Government Wants a Digital Society

The Government is on a mission to transform the island into a digital society, says Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Dr. the Hon. Norman Dunn.

Speaking at a Meeting of the Caribbean Spectrum Management Task Force (SMTF), at the Iberostar Hotel in St. James on February 6, he said that through the Universal Service Fund (USF), “we are participating in that transformation, because each Member of Parliament is being given four or five local WI-FI services to institute within their constituency”.

“We want to ensure that persons have access to this digital space; we don’t want anyone to be left behind and, therefore, this transformation has to take place,” Dr. Dunn indicated.

The Minister highlighted that the global digital economy has become increasingly important, especially since the onset on the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly taught us the true significance of telecommunications and ensuring that we can secure wireless connectivity and coverage. I am, therefore, pleased to be here to discuss the harmonisation of the frequency within the region,” he noted.

Dr. Dunn outlined that the meeting also fosters the development of regional relationships that will undoubtedly lead to economic growth, which is of critical importance to the Government.

“This meeting comes at a time when our Ministry has been facilitating deeper partnerships within the region, having recently facilitated a trade mission to the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and is actively preparing for other such missions within the next few weeks,” he informed.

Objectives of the SMTF meeting, which is open to representatives of the Caribbean Spectrum Management Task Force, Steering Committee and other resource personnel, include formulating and documenting the SMTF’s Action Plan for 2023 and to facilitate meetings of the SMTF’s topic-focused working groups.

It also aims to engage with industry stakeholders to gather useful and relevant information and to work collectively to address relevant matters arising for the attention of the Task Force.

The three-day SMTF meeting is being held in collaboration with the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, and the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) and is geared at building the capacity of participants in spectrum management, including students of UWI’s Mona Campus, through informative and interactive presentations and workshop sessions. The meeting ends on February 8.