Continuing with our ‘Know Your Neighbours’ series, Ervin Williams, Director of the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Saint Kitts and Nevis, provides some insight into the ICT and telecoms space in Saint Kitts and Nevis, and why it has been able to punch above its weight when compared with other Caribbean countries.

 

This episode is also available in Apple iTunes and on Stitcher!

Saint Kitts and Nevis, also known as the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is located in the northern Lesser Antilles, to the west of Antigua and Barbuda. Although it has a population of around 55,000, this two-island state is considered to be one of the more progressive, in relation to telecoms and ICT.

From all reports, the country has a fairly well-developed telecoms space, having liberalised its industry over 15 years ago, and has been able to maintain a multiplayer environment. More importantly, it has been actively seeking to leverage ICT and to foster innovation, as was discussed in our conversation with Dr Ricardo Neil, of the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College in Saint Kitts.

From a policy perspective, the Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis was reportedly the first in the Caribbean region to get an Autonomous System Number (ASN) for its computer networks. An ASN is used to identify a computer network on the global Internet, and is an important milestone towards achieving network independence (Source:  OECS Business Focus). Additionally, and more recently, the country is in the process of developing a national broadband strategy (Source:  St Kitts and Nevis Information Service), which speaks to how seriously the country sees ICT in shaping its future..

Ervin Williams NTRC Saint Kitts and Nevis

Hence, in this podcast episode, and continuing with our ‘Know Your Neighbours’ series, we are exploring Saint Kitts and Nevis with Ervin Williams, the Director at National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, which is the telecoms regulator of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Ervin has been at the Commission for over a decade, and so has not only been an important player in the country’s telecoms and ICT sector, but also has had ringside seat to evolution that has been occurring. Hence, some of the questions posed to Ervin included:

  1. Can we have a quick overview of Saint Kitts and Nevis?
  2. With regard to telecoms and ICT, how developed is it in Saint Kitts and Nevis? How accessible and affordable are those services?
  3. What might be St Kitts and Nevis’ longer term vision as it relates to ICT?
  4. What do you know about the Autonomous System Number Saint Kitts and Nevis received? And why did the Government go through the trouble to get one?
  5. What is the story behind the latest report that Saint Kitts and Nevis will soon have an Internet Exchange Point?
  6. As the home of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, which recently launched on digital currency initiative, what is the sentiment on the ground with respect to having a digital currency?
  7. What are some of the challenges or concerns Ervin might have about telecoms and ICT in Saint Kitts and Nevis, from a regulatory perspective?
  8. What is it like being an entrepreneur in Saint Kitts and Nevis? What does Ervin think about the country’s start-up environment/ start-up culture?
  9. What are some of the tech-related or tech business related-trends Ervin is seeing in the Saint Kitts and Nevis?
  10. What does Ervin believe are key strengths of the ICT/tech space in Saint Kitts and Nevis?
  11. What are some of the challenges Saint Kitts and Nevis might have to address to improve ICT there?
  12. What are some of the ICT/tech-related opportunities that Ervin see in Saint Kitts and Nevis?

 

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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:  St Kitts and Nevis Information Service;  Wikipedia;  MaxPixel; Wikimedia Commons;  Prayitno (Flickr)

Music credit:  Ray Holman