Telecommunications service providers, consumers, regulators and policymakers need to engage in constructive discussions to address the factors contributing to slow uptake of broadband in the Caribbean.
 

That’s the suggestion of managing director of the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) Embert Charles who cited a recent student undertaken by that body, which found that, in addition to the broadband prices being high, many consumers were unaware of the levels and quality of broadband connection they get from their providers.

He said that notwithstanding the numerous initiatives and projects on broadband innovation in the wider Caribbean, the region lags in broadband penetration.

“All stakeholders, including the telecommunications service providers and regulators, must arrive at common ground on entry levels and prices for broadband services,” he said.

Last week, Caribbean regulators addressed the CANTO conference in Miami, under the theme ‘Improving Lives through Broadband Innovation’.

Chairman of the board of directors Isaac Solomon and Charles represented ECTEL at the conference, while other regulators attended from Anguilla, Bahamas, Barbados, Montserrat, St. Marten, Turks and Caicos Islands and Trinidad and Tobago.

The CANTO conference and exhibition is an annual gathering of telecommunications service providers, ministers of telecommunications, vendors, and regulators from the Caribbean and Latin American region.