Grenada’s Prime Minister, Dr. the Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell, secures the endorsement of regional leaders for the governance structure and timelines relative to the elimination of roaming charges within CARICOM.
Yesterday, at the 42nd Regular CARICOM Leaders meeting, Dr. Mitchell provided an update on the initiative, which he said will need the support of regional Governments through their ICT officials and regulators.
Dr. Mitchell, the Quasi Head of ICT within CARICOM sees this as a matter of urgency and is off the view that negotiations on the process should begin sooner than later.
Outlining the governance framework, he spoke of the need for a regional team of negotiators comprising experienced professionals in the ICT sector from various regional countries to be involved in the discourse with representative negotiators from the two primary telecommunications providers, Digicel and Flow.
He urged that whatever consultations need to be held, that consumers across CARICOM be made aware of the negotiations through co-ordinated information sharing.
Dr. Mitchell went further to indicate “While the removal of roaming rates may seem to be a simple element of the Single ICT Space, it is linked to the economic and social imperatives of the region.”
Dr. Mitchell also noted pressing issues identified by telecommunications providers, including the high rate of taxation, unregulated telecoms elements, limited legislative framework and competing with unregulated services and the accompanying issues related to the Over-The-Top (OTT) services…issues that are expected to be considered during phase two of the negotiations, after the roaming rates are substantively addressed.
The Leaders have been convinced that it’s a matter of priority.
