most notably on the creation of regulatory bodies to ensure that both the social and commercial objectives of liberalisation are achieved.

Important decisions must be made over the next years to facilitate for the extension of existing services and the roll out of new applications; none of which will happen if regulatory processes are not sufficiently developed.

At this significant stage, questions must be answered about how to create an enabling environment for ICT-led competitiveness, how to create the legal infrastructure supportive of and conducive to e-business activities, the extent to which regulators should intervene in the market; how regulatory skills and experience can be built; how disputes can be resolved and confidence built in regulatory regimes.

Governments have an important role to play - they must act as leaders, providing vision, raising awareness and giving high priority to ICT development; they must be active players but must not substitute for private sector action; they must enact policies and standards that generate an environment conducive to international business and should focus on facilitating the entrance of smaller, underprivileged players in the marketplace.

In the final analysis, much of the required investment will come from the private sector. E-strategies that combine public intervention with private sector initiative in a mutually supportive manner will therefore be most effective.

Closing

"Liberalisation", "privatisation", "deregulation" are tools, not the definition of an end-goal policy agenda. In all things that we undertake - let us always remember to strive for balance.

The history of regulation has always been about compromise and bartering of privileges and responsibilities to achieve public policy objectives. Regulators, the instruments of regulation, are a necessary balancing influence - to remit some rights so that we may enjoy the benefits of others.

There is indeed a long list of critical issues surrounding the telecoms and ICT industries to be grappled with by the CARICOM Region and I respectfully submit to you that what is urgently needed is nothing less than a paradigm shift in order to 'jumpstart' these industries.

We need to reshape the debate surrounding the strategic application and benefits of ICTs to our Region. Additionally, we need to start thinking of the telecoms industry as an infrastructure industry, where, without broad access by all segments of society - all other economic activity is difficult.

We need to focus on the following: Development of legal, regulatory and policy environment in order to maximise the economic and social benefits of the "Information Society". Societies through our Governments need to create a trustworthy, transparent, and non-discriminatory legal, regulatory and policy environment.

An adequately developed infrastructure which is the precondition for secure, reliable and affordable access to information by all stakeholders, and for the development of an array of on-line services that are relevant to them.