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ICT Policies for the Caribbean: Taking Stock and Setting Priorities

ICT Policies for the Caribbean: Taking Stock and Setting Priorities. Dr. Heather E. Hudson Professor, ICT Management and Policy Graduate School of Business University of San Francisco. Why are ICTs Important?. Development and ICTs: The Information Connection. Benefits of ICTs

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ICT Policies for the Caribbean: Taking Stock and Setting Priorities

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  1. ICT Policies for the Caribbean: Taking Stock and Setting Priorities Dr. Heather E. Hudson Professor, ICT Management and Policy Graduate School of Business University of San Francisco

  2. Why are ICTs Important?

  3. Development and ICTs:The Information Connection • Benefits of ICTs • Efficiency: • Saving time and money • Mobile phones! • Online support: logistics, ordering, tracking, etc. • Effectiveness: • Improving quality of services: • e.g. education and health care, customer support • Equity: • Urban and rural; rich and poor; minorities; disabled • Reach: • New markets, new audiences, new sources of supplies • Particular needs of isolated and island states

  4. ICTs and Caribbean Economic Development • Economic Diversification: • Information services, call centres, back offices • More trained and skilled workers • Competiveness: • Tourism: logistics, reservations, marketing • Other existing economic activities • CSME: Caricom Single Market and Economy • 13 members, 6 million population • Free movement of capital, goods, services and people • Common trade and economic policies • Goal to strengthen competitiveness in the global economy

  5. Do Fixed Lines Matter? Perhaps not so much, for basic voice

  6. But fixed lines are still important: For access to Internet For broadband services

  7. Internet Access Price as Percentage of GNI per capita

  8. International Internet Bandwidth

  9. Cases: Why Broadband? • Distance education • Educational institutions are major users of Internet access in the Caribbean • UWI is one of the pre-eminent distance learning institutions in the world • Other educational institutions providing online courses and access to distant resources • Training: Using the Internet to share materials • K-Net: serving 25 isolated indigenous settlements in northern Canada • Posting training videos on YouTube • E-based Services • Small countries need educated workforce (see above) and cheap and reliable communications including VOIP • e.g. Bhutan • Population about size of St. Lucia • Landlocked and mountainous • Call centre start-ups using VOIP

  10. Cases: Subsidies for Schools can bring Broadband to Communities ... • Alaska: • More than 200 isolated villages • Highest per capita recipient of USF E-Rate funds • E-Rate provides discounts for Internet access to schools and libraries • Alaskan operator has used schools as anchor tenant • WiFi coverage from schools now covers most villages • Price for village access no greater than urban access • Macedonia • Newly independent country in Adriatic • Had monopoly provider and low Internet access • Seed funding from USAID to provide Internet to schools • Project included policy: opening market to competition • Competitive bids to provide service • Resulted in Macedonia becoming first “wireless broadband country” • Now more than 30% of population are subscribers

  11. Getting to Broadband: Lessons from the Mobile Explosion • Competition is key • Lower prices • Innovative strategies: e.g. prepaid, commodity prices • Demand may be much greater than assumed • Farther down the economic pyramid • Old Distinctions no longer Relevant • Fixed vs. mobile: • Mobile phones as first and only phones • What is E-mail? • SMS (short message service): Poor person’s (everyone’s?) e-mail? • Mobile phone as platform for many services • Convergence: Voice, data, video • What is voice? • Bits are bits • VoIP Telephony • What is video? • Broadcast vs. IPTV

  12. Getting to Broadband:Strategies for Policy and Regulators • Facilitate • Allow competition wherever feasible • Allow use of new technologies • E.g. WiFi, VOIP for cheap Internet access and telephony • Do not mandate unnecessary stumbling blocks • Reduce local barriers • e.g. permits for rights of way • Local fees and taxes, duties • Be Flexible • One size may not fit all • Waivers • Listen to the Users (or would-be users) • Collaborate • Other regulatory authorities • Competition, trade, local governments

  13. Strategies: Public/Private Partnerships • Infrastructure • E.g. government to use commercial (public) networks, not build own networks • Government as anchor tenant • May drive demand for new services • Economic Development • Strategies to encourage investment in target regions • Incentives to operators • Applications • Target sectors such as education, health care, government services • Build on demand from other services • Audio/video downloads • Social networking • Games? • ASK YOUNG PEOPLE!

  14. For more information:hudson@usfca.eduwww.usfca.edu/fac-staff/hudsonFrom Rural Village to Global Village

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