In September 2017, Hurricane Maria decimated several Caribbean countries, but one of the worst hit was Dominica in the Eastern Caribbean. A year on, the country is still recovering. Craig Nesty, head of the Dominica telecoms regulator talks to us about the devastation experienced at the hands of Maria, especially with respect to the telecoms and ICT infrastructure; the state of the rebuilding efforts; and possible learnings and considerations we can all take away.

 

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People who reside outside the Caribbean region may not fully appreciate that there is a difference between the countries, the Dominican Republic and Dominica. The former is approximately 48,315 sq. km (18,655 sq. miles), with a population of about 10.3 million (Source: Wikipedia) , and is located on the island of Hispanola, where it shares a common border with Haiti. The latter, whose official name is the Commonwealth of Dominica, is a considerably smaller island nation, covering an area of around 750 sq. km (290 sq. miles), in the Eastern Caribbean, between the French islands, Martinique and Guadeloupe, and has a population of approximately 73,500 (Source:  Wikipedia).

However, in September 2017, Dominica made the international news due to the devastation it experienced from Hurricane Maria. That Category 5 hurricane, which also decimated Guadeloupe and Puerto Rico, left 31 people dead and 37 missing and presumed dead in Dominica. Further, 90% of buildings were damaged, and the much of the island’s infrastructure, particularly that for telecoms and ICT, was completely destroyed (Source:  ReliefWeb).

It has been just over a year since Maria, and Dominica is still recovering. In our interview with Craig Nesty, the Executive Director of the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, the telecoms regulator in Dominica, we talk about telecoms and ICT in that country. However, a chasm exists that cannot be avoided: before Maria; and after Maria.

So although we might have wanted to explore Dominica’s telecoms and ICT landscape since the sector was liberalised over 15 years ago, and should be showing signs of maturity, there is a sense that after Hurricane Maria, and with respect to its telecoms and ICT infrastructure, the country is (almost) rebuilding from scratch. Even Craig admitted that his office, and others in its vicinity, are still recovering. So, it almost seemed a miracle we could successfully conduct the interview, with a relatively clear connection, save the background noise in and around Craig’s office.

Some of the areas our conversation with Craig covered included:

  1. A brief overview of the Dominica National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC): how it got started, and the scope of its functions
  2. What the role of the Executive Director of NTRC Dominica entail
  3. The current focus and priorities of the NTRC
  4. The current state of telecoms and ICT development in Dominica
  5. The scope of the destruction Dominica experienced due to Hurricane Maria in 2017
  6. The recovery to date generally, and with respect to telecoms and ICT
  7. The experience of being part of a sub-regional regulatory machinery, and whether there have been any benefits and/or constraints to Dominica of being part of such a grouping
  8. The project for which NTRC Dominica won the Regional Fund for Digital Innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean (FRIDA) award, and the status of the project since winning that award
  9. Based on the experience in Dominica, the effectiveness of the emergency communication network, which is usually initiated to provide updates prior to, during and after a storm
  10. Craig’s observations and any recommendations, as it related to telecoms and ICT networks resiliency, drawing from Dominica’s experience with Hurricane Maria.

 

Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:

 

Image credits:  DFID (flickr);  NTRC Dominica 

Music credit:  Ray Holman