PLANS for the development of legal and regulatory framework for subsea fibre, retail access and IXPs in three ECTEL member states have moved closer to reality with the deployment of a consultant mission.
It’s all part of the Caribbean Communications Infrastructure Project (CARCIP) that is being implemented in three ECTEL Member States-Grenada, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Joint Venture-The Great Village International Consultants (GVIC), Bird and Bird and JIDCOM have been contracted to provide consultancy services for the development of this component of the project.
The objectives of the consultancy are to improve the legal enabling environment to maximize the benefits of the infrastructure supported under CARCIP; strengthen the competitiveness of the telecommunications market in the medium term and provide support for capacity-building initiatives of ECTEL and the NTRSs to draft, implement and enforce revised legislation. To this end, the consultancy will undertake an assessment of regulatory needs, recommend changes to the legal and regulatory framework and assist ECTEL with the consultation process.
The consultancy kicked off in Saint Lucia on Monday with a meeting involving a team from ECTEL. On Tuesday, the mission met with the NRTC St. Lucia, local providers and the St. Lucia Consumers Association. It was then on to St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada, yesterday for similar engagements.
The consultants will conclude this initial visit to beneficiary countries next Tuesday. They are expected to meet with representatives of ECTEL, the NTRCs, telecom providers and the Ministries of ICT and or Telecommunications in the CARCIP member states. Their discussions will center around regulatory priorities, operator infrastructure and identification of data needs and review of available sources.
The CARCIP programme is funded by the World Bank and aims to leverage Information and Communications Technology (ICT) throughout the region. The Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) is collaborating on the project. ECTEL Member States, St. Kitts and Nevis and Dominica are also expected to benefit from this project.