Caribbean telecommunication officials began a three-day meeting in Miami, Florida, on Sunday underscoring the need to develop the information, communication and technology (ICT) sector to be able to meet the goals of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.
Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie also challenged delegates attending the 28th Caribbean Telecommunication Organisation (CANTO) annual conference and trade exhibition to provide regional policymakers with information on how to make ICT more affordable and equitable.
“It is for me to challenge you in these meetings that you are in, to tell us the policymakers, what laws we must enact, what policies and rules we must enforce; one, to make broadband ubiquitous; two, to make broadband affordable for the everyday citizen; three, to make broadband reliable to all of our citizens,” he said.
Christie, quoting a report from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), said the challenges of developing broadband are so formidable that the private sector alone will not be able to face them alone.
The three-day event is being held under the theme, ‘Accelerating Broadband Experience in the Caribbean – Transforming the way we Live’.
