Ideally, a unified Caribbean region should be better and stronger than its constituent parts. With regard to telecoms and ICT, we still in the process of establishing a seamless and harmonised regional space. In our recent conversation with Rodney Taylor, the new Secretary General of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union, he shares his thoughts on, among other things: the CARICOM Single ICT Space; the efforts afoot to establish a regional regulatory machinery; and what should be the region’s priorities, with respect to telecoms and ICT.

 

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According to a popular quote from Lewis Carroll, most famously known for the book, Alice in Wonderland, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there”. Suffice it to say, as it relates to telecoms and ICT in the Caribbean region, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Single ICT Space and realisation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), have been longstanding goals; but we seem to be challenged in figuring out how to realise them.

To be fair, successfully implementing almost any CARICOM initiative is a mammoth undertaking, as it requires extensive coordination, and the agreement of 20 member countries, each of which have different characteristics, needs and imperatives. Further, and when the complexity of and initiative is brought into the mix, seemingly straightforward plans and activities can get mired in the slow grind of trying to implement a unified and cohesive approach. As a result, the concept of the CSME is already over 30 years old, whilst the early discussions on the Single ICT Space, that is the Regional Digital Development Strategy, is already around 10 years old.

However, and has been said before, COVID-19 highlighted the importance of telecoms and ICT in the region. In our most recent conversation with Jennifer Britton of the CARICOM Secretariat, she indicated that the CARICOM Member States seem to be now moving with more alacrity on ICT-related matters in the region.

A critical player in the efforts to advance telecoms and ICT in the region is the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), which is an institution of CARICOM, and a technical agency focussing on all matters related to telecoms and ICT. Earlier this year, the CTU announced the appointment of a new Secretary General, Rodney Taylor. In 2018, we had a conversation with past Secretary General, Bernadette Lewis, on some of the regional plans and initiatives, particularly in relation to ‘21st century government’.

It has been a few months since the new Secretary General assumed office; so we have been eager to get his perspective on telecoms and ICT in the region, and consequently, the role he would like the CTU to play in shaping that future.

 

Introducing our guest

Rodney Taylor CTU Secretary General

Effective 1 March 2021, Rodney Taylor was appointed the Secretary General (SG) of the CTU. Prior to that appointment he was the Chief Digital Technology Officer of the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Smart Technology (MIST), in Barbados, where he was the technical lead on Barbados’ digital transformation, to improve public sector service delivery through strategic use of innovation, science and SMART technology.

The SG has over 20 years of professional experience, which includes managing the Information Systems Unit in Barbados’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and its overseas missions. He also previously served as the Business Development and Operations Manager of the CTU, where he worked with regional governments in the development of policies to govern ICT and represented the region in many international ICT conferences. He also led the work to operationalise the CTU’s Caribbean Centre of Excellence, to offer consultancy services to the Member States and others.

The SG has been an advisor on Internet Governance and has published research on e-commerce diffusion in small island developing states in the Journal of Information Systems for Developing Countries. He is an Ethical Hacker and a founding member and former Chairman of the Barbados Chapter of the Internet Society, an global organisation that aims to promote the open development, evolution, and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world.

The SG holds a Masters in Management and Information Systems from the University of Manchester (United Kingdom), and a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Sector Management from the University of the West Indies.

 

Insight into our discussion

If there is anything that the conversation with the SG highlighted, it is the number of ICT-related initiatives that are currently ongoing in the region. Some are being spearheaded by individual countries, whilst others are to benefit the entire CARICOM region, or a sub-group of countries. Additionally, some are ‘quick wins’, such as the removal of roaming rates across the Caribbean, whilst others, such as the Single ICT Space and 21st century government, are far more complex and have longer term horizons.

To that end, the new SG seems to be up to the challenge of corralling 20 countries, in the hopes of making some meaningful headway on the telecoms and ICT projects and initiatives that have been in the making for several years.  Below are some of the key questions that were posed during our conversation.

  1. To get us started and provide some context, how would you describe the Caribbean Telecommunication Union, why is it important an organisation in the region?
  2. In recently assuming the position of Secretary General, please tell us a bit about yourself
  3. How would you describe the telecoms and ICT space in the region, for example with respect to state of development?
  4. As a technical agency of CARICOM, why is the CARICOM Single ICT Space taking so long to be realised?
  5. Is ‘21st century Government’ still a focus of the CTU?
  6. What might be some challenges or concerns you have with respect to countries trying to get from where we are, to where we need to be?
  7. Based on your interaction with Caribbean governments so far, what are some of the challenges or concerns that have been expressed, with respect to the continued development of telecoms and ICT in their respective countries?
  8. What do you see as priorities for the region, as it relates to telecoms and ICT?
  9. What do you see as the priorities of the CTU?
  10. Are there any specific goals you would still like to achieve during your tenure at the CTU?

 

We would love to hear from you!

Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages, or via Twitter, @ICTPulse.

 

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: CTU; Chaitawat Pawapoowadon (Pixabay); Barbara Bonanno (Pixabay); JCT 600 (flickr)

Music credit: Ray Holman

Podcast editing support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez