The existence of a networked economy in which information, products and services are solicited, shared, accessed and re-purposed without traditional limitations, has not only introduced new rules of play and risk-taking in the competitiveness landscape, but also revealed unanticipated and unfamiliar markets. Indeed information and communications technologies present several opportunities for achieving competitive advantage. Governments and leaders alike recognize that in addition to being critical spillovers to every sector, the ability to effectively harness ICTs will improve their overall competitiveness rankings. Yet the Caribbean region continues to be characterized by a delay in the adoption and effective use of ICT amidst the structural upgrades that have occurred.

Developing the critical mass to harness ICTs

The outlook for a vibrant, competitive Caribbean ICT sector depends in part on the extent to which the region is able to build and sustain a diverse set of competencies, as well as a keen culture of agility and innovation, at all levels in the value chain. Startup Weekend Trinidad and Tobago is a timely addition to a suite of initiatives that have emerged around the Caribbean and elsewhere to stimulate purpose-driven innovation outside of formal educational programmes.

Over a period of 54 hours, entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs from the technical and non-technical communities will gather to pitch ideas, team up, validate business propositions, develop prototypes and present to a panel of high profile judges from the financial, business, design and technical sectors. The event’s introduction in the English speaking Caribbean follows on national as well as regional ICT-based competitions such as the Caribbean Innovators’ Challenge: Mobile Applications for Development, facilitated by the Caribbean ICT Research Programme (2009); the i-Create e-Content Caribbean, facilitated by Caribbean Association of National Telecommunications Organizations (2011, 2012 and 2013); and the Caribbean Open Data Code Sprint, facilitated by the Caribbean Open Institute (2012 and 2013).

Alongside these ICT-focused competitions, several other institutional, national and regional competitions have stimulated excitement and activity around ideation, problem solving, business plan development and business idea pitching. Regional examples span the gamut of target communities from high school students, as in the case of the Sagicor Visionaries Challenge, facilitated by Sagicor (2012/2013), the Caribbean Examinations Council and the Caribbean Science Foundation; youth, as in the case of the Caribbean Innovation Challenge, facilitated by Young Americas Business Trust and UNDP (2013); new and aspiring entrepreneurs, as in the case of pitchIT, facilitated by InfoDev and the Canadian International Development Agency (2013); and established entrepreneurs, as in the case of the Caribbean Idea Marketplace Business Competition facilitated by Caribbean Idea Marketplace (2013).

These competitions continue to serve as important capacity building exercises that complement existing tertiary and continuing education programmes, even those that focus squarely in the areas of entrepreneurship and innovation. At the same time, they incentivize attention on focal points of national, regional and global development such as sustainability, poverty reduction, innovation and competitiveness.

Equally important, is their catalysis of multidisciplinary teaming around diversities of skills, perspectives and experiences to address compelling problems; and to capitalize on business opportunities, often applying ICTs for social or economic profit. In the case of Startup Weekend Trinidad and Tobago, the process methodology responds to pressing realities, which call for swift and lean business ideation, validation and action.  Its fresh, experiential learning methodology presents an exciting opportunity for learners in tertiary education institutions to engage with society, even while they are otherwise guided through the rigors of a structured academic programme. Such engagement is an inescapable shift in the tradition of higher education which faces the contemporary reality that:

the sites of problem formulation and negotiation have moved from their previous institutional domains in government, industry and universities into the agora.  The agora refers collectively to the public space in which ‘science meets the public’, and in which the public ‘speaks back’ to science. It is the domain (in fact, many domains) in which contextualisation occurs.  Neither state nor market, neither exclusively private nor exclusively public, the agora is the space in which societal and scientific problems are being framed and defined, and where ‘solutions’ are negotiated. It is the space, par excellence, for the production of socially robust knowledge. (Gibson 2006)

Moving tech entrepreneurs from idea to market

For a region struggling with its risk-averse business culture, traditionalist attitudes to entrepreneurship, paternalistic approaches to trade and internationalization, the lean startup methodology (Reis 2011) as espoused by Startup Weekend may be just what the doctor ordered. The event connects entrepreneurs from all disciplines to each other, creating a reference for what is possible in the region and reducing fear by managing failures. It does this by recreating the entrepreneurial environment that most entrepreneurs take months or years to create. In the case of Trinidad and Tobago which ranks 71st out of 185 economies in time to start a business (World Bank & International Finance Corporation, 2013), Startup Weekends can play a role in helping local entrepreneurs reduce the parallel bottleneck of moving from idea, through validation, to market.

Startup Weekend has recently been recognized as the largest grassroots community of entrepreneurs, with over 100,000 alumni in over 110 countries, creating over 8000 startups in the past five years. The community impact is expected to almost double in 2013. Startup Weekend’s first foray into the Caribbean, was in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, after the devastating earthquake in 2010. The movement has since spread to the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Martinique, with Trinidad and Tobago to be the first in the English speaking Caribbean to host the event, inspiring organizers from Jamaica, Dominica, Barbados and St. Lucia. Startup Weekend Trinidad and Tobago, scheduled for 22—24 May 2013 on the St. Augustine Campus of The University of the West Indies, is well subscribed and has garnered a rich and vibrant following. By all accounts, it is set to put ICT to work within various entrepreneurial corners in Trinidad and Tobago; and to raise the Pulse of Caribbean ICT from the Ground Up.

References:

Gibson, M. (2006) Engagement as a Core Value in a Mode 2 Society. CHE-HEQC/JET-CHESP Conference on Community Engagement in Higher Education. South Africa.

Reis, E. (2011). The lean startup. U.S.A.: Crown Business.

Post authored by:  Trinidad and Tobago Startup Weekend team 

Image credits:  jscreationzs (FreeDigitalPhotos.net);  Facebook; Facebook

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Yesterday, 11 April, was Day 1 of the two-day Caribbean Open Data Conference, which concludes later today. The event, which is themed “Developing the Caribbean”, is in its third year and focuses primarily on Open Data ‘as a catalyst for regional development, and the role of software development as a locus of innovation’ (Source: event website). The conference also includes a 24-hour Code Sprint or hackathon, where within 24 hours, teams of programmers compete to develop software applications using publicly available datasets. Similar to last year, conferences and/or hackathons are being held in: Cuba; Dominica Republic; Guyana; Jamaica; Suriname; Trinidad & Tobago.

At the Jamaica leg of the conference, the keynote speaker was Mr. Paul Kukubo, Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya ICT Board, a statutory corporation under the Ministry of Information and Communications that oversees the development of the marketing of Kenya as and ICT investment destination. Mr. Kukubo gave a riveting talk in which he shared some of Kenya’s strategies to become the ICT hub of East Africa. Outlined below are five learnings that Caribbean countries should consider in order to realise their own ICT-related development goals.

Paul Kukubo at Caribbean Open Data Conference (Jamaica)

1. Have specific and measurable goals. Although this point might seem obvious, many countries still use considerable rhetoric when framing their initiatives: “we aim to be the best ____”, or “our goal is be a leading destination for ____”. Effectively those statements do not say much. More importantly, they in no way highlight any of the critical requirements that must be satisfied in order to achieve the desired goals.

In the case of Kenya, its vision, as per its National ICT Masterplan 2012—2017, is that “Kenya becomes Africa’s most globally respected knowledge economy”. However, underpinning that overarching outcome, a number of specific and measurable goals have been articulated, such as with respect to:

• IT industries development and innovation – creating 50,000 jobs, 500 organisations and 20 global facing innovations, and
• ICT in industry – it should contribute at least 25% to GDP, and local SMEs should have at least 60% automation.

2. Measure performance regularly. Regardless of the goal, it is important for countries to gauge their progress regularly to determine, among other things, whether or not, or the extent to which current activities are yielding the desired results, or whether any additional interventions might be necessary. It is therefore critical from the outset that the appropriate indicators are identified and tracked.

In a similar vein, especially when competitive goals have been established, it is also important for countries to measure or validate their performance against other locations, in order to determine whether, relative to those countries, the overall outcomes are being achieved. For example, although Country X may implement a suite of improvements that should reflect favourably in an international assessment, other countries are also making improvements. Hence when the countries are all compared, Country X’s efforts might appear negligible relative to those of other countries, which could result in no improvement, or even a lowering, in its ranking.

3. Encourage private sector execution. Recently, Caribbean governments have been regularly encouraging private sector involvement in a number of their programmes and initiatives. Frequently, the impetus for these solicitations from governments is the fact that they are unable to finance many of those projects, and are hoping for private investors support.

Although financing challenges may still need to be resolved, Mr. Kukubo focussed on project implementation, and recommended that countries establish systems that fostered private sector execution for important initiatives.

While many Caribbean governments might baulk at this approach, due to the loss of control that would result, in highly competitive environments, such as ICT investment and development, it is crucial for key sector organisations to be agile, responsive and empowered to make speedy decisions. To do otherwise would be not only counterproductive, but also counterintuitive for organisations that are supposed to be on the cutting edge of dynamic industries, and spearheading critical national projects, to be unduly mired in government bureaucracy, protocol and processes.

4. Secure cheerleaders. For any transformative project that is being undertaken, it is absolutely critical that it has cheerleaders. To be clear, these “cheerleaders” should be senior government officials that can, among other things,

• drive the policy development and implementation processes
• advocate for and defend the project
• ensure that the project receives the support it needs at the highest political levels
• lobby for the removal of roadblocks and bottlenecks that could affect the project’s success.

5. Ensure there is sufficient political will. Finally, although it might appear somewhat redundant to emphasise the need for political will for government-initiated projects, the focus of this learning is the impact of, and the ways in which that support is demonstrated. Too frequently across the Caribbean, governments initiate or develop certain projects that are considered critical for the countries they serve. However, issues such as, a true lack of ownership of and accountability for the project by the political directorate, government bureaucracy and process inefficiencies, etc., derail successful and timely implementation.

In the Kenyan situation, there was a sense that the country’s ICT development programme not only had the highest political support, but perhaps more importantly, the will of the government to address or manage roadblocks and other challenges that could affect successful realisation of its goals. Hence the government and its functionaries were prepared to act with requisite focus and alacrity, and considerable successes have resulted.

In summary, most Caribbean countries have recognised ICTs as important drivers of economic and social development, and to varying degrees have developed plans or strategies through their goals can be realised. Although much of what Mr. Kukubo shared was not new, it reiterated the fact that with the appropriate focus, drive and commitment developing countries can make transformational changes in their economies. Too often, we stand in the way of our own greatness.

Image credits: Caribbean Open Data Conference (logo); ICT Pulse

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We have all heard it before, and by now take it for granted, life, as we know it – both personal and professional – has irrevocably changed thanks to the Internet. While many among us are working valiantly to build businesses or deliver services that use technology, the extent to which they are successful is often hit or miss.

Although tech businesses fail for many reasons, but one of the major ones, which is frequently realised well after considerable time and money have been invested, is that the concept might not have been viable in the first place. Caribbean BETA 2012, the annual tech entrepreneurship conference that is now in its second year, will be offering some insight into some potentially lucrative tech opportunities that could be harnessed, particularly in the Caribbean.

Focused around the theme “The business of the Internet – mobile, social, consumer driven“, the one-day conference will again be held in Kingston, Jamaica, on Friday, 16 November, at the Knutsford Court Hotel. It will feature a number of talks exploring business opportunities in four areas that are especially relevant in the region: government; mobile; Creative Industries; and entrepreneur support. Teams have also been invited to pitch their business ideas for the chance to win mentoring, financial and technical support towards launching a viable business.

What and where are the opportunities in Government?

In individual countries across the Caribbean, governments are typically the largest employer and the largest procurer of goods and services. However, they are continually being challenged to, among other things: streamline processes; become more efficient, effective and innovative; foster engagement, and to be more user-friendly for all stakeholders.

The panel discussion, “When technology meets a Government”, will highlight ways in which technology can be used to help governments solve many of the problems they are facing, e.g.:

• What opportunities does the public sector offer?
• What are the priority areas for tech intervention?
• How best to harness those opportunities?

What and where are the opportunities in Mobile?

The proliferation of mobile/cellular phones across the Caribbean (and worldwide), provides a unique and opportunity to interface with virtually every citizen within a particular country, or even in the region. The panel discussion, “Mobile – a phenomenal Caribbean opportunity”, will be answering questions, such as:

• How can we better harness the platform?
• What are some of the opportunities we are not exploiting?
• How can a viable, or even profitable, business using the mobile/cellular platform be realised?

What and where are the opportunities in the Creative Industries?

Increasingly, many countries in the region are using cultural events and activities to attract investment and revenue, but little attention has been given to using technology in the Creative Industries and the Internet to drive wealth creation.

The keynote speaker for Caribbean BETA 2012 is Mike Johns, the Chief Executive Officer of Digital Mind State, based in Los Angeles, California. Although he might not be well known within the Caribbean, Mike is widely respected internationally for helping global brands marry hip-hop culture and wireless (especially mobile/cellular) technology. Mike’s talk will be on, “Reggae Music 2.0: How will it succeed in the Digital Age of Music, Brand, Culture”, will focus on the business of reggae music, and how this genre can fulfil its potential in this digital age.

Later in the morning, there will also be a panel discussion, “When technology meets the Creative Industries”, with persons representing the music, film, animation, and publishing industries.  The panel will be examining how technology is being used in the Creative Industries and within their respective fields, and highlighting trends and business opportunities that marry the arts and technology.

How and where can you get the support to build your business?

One of the challenges frequently highlighted by Caribbean entrepreneurs and business owners, particularly in the tech space, is the limited avenues for financing in the region. However, as was noted in one of our posts, 6 reasons why Caribbean tech start-ups cannot access funding, there are variety of reasons entrepreneurs or businesses are unable to access what little is available. In the last panel discussion of the day on “Funding entrepreneurship and innovation”, a broad range of expertise, including entrepreneurs, incubator managers and investors, have been assembled to discuss how to find, fund and nurture the next big Caribbean Tech Entrepreneur.

The Caribbean BETA PitchFest

Finally, and similar to last year, the Caribbean BETA PitchFest will be the highlight of the event.  The PitchFest will give budding and established entrepreneurs an opportunity to pitch a new business idea or an existing prototype that uses the Internet, mobile or social media platforms.  As at posting, 13 teams have committed, and the deadline for registration is Monday 12, November.

Unlike last year where the prizes were primarily cash and mobile/cellular devices, through the PitchFest, Caribbean BETA is focussed on facilitating tech entrepreneurship success stories. Hence, in addition to bragging rights, this year’s winners will receive some of the support they will need to realise viable businesses, such as:

• connections to Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists
• coveted spots in tech/business accelerator
• development support.

For those who will be in Kingston on 16 November and are interested in attending Caribbean BETA 2012, the event website has the requisite details, and up to the minute developments can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.

ICT Pulse will also be Caribbean BETA 2012, so please feel free to drop by and say hi.

Image credits: Caribbean BETA,  Lascoo;  Caribbean BETA.

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Many of us in the ICT/technology space recognise the still untapped potential of mobile and portable devices. While it might be a prudent business decision to cater to the growing needs of that market., it can be a challenge to develop financially viable and sustainable ventures. MobiWorld Caribbean, which will be held on 27—28 September at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (UTT Campus), in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, promises to help businesses harness mobile technology.

Although spanning 2 days, each day of MobiWorld Caribbean has been designed to be independent of each other, while maintaining the overarching objective of equipping attendees to better capitalize on what mobile market can offer. Based on the event schedule, Day 1 focuses on the business of mobile, and could be of particular interest to entrepreneurs, and public and private sector leaders. On the other hand, Day 2 is geared towards software developers and those interested in mobile applications (apps), and will include an intensive coding workshop.

Have an idea for an app?

In addition to a full two-day conference, MobiWorld Caribbean plans to feature an App Idea Contest, which aims to foster commercially viable mobile app development in the Caribbean. The competition intends to support the devlopment of two apps by offering:

• US$12,500 in application design & development support
• mentorship and advice on bringing the products to market, and
• marketing and application deployment support (Source: MobiWorld Caribbean).

The written idea for the app must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, 15 September 2012. A shortlist consisting of the five best ideas will be invited to deliver a live presentation on Friday, 28 September 2012, during the Developer Day (Day 2) of the conference.

Chike Farrell, Chief Executive Officer of Caribbean Ideas Limited, the same group behind last year’s Caribbean Digital Expo (CDX), shares his own views on MobiWorld Caribbean:

I am interested in attending, now what?

Persons interested in attending MobiWorld Caribbean can register on the event website, and subsequently arrange payment via the options provided. In light of the fact that each day can be enjoyed independently of the other, prospective attendees can decide whether they would like to participate in either the Business Day (27 September), the Developer Day (28 September), or both.

As at publishing of this post, the early bird pricing had ended, but discounted rates are still being offered, based on the size of the group being registered and how early payment is made. Pricing details to participate in the Business Day and/or the Developer Day are available on the event website.

The value proposition

Without a doubt, the Caribbean consumer is becoming even more attuned to and savvy about mobile technology, and is eager for options that advance their business or professional requirements, and also enhance their personal lives. However, most of those options are being sourced from developed countries (international markets), although there is expertise – considerably closer to home – that can provide comparable solutions. According to Caribbean Ideas, MobiWorld Caribbean attendees can expect to benefit from the event in the following ways:

1. Extremely knowledgeable speakers: From the head of mobile for CNN Money, to VP of Client Service at Iconmobile, a global mobile agency, to the co-founder of Shopvisible, a company that specializes in Mobile Commerce for traditional businesses, attendees will be exposed to dynamic, knowledge speakers who can impart valuable, practical information.
2. Mobile in a Caribbean Context: Global and regional experts will be featured who are able to help you relate the global context to the unique Caribbean reality.
3. Practical Mobile Strategies: We’re all about action and we know that you are as well. This conference is designed to deliver practical insights and tactics that you can walk away with. Our goal is to ensure that you not only understand mobile in the context of your business strategies, but also how you can make your way in taking advantage of the capabilities.

Finally, for those who will be in Trinidad and Tobago, ICT Pulse will be participating in MobiWorld Caribbean on 27 September. Please feel free to drop by and say hello.

Image credits: MobiWorld Caribbean; Salvatore Vuono (FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

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Beyond the talks and presentations delivered at the 8th Caribbean Internet Governance Forum (CIGF), which was held in Saint Lucia on 29—30 August, one of the main objectives of the Forum is to review the Caribbean Internet Governance Policy Framework. Initially drafted in 2009 by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), the policy framework is tabled for review at the annual CIGF to ensure that it continues to reflect stakeholders’ interests, and

…stimulate[s] development of harmonised national policies and best practices in IG appropriate to and supportive of the aspirations of the CSME for economic and social development. It could also facilitate formulation of Caribbean positions for discussions at international fora and be the basis for further policy evolution in the region… (Source: CTU)

This year’s CIGF attendees, who represented a broad range of interests and expertise from both the private and public sectors, reviewed the third iteration of the policy framework. For the most part, the suggested amendments aimed to tighten the language used in the document, which would, to varying degrees, adjust the emphasis of a particular priority. However, Forum attendees also proposed some new recommendations, which also appeared to be recurring themes during the Forum proceeding, and suggest a changing emphasis in the Caribbean Internet Governance (IG) conversation. In this post, we highlight three.

1.  More pointed promotion of Internet safety

Internet safety is a concept that has already been captured in the policy framework, especially as it relates to the strategic area of “legal framework and enforcement”.  However, the regular discussions that have been occurring on cyber security, cyber crime along with the continuing concern about the safety and privacy online, especially among children, is precipitating closer examination of the topic. For example, the question was posed:

“Where do we draw the line between what is safe and unsafe on the Internet?”  (Source: CTU)

Although the question might appear simple or trite, it is not easily answered.  Persons can be advised of conduct that may protect them from certain threats, but the Internet itself is such a nebulous entity where seemingly safe or prudent practices can still leave persons exposed. Hence there are no guarantees. Nevertheless, as increasing numbers of persons get online across the Caribbean, it may become incumbent on governments to establish some guidelines for Internet use, which can be widely distributed and inculcated into its citizenry.

2.  Greater focus on Quality of Service

The current and previous versions of the policy framework recognised the importance of Quality of Service (QoS) as it pertains to the physical (telecoms) infrastructure. Priority recommendations ranged from ensuring that regulators and telcos establish national standards and regional benchmarks for service reliability, stability and availability, to ensuring that adequate systems, capacity and staffing are in place to manage operations, maintenance and remediation (Source: CTU)

However, there appears to be a realization that while the policy aims to improve QoS, there is no system in place to assess the extent to which telcos and their services across the Caribbean meet the standards specified. Hence, a new recommendation made is that as a licensing condition, telcos should be required to report regularly on their service performance against the stated QoS benchmarks (Source: CTU).

3.  Greater demand for information sharing to inform decision-making

On more than one occasion during the review of the policy framework, it became apparent that persons wanted to be better informed to improve their decision-making. This view was highlighted in relation to, inter alia, QoS and research conducted on the development of the Caribbean Information Society.

With regard to QoS, greater transparency was being proposed in order to allow consumers to compare service performance among telcos (Source: CTU),. On the other hand with regard to research conducted, the request was that the findings be tailored to be used by policy makers and legislators (Source: CTU).

Such requests suggest two key changes that are occurring within the Caribbean. First, consumers appreciate that they do have options, and are empowered to exercise it. As a result, they want to be adequately equipped – with the information needed – in order to make decisions. Second, the deluge of information that regular users of the Internet face, appears to be driving the need for information to be sufficiently distilled for immediate comprehension. In light of the heavy workloads that many of us are under, policy makers and legislators might be in a better position to advance an issue, if the inputs/information provided can be readily incorporated.

Follow-up considerations

The Caribbean Internet Governance Policy Framework, while an admirable and necessary initiative that provides a construct for harmonised IG policies and positions across the CARICOM, can be susceptible to the challenges similar regional programmes face. First, outside of the CIGF events, which relatively few persons are able to attend, there might not be any other official sessions through which the IG conversation can continue across the region. The CTU does have an online discussion forum platform, but it requires revitalisation. The organisation has promised to reactivate it and to make a concerted effort to engage stakeholders on a regular basis. However, there is still need for a two-pronged approach in order to effect national change:

• through the CTU, as an institution of CARICOM, to facilitate harmonised ICT policies across member states, which are communicated directly to policy makers, legislators and other senior government officials, and
• through local (in-country) stakeholders, who can lobby their governments directly to implement policies that address their interests and concerns, which hopefully are aligned with those being proffered at the regional level.

Finally, there frequently is little follow through by the participating countries to adopt or align national policies to those proposed or agreed at the regional level. However, increased engagement on IG issues across all sectors of society should result in a better informed citizenry, who in turn can demand greater accountability from their governments and ensure that priority issues are decisively addressed.

Image credits:  CTU / digitalart & renjith krishnan (FreeDigitalPhotos.net).

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Bevil Wooding highlights some core challenges facing the Internet and Internet Governance, which developing countries and other major stakeholders should be aware of, and be prepared to address.

The Internet has been growing at 115% per year, more than doubling annually, for thirty years. Today, over two billion people are connected to the Internet. The openness of the Internet has been the main catalyst for many social and economic advances. It has enabled a level of human communication and interconnection unprecedented in human history, as demonstrated by the staggering global popularity of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. It has also spurred new levels of innovation, fuelling significant economic activity. The McKinsey Global Institute, a U.S.-based think tank, estimates that the Internet has generated as much as 10% of GDP growth in developed countries over the past fifteen years.

The impressive growth of the Internet has not been without challenges, however. The structures necessary to oversee such a dynamic creature as the Internet have to adapt continually to a shifting set of global priorities and pressures. Further, Internet-enabled economic benefits, and the power and influence that goes with them, are often not equitably channelled to developing nations.

Managing chaos: the multi-stakeholder approach

Who is responsible for addressing equity and growth of the Internet? Who is to be charged with creating and governing a more even playing field? The answers are complicated.

No single organization or country is responsible for governing the Internet. Instead, the Internet is managed by a mélange of organizations, representing a variety of interests and responsibilities. As the scale and complexity of the Internet increase exponentially, the supporting organizations also evolve and expand to keep up. New entities are also formed with more specific responsibilities, to address new or more specific challenges.

Despite the global significance of their function, the organizations currently charged with administering Internet entities are largely unheralded and unknown. Only a miniscule percentage of billions of people who depend on the Internet have ever heard of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a U.S.-based non-profit responsible for coordinating the global domain-name system; the regional Internet registries that coordinate IP addresses, such as the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry (LACNIC) and American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN); the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), the central coordinator for the development and promotion of Internet standards and protocols; or the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), which develops global technical standards so that devices and software all around the world can interoperate. The list of three- and four-letter acronymed groups gets even more obscure when one adds the many organizations and stakeholder groups that coordinate or support Internet-related resources, standards, and policy.

It is no surprise that many onlookers view this multi-stakeholder approach to Internet governance as chaotic and inefficient. Some argue that the Internet is simply too important globally to be left to such a loose form of governance. But the history, the facts, and the fruits of an open Internet argue otherwise.

The seemingly loose, decentralized, multi-stakeholder governance has worked amazingly well in managing the exponential growth of the Internet. Proponents of this approach believe is succeeds because the system is so open and decentralized that anyone anywhere on the planet can invent new applications, develop content, or create hardware or other standard-based technology and connect it with the global network. This is all possible without the need to obtain permission or secure a license from any government or corporation. This is the beauty and power of the Internet. It is also the reason the Internet continues to see explosive growth and innovation in the midst of a global economic downturn.

Internet Governance under threat

Yet all is not well. The stakes are high in the growing global debate about who should be in charge of the Internet. For years China, India, Russia, and many developing countries have protested that the multi-stakeholder institutions are unfairly dominated by Americans and Western Europeans. Developing countries, often under- or unrepresented at international gatherings, voice real concerns that richer, developed nations manipulate outcomes to further their own commercial and geopolitical advantage.

Against this backdrop, a new battle in the war for control of the Internet has begun. At its centre is the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a U.N. organization covering 193 member countries. The ITU, whose remit thus far has been limited to global telephone systems, is currently conducting a review of the international agreements governing telecommunications. The body is proposing to expand its regulatory authority to the Internet at the upcoming World Conference on International Telecommunications scheduled for December 2012 in Dubai.

Top down vs. bottom up

The ITU is a model example of an international bureaucracy whose rigid, top-down approach to decision making could hardly be more antithetical to the Internet’s dynamic, bottom-up approach to governance. ITU negotiations are held largely among governments, with very limited access for civil society or other stakeholders.

Because the ITU is a U.N. treaty-based organization, if its proposals are accepted at the Dubai conference member countries could be bound to Internet usage terms that are essentially dictated by special interests and controlled by nation-states – not by the mix of businesses, educational and research institutions, governments, and nongovernmental organizations that has guided the Internet’s evolution so far.

But there is more to this brewing storm than decision-making models and stakeholder participation. Control over Internet governance has highly commercial implications. Several telecoms companies have voiced dissatisfaction over the economic model underpinning the Internet. They express frustration at bearing the costs of laying the physical infrastructure while being left out of the fortunes being reaped by companies such as Google, Skype, and Facebook.

In Dubai, ITU delegates will be debating whether telecom network operators should be allowed to prioritize traffic and charge different network access rates to web content suppliers, in return for their guarantees that the infrastructure will work smoothly. This raises the prospect of new digital haves and have-nots in cyberspace. Advocates of an open Internet are vehemently opposed to preferential treatment of traffic and the notion of any “tax” on the Internet. The implicit threat is that telecom companies could create a tiered Internet experience, with fast and slow access depending on what users can afford.

Dr. Hamadoun Touré, the Secretary-General of ITU, has stated that he expects the Dubai meeting to be tough. Yet in an interview with Canada’s Association of IT Professionals last July, he played down its impact saying,

We are seeing quite a lot of people talking about how this conference is going to be about internet governance; in fact nothing could be further from the truth. There are no proposals from our membership on this topic.

Downplaying the significance of the Dubai meeting to Internet governance may well be diplomatic brinkmanship by the Secretary-General, and an indication of the competing political and commercial interests he has to manage. The Internet was still in its infancy in the last time the group met to revise the International Telecommunication Regulations, in 1988. There is no question that the Regulations need to be updated to reflect the dramatically different technology landscape of the 21st century. Still, the fear is that a body that functions primarily through governments and represents the interests of governments would be incapable of comprehending or responding to the diverse interests of Internet stakeholders. Such a body should not be given control over a globally interconnected network that transcends the geography, politics, and the special interests of individual nation-states.

Defend the values, protect the Internet

National governments have a major role to play on the Internet, especially as it relates to defending citizens’ interests and defending against cyber-security threats. According to Vint Cerf, one of the founding architects of the Internet,

…the net prospered precisely because governments – for the most part – allowed the Internet to grow organically, with civil society, academia, private sector and voluntary standards bodies collaborating on development, operation and governance… (Source: The New York Times)

A change from governance by many moving parts to a more statist, monolithic model would represent a tectonic shift in the philosophical foundations of the Internet. It would also likely have profound and perilous ramifications for the future of the Internet and its global users. More fundamentally, overly bureaucratic Internet governance would hamstring decision-making and innovation, blunting the growth and development of the Internet.

Internet users around the world, but particularly those in developing regions, need to consider carefully the pros and cons of proposed changes to the global Internet governance model. The motives of those advocating preservation of the status quo must also be critically assessed. There is definitely room to improve governance of the Internet, but abandoning the principles and values that have led to its success as a global platform for innovation and development is not the answer. Too much is at stake for anyone to remain ignorant of the issues, or worse, silent in response.

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By Bevil Wooding, Internet Strategist at Packet Clearing House – a US-based research non-profit. Follow Wooding on Twitter: @bevilwooding and Facebook: facebook.com/bevilwooding or email bevil@pch.net

Image credits:  kakela, (flickr) /  Stuart Miles,  Ideas go, Salvatore Vuono (FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

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The Caribbean Internet Governance Forum (CIGF) is in its eighth year and was held in Saint Lucia on 29—30 August. Organised by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), the Forum facilitates an annual review of Caribbean Internet Governance Framework, which was initially prepared in 2009. Typically, the agenda also includes discussions on key Internet Governance (IG) issues and developments in the region. This year was no different. Two of the subjects highlighted and for which action from Caribbean governments was being advocated, were cyber security and Internet Exchange Points (IXPs). This post, the first of at least four on this year’s CIGF, summarises the talk given on cyber crime in the Caribbean. The CTU promises to publish the presentations on its website next week.

Key discussion points

Gregory Richardson giving his talk on Cyber crime in the Caribbean

Long-time CTU collaborator, Gregory Richardson, Chief Executive Officer of 1337 Leet Networks, Inc., gave a rousing presentation on “Cyber crime in the Caribbean”. In establishing a context for his talk, Richardson highlighted that the largest cyber crime department in the United States Secret Service focuses on the Caribbean. Additionally, the United States, Canada and other developed countries have been investing millions in the Caribbean to support improvement of our cyber defences, in the hope of minimising the incidents to which they might be exposed. Nevertheless cyber crime in the Caribbean is still on the rise. Furthermore, the profits from cyber crime are widely held to exceed that of generated from cocaine, marijuana, heroin (the illegal drug trade) combined! Hence it is exceedingly lucrative and is poised to grow even more into the foreseeable future.

Having gotten participants’ attention with that introduction, Richardson then focussed on what could be done to improve the Caribbean region’s success in combating cyber crime. The four points he described, which are outlined below, require commitment and resolve from both the private and public sectors:

1.  A cultural and mental shift to exercise vigilance with respect to cyber security is essential. Far too often, too much is taken for granted in the area of network security. For example, we overestimate the capabilities of network security facilities, such as firewalls and antiviruses. We believe (among other things) that:

• they can do far more that they actually can
• they require minimal intervention and management, and
• if those facilities do not detect a threat, we are have not been compromised.

However, Richardson disabused participants of that perception, noting that the protection offered by antiviruses and firewalls is always months behind the cyber criminals and their ingenuity. We are always playing catch up!

2.  We must establish a framework for cross border collaboration to fight cyber crime.  As sovereign states, we often deal with cyber crime in isolation to each other, and with little, if any, information sharing occurring among countries. As a result, criminals take advantage of this situation by implementing the same line of attack in different countries in the region. Hence, while it is critical for national Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) or Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs) to be established, they must all be able to communicate with each other, which could be done via a regional CERT/CSIRT, or similar body. The regional body could disseminate information and coordinate a coherent regional response when needed, which in turn would strengthen network security at the country level.

3.  We must address false pride as it pertains to network security. This point was directed primarily at network security managers, systems administrators, etc., where the view was that network specialists are quick to give assurances that the networks or systems under their care are fully secure. Instead, Richardson advocated that the practice of having networks independently tested, especially by entities that specialise in penetration testing and intrusion detection, in order to obtain authoritative feedback on the security of one’s network.

4. Finally, we must actively defend our cyber border. This point reiterates the sentiments expressed above. We must be more proactive in defending our borders, because the Caribbean, as individual countries and as a region, is not under the radar of criminals. Hence we ought to be prepared to establish or adopt the requisite systems and protocols critical to improving our cyber defences at the country level, such as CERTs, IXPs and DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extensions).

A full house on day 2 of the 8th CIGF in Saint Lucia

In the question and answer session that followed, Richardson was asked why criminals might be focussing on the Caribbean. In his reply he highlighted that the increase in Internet bandwidth means that more entities of interest are online, and so greater opportunities exist. Additionally, the lack of proper legislation, both at the national and regional levels, on what is, or is not, a crime (or cyber crime) as well as to facilitate information sharing between countries, mean that the chances of prosecution would be limited or considerably less severe.

With regard to the third point, participants interjected that frequently, corporate clients are not prepared to spend on network security, and will even rely on free products as a major line of defence. This stance within our business community, which was corroborated, does suggest that organisations in the Caribbean still have not truly appreciated the importance of cyber security and the threats to which they are continuously exposed.

Finally, in light of the caution Richardson expressed earlier in his talk on being overly reliant on firewalls and antivirus software, he again stressed that all network security appliances, especially firewalls, must be configured. They are not plug-and-play in nature, and must be programmed for the environment in which they must operate. Furthermore, even under the best conditions, regular assessments ought to be conducted to ensure that networks have not been compromised, especially since detection and protection systems tend to be at least on step behind the criminals.

Image credits: ICT Pulse

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Monday, 25 June 2012

BTC union ‘appalled’ by investigation

Bahamas – Workers at the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) are “appalled” by the ongoing investigation into what caused a network meltdown last week… more

Digicel says 500,000 on new rate plan

Jamaica – Mobile giant Digicel claimed that half-a-million customers have already chosen its new reduced rate plan… more

Tuesday, 26 June 2012

CARICOM Open for Business: Pushing Projects for Connect the Americas Summit

Guyana – The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), in preparing for the one of its kind Connect the Americas Summit, set for Panama in July, is sending a strong and clear message to private sector and investment organizations that they are ready with viable, creative, cross-cutting regional and national development projects for funding… more

Govt. Fiber Optic Cable for testing in August

Guyana – The Guyana Government’s LTE Fiber Optic Cable programme is currently some 90 per cent complete. Testing of the network will commence early August… more

Wednesday, 27 June 2012

URCA presses BTC for report on outage

Bahamas – The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) said yesterday it has given the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) until July 9 to produce a detailed report on a network outage that affected thousands of landline and cellular customers across the country last week Monday… more

4G mobile lands in Jamaica

Jamaica – Digicel finally launched its long-awaited 4G network on Monday, promising to transform mobile communications with high-speed Internet access… more

Digicel 4G Mobile Is Here!

Jamaica – Digicel has announced the launch of its brand new 4G Mobile network which will see customers all across Jamaica enjoying a completely unique mobile experience with reliable, superfast internet speeds… more

Digital Jam 2.0: Offering Real hope for Jobs in Virtual Spaces

Jamaica – Tapping into Jamaica’s growing appetite for all things online, a new initiative hopes to tackle the country’s rising unemployment by connecting virtual job seekers with opportunities in the real world… more

Thursday, 28 June 2012

87,000 Digicell Customers Risk Disconnection

Belize – All unregistered cellular phone accounts will be disconnected at noon on Friday, July 13. The final deadline for the registration of cellular phone accounts is roughly two weeks away and of Digicell’s 190,000 accounts, only 103,000 have a registered owner… more

Digicel boss reportedly receives big payout

Jamaica – Following on the announcement earlier this month that the Digicel Group Limited grew its operating profit to a record US$1.08 billion, reports are coming from international sources that its owner is reaping a significant return on his investment… more

Jamaicans urged to expose lotto scammers

Jamaica – Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Devon Watkis is imploring Jamaicans to expose lotto scammers, as they are detrimental to the country’s image and are affecting persons at home and abroad… more

LIME Techs Get Avaya Training

Saint Lucia – Following the announcement last year that LIME had achieved Platinum Partner Status from Avaya – a global leader in business communications systems, software and services – the company embarked on a range of initiatives designed to help it better serve the needs of small and medium businesses. LIME has since moved to strengthen its capacity to satisfy the needs of its SME customers… more

Friday, 29 June 2012

CTEX Datacenter construction in full gear

Curacao – CTEX’s ‘CU-1’ the first of 4 high-end Tier-IV designed datacenters is coming out of the ground at record speed… more

GT&T’s Board to accept CEO’s resignation

Guyana – The Board of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) is by Friday midday expected to accept the resignation of the company’s Chief Executive Officer Yog Mahadeo… more

GT&T head resigns, four sacked

Guyana – Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company, Yog Mahadeo, has resigned. News of his resignation came yesterday… more

Updated: Yog’s out, Joe’s back as GT&T’s head

Guyana – The majority American-owned main telecommunications provider- Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T)- on Friday announced a major top-management shake-up following a detailed audit… more

Digicel filed court action before LIME announced new rate

Jamaica – Telecoms giant Digicel yesterday pointed out that its application for a judicial review of the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) setting of a mobile termination rate (MTR) was filed on June 13, two days before its competitor LIME launched its $2.99 rate… more

Digital Jam 2.0: Creating new job opportunities for Jamaica’s youth

Jamaica – The government of Jamaica, together with the World Bank and in partnership with the Jamaican telecommunications companies Flow and Lime, the Development Bank of Jamaica, the Jamaica National Building Society, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), on Thursday launched the Digital Jam 2.0., a digital market and job fair that will be open until this Saturday… more

Samsung hopes to make business inroads in Jamaica

Jamaica – Korean electronics firm, Samsung, says it’s looking to displace Blackberry as the number one smart phone in the Jamaican market… more

Study Shows Data Storage, Sharing Issues Hamper Disaster Mitigation Efforts

Jamaica – Insufficient storage and exchange of critical information are hampering some Caribbean territories from adequately reducing disaster risk… more

Tax Officials Reveal System Breach By Online Hacker

Jamaica – Jamaican tax officials have confirmed that one of their computer systems was hacked, but have given the assurance that sensitive information concerning taxpayers was not compromised… more

‘Techies’ Compete To Create Apps At Digital Jam 2.0

Jamaica – Jamaican youth were yesterday given the opportunity to enter the virtual economy, as the Digital Jam 2.0 Marketplace and Job Fair got under way at the Jamaica Conference Centre… more

Saturday, 30 June 2012

Cell rates may drop

Barbados – Cellphone and Internet users in Barbados finally have some good news coming their way… more

GT&T undergoes major shake-up

Guyana – There were serious lapses in the internal financial controls of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T), says outgoing Chief Executive Officer, Yog Mahadeo.
Mahadeo’s shocking resignation was accepted on Thursday by the GT&T’s Board of Directors following a damning auditor’s report that found internal accounting systems were bypassed… more

Sunday, 1 July 2012

OUR Fears Mobile Monopoly

Jamaica – It was the fragile state of competition in Jamaica’s mobile phone market and concern over possible reversion to monopoly status that led the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) to introduce an interim call-termination rate, according to documents perused by Sunday Business… more

Image credit: News stand (Gary Thomson, flickr)

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Earlier this week, on 26 June, ICT Pulse participated in a seminar and executive breakfast under the theme, “Scaling up Security Management for Newer Threats”. The event, hosted by Paladion at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, in Kingston, Jamaica, was targeted at network security specialists and senior executives from both the public and private sectors.

Paladion is one of the leading information risk management firms, with a presence in 30 countries worldwide. It has been included in a number of internationally recognised rankings for the network/information security, such as those prepared by Deloitte, Gartner, Info Security Products Guide, and Red Herring.

Although the focus of the seminar were the talks by Paladion Networks’ Chief Operating Officer, Vinod Vasudevan, ICT Pulse’s Publisher, Michele Marius, was invited to share some views into cyber security in the Caribbean, based on her many posts on the subject:

• Escalating cyber security up the political agenda
• Expert insights 3: cyber threats and security in the Caribbean
• Expert insights 2: cyber threats and security in the Caribbean
• Expert insights 1: cyber threats and security  in the Caribbean
• The value of a Computer Emergency Response Team

In her talk, which was titled “Jamaica: Victim or Perpetrator of Cyber Crime and Threats”, Michele sought to provide some context on cyber security specifically in Jamaica and in the region. First, key insights gleaned from Caribbean network security experts featured in articles published by ICT Pulse were highlighted. Thereafter, the Jamaican situation was examined, and finally suggestions were made on how participants, and the wider community, could improve their individual and collective security. The slides that were presented are shared below.

Incident at the Tax Administration of Jamaica

It is interesting to note that at the time when the presentation was delivered, there was little information in the public domain to corroborate reports that the Tax Administration of Jamaica (TAJ) had experienced a cyber incident. The hacker had announced the leaked data on Twitter, but there was no mention of the incident in the local media, and neither had the TAJ confirmed its occurrence. Questions have even been raised about whether the TAJ realised that it had experienced an intrusion. However, members of the local tech community did find some of the leaked the hacker allegedly released.

The importance of establishing trust relationships

In keeping with the presentation, although every effort should be made by an organisation internally, to implement and maintain adequate security measures, that, in and of itself, as the TAJ situation highlights, might not be enough. Organisations would benefit considerably from having the support of a Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), or similarly a Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT).

Typically a CERT (or CSIRT) ensures

… that appropriate technology and system management practices are used to resist attacks on networks and to limit damage and ensure continuity of critical services in spite if attacks, accidents or failures… (CERT)

CERTs can vary in the scope of their responsibilities and by extension their complexity and cost. However, these ought not impede their establishment across the Caribbean.  Without a doubt, and as corroborated by the security specialists we have engaged, intrusions in the Caribbean are highly prevalent, but in the majority of instances, they have not been recognised as such. Furthermore, cyber threats have increasingly become more stealth, more deeply embedded and more persistent. In light of the millions of dollars that can be lost in time, revenue, productivity and remediation when an incident occurs, a CERT can be an invaluable resource supplementing the internal security measures, and critical support should an attack or other incident be experienced.

Image credit: Firewall Protection, jscreationzs (FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

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The ICT youth-driven event, Digital Jam 2.0 – the future of work is online, will be held this week in Jamaica, from 28—30 June, at the Jamaica Conference Centre, Kingston. The event, which comprises a hackathon, apps competition, 2-day seminar and marketplace/expo, will also feature select international companies that will be highlighting online work opportunities and will be looking closely at the Jamaican talent:

• 500Startups – a seed fund and start-up accelerator
• Freelancer – an online outsourcing and crowdsourcing marketplace
• Microworkers – an online outsourcing platform for microwork opportunities
• Samasource– an online outsourcing platform for microwork opportunities
• SoundTracker – a free music service that blends Internet radio, social networking and location-awareness
• Wildfire – a social media management platform.

Digital Jam 2.0 is expected to attract between 3,000 and 5,000 people, who are keen to understand and take advantage of all available opportunities, such as jobs, networking, training, and business development. However, Digital Jam 2.0 is not meant to be a one-off event. Hopefully, it will be the much-needed impetus to chart a decisive path to innovation and wealth creation for Jamaica and Jamaicans in the virtual economy.

Having said this, virtually all countries within the Caribbean have similar aspirations: to transition into knowledge-based economies where their citizens can take full advantage of the opportunities that the Internet affords. In this post, we suggest key steps that could be taken by any grouping – be it community or country – to foster ICT/technology innovation and business development, in order to become a Digital Society.

Support entrepreneurship and business creation

Although many Caribbean countries might be relying on Foreign Direct Investments – foreign companies setting up local businesses – to drive innovation, such an approach would be strengthen if, at the very least, local businesses are also nurtured. At Digital Jam 2.0, select Jamaican ICT and ICT-related businesses will be showcased in the marketplace/expo. However, start-ups and small businesses typically face a number of challenges, which might be even more acute in the Caribbean, as opposed to developed countries:

• affordable financing
• affordable office space
• available and accessible mentors
• networking opportunities.

These deficiencies highlight a critical need for business incubation initiatives. Some incubation centres already exist, but frequently they are small and over-subscribed. More importantly, start-ups, particularly those owned by youth/young adults, who generally might have an abundance of talent and enthusiasm, but limited business experience, could greatly benefit from a nurturing environment that a business incubator can offer.

Foster innovation

For anyone who has had attended a pitch event, such as Kingston BETA or Caribbean BETA, it becomes quickly apparent that people are brimming with ideas. Sadly, however, there might not necessarily be a reasonable market for the products and services that have been developed. On the other hand, many businesses have identified deficiencies or problems they have been having, for which they could benefit from solutions.

In some measure, connecting problems with persons (or businesses) who might be able to offer solutions is similar, albeit on a considerably smaller scale, to the United States’ support and financing of technology and the electronics industry, from the 1950s to 1980s. This support in turn drove innovation in telecoms, computing and the Internet, and led to the accelerated developments at the mass consumer level, which we began to experience in the early 1990s and from which we are still benefitting today. Hence, encouraging targeted problem solving will not only provide opportunities for much-needed problem solving and innovation, but also viable projects and revenues for those who are engaged.

Build capacity

It almost goes without saying that in our rapidly changing societies, particularly where we must be able to harness ICTs, education is key. Among our children, it is important that competence in basic computing is achieved, but to the extent they are versed in technology, this can create an excellent foundation for creativity in the ICT/technology space in the future.

Additionally, we must also ensure that there are comprehensive capacity buidling schemes that offer more structured training to supplement ad hoc competitions, workshops and meetings thata are held from time to time. Our adult population across all sectors also ought to have access to training in their respective disciplines that help them to integrate technology. The focus of such progarmmes would not be computer literacy, for example, but rather helping people to understand how technology/ICTs can be used to improve or even transform their approach and outputs, while providing them with the requisite skills.

Create an enabling environment

Finally, although the above steps are constituents of this point, they can all be implemented separately and realise some measure of success. However, longer-term success would require a cohesive framework that fosters the move to a Digital Society. Elements in such a framework would include, but would not be limited to:

• preparing and implementing appropriate policy and legislation that underpin the enabling environment
• establishing channels to affordable financing and markets
• creating an attractive environment for local and international investment
• identifying champions and agencies that facilitate and support the entire initiative

It is highlighted that successful implementation of that framework would not only support realisation of the Digital Society, but would also strengthen a country’s business sector in general. This improvement would contribute to increased international competitiveness, which could encourage further investment and growth.

Image credits; Digital Jam 2.0 website; Light bulb, (Vermin Inc, flickr); FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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