{"id":168180,"date":"2023-04-05T05:55:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-05T10:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=168180"},"modified":"2023-05-17T06:04:14","modified_gmt":"2023-05-17T11:04:14","slug":"ictp-246-telecommunications-regulation-is-it-still-needed-in-our-increasingly-digital-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2023\/04\/ictp-246-telecommunications-regulation-is-it-still-needed-in-our-increasingly-digital-world\/","title":{"rendered":"ICTP 246: Telecommunications regulation, is it still needed in our increasingly digital world?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>With Karel Douglas, the Executive Officer, Legal and Enforcement, of the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT), Cheryl Hector Fontenelle, the Acting Managing Director of the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL), which oversees telecommunications regulation in Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Ansord Hewitt, the Director General of the Office of Utilities Regulation, in Jamaica, we discuss the&nbsp;evolution of telecoms regulation in the Caribbean region, and how regulation needs to evolve to accommodate the technology advancements that have been occurring and better position us for the future.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/1485473020&#038;color=%23ff5500&#038;auto_play=false&#038;hide_related=false&#038;show_comments=true&#038;show_user=true&#038;show_reposts=false&#038;show_teaser=true\"><\/iframe><div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\" title=\"ICT Pulse Podcast\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">ICT Pulse Podcast<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\/ictp-246-telecommunications\" title=\"ICTP 246: Telecommunications regulation, is it still needed in our increasingly digital world?\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">ICTP 246: Telecommunications regulation, is it still needed in our increasingly digital world?<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This episode is also available on <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SoundCloud<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast\/id1373550291\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Apple iTunes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/feed\/aHR0cHM6Ly9pY3QtcHVsc2UtcG9kY2FzdC5saWJzeW4uY29tL3Jzcw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Google Podcast<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/3d0U4ZYX80e5lenYLdzyX4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Spotify<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/3f727ec1-de7d-416f-8bdc-31d9a911a09e\/ict-pulse-podcast\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Amazon Music<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast?refid=stpr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stitcher<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The telecommunications sector we enjoy today across the Caribbean region bears no resemblance to what it was 25 years ago. In the late 1990s, virtually all countries had a single provider that had an exclusive monopoly, which resulted in high rates, little or no choice, in terms of service packages or plans, and limited access to the services it offered. Further, the networks were often limited to urban areas, and to people who could afford the rates payable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, and across most of the region, the exclusive monopolies have given way to competitive environments and regulation, and so we enjoy lower rates, the ability to select prepaid and post-paid services, options in terms of the service packages and plans available, better service access, especially in rural or low population density areas, and services being offered at a broad range of price points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although admirable strides have been made, the environment has changed considerably and continues to evolve. Mobile and other wireless technologies are now at the fore, with broadband internet providing a channel through which voice\/audio, text, data and video can be transmitted. We are also beginning to get glimpses of what is to come as we start to understand the potential impact of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, robotics, big data, the internet of things, etc., on our lives and societies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These developments mean that our policy and regulatory frameworks should also be evolving. The frameworks that we had in place to liberalise our markets and introduce and nurture competition, are not what is needed now, as we position ourselves for the future and what lies ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introducing our guests<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"168183\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2023\/04\/ictp-246-telecommunications-regulation-is-it-still-needed-in-our-increasingly-digital-world\/guests-karel-douglas-cheryl-hector-fontenelle-ansord-hewitt\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Guests-Karel-Douglas-Cheryl-Hector-Fontenelle-Ansord-Hewitt.jpg?fit=1024%2C591&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1024,591\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Guests (Karel Douglas, Cheryl Hector Fontenelle, Ansord Hewitt)\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Sources:  TATT; ECTEL; OUR&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Guests-Karel-Douglas-Cheryl-Hector-Fontenelle-Ansord-Hewitt.jpg?fit=300%2C173&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Guests-Karel-Douglas-Cheryl-Hector-Fontenelle-Ansord-Hewitt.jpg?fit=1024%2C591&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fgd.dfv.mybluehost.me\/.website_c81a1e61\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Guests-Karel-Douglas-Cheryl-Hector-Fontenelle-Ansord-Hewitt.jpg?resize=664%2C383&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-168183\" width=\"664\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Guests-Karel-Douglas-Cheryl-Hector-Fontenelle-Ansord-Hewitt.jpg?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Guests-Karel-Douglas-Cheryl-Hector-Fontenelle-Ansord-Hewitt.jpg?resize=300%2C173&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Guests-Karel-Douglas-Cheryl-Hector-Fontenelle-Ansord-Hewitt.jpg?resize=768%2C443&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 664px) 100vw, 664px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/karel-douglas-a4a47539\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Karel Douglas<\/a><\/strong> is the Executive of Legal and Enforcement at the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago. He is a qualified attorney at law, and holds a Master&#8217;s in Telecommunications and Information Technology law from the University of Strathclyde.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Karel previously worked as Senior State Counsel at the Solicitor General\u2019s Chambers in the Office of the Attorney General. He was also Head Legal and Corporate Secretary at the National ICT Company of Trinidad and Tobago, also known as iGovTT, a government entity in charge of the Government\u2019s enterprise-wide ICT projects. He also was a recipient of the Pro-Vice chancellor&#8217;s Award in communications, public relations and advertising from the Extramural Department of The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/cheryl-hector-0b055045\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Cheryl Hector Fontenelle<\/a><\/strong> is currently the Acting Managing Director of the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL), a regulatory body for telecommunications in its Member States, namely, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. She has more than 15 years of progressive experience in electronic communications and ICT regulation. Her current focus is on consumer empowerment and promoting an enabling regulatory environment to facilitate the digital transformation of the economies of the ECTEL Member States with affordable access to safe, high-quality broadband service for all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/ansord-hewitt-89b92244\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Ansord Hewitt<\/a><\/strong> has been the Director-General of the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) since 2017 after serving in various capacities in the organisation for over twenty-two years. He is a Regulatory Specialist, Economist, and Attorney-at-Law and has over 30 years of experience at various levels in quasi-judicial organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ansord holds a Master\u2019s degree in Regulation from the London School of Economics after being awarded a Chevening Scholarship in 1997, a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Economics and Management (UWI) and a Bachelor of Law from the University of London. He also holds a Certificate in Legal Education from the Norman Manley Law School in Kingston, Jamaica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Insights into our conversations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the burning questions raised with Karel, Cheryl and Ansord during our conversation was, \u201cWhat is the role of the regulator?\u201d In the early days, the role of the regulator was clear: to keep the incumbent in check and facilitate a levelling of the playing field so that new entrants to the market could have a fighting chance. Twenty years later, the market dynamics have caned changed considerably \u2013 to the point some could argue that the regulator is not as essential as it had initially been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the regulator is still crucial, but its role is evolving. In the discussion, Karel, Cheryl and Ansord highlighted several areas that regulators now need to address such as the affordability of service, particularly for those in lower economic brackets, and digital inclusion. Additionally, regulators now need to work in a cross-discipline construct, as telecommunications and the internet especially, underpin a number of technical areas, including cybercrime, cloud computing and fintech. Increasingly, telecommunications regulators must liaise and collaborate with regulators in other fields, to ensure cohesion and alignment of policies and regulations going forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are some of the questions pose to Karel, Cheryl and Ansord during our conversation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\">\n<li>Let\u2019s start by setting some context. What was the initial impetus or premise for introducing telecommunications regulation in your jurisdictions?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In introducing competition, there seemed to have been the expectation \u2013 and to some degree, there still is the expectation \u2013 that it will drive down prices. What has been the reality on the ground?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The value of regulation is that it can mimic market forces in circumstances where it is absent. In most market segments there is competition, so what now is the role of regulation?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To what degree are the current policy and legislative frameworks relevant for the current market and the role that regulators?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>One of the challenges that many of our countries have been grappling with is the widening of the digital divide. What are the issues that need to be balanced, and how can we better narrow that divide?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What are your thoughts on the CARICOM Single ICT Space?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What might be issues or challenges in the current telecoms\/ICT space that you believe may require better regulatory oversight?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ICTPulse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Facebook<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ict-pulse-consulting-limited\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>LinkedIn<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;pages, or via Twitter,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ICTPulse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>@ICTPulse<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><em>Also, if you or a member of your network is interested in joining us for an episode,&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/fgd.dfv.mybluehost.me\/.website_c81a1e61\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>do get in touch<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><em>Let\u2019s make it happen!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Select links<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode or otherwise, might be useful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/karel-douglas-a4a47539\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Karel Douglas<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/cheryl-hector-0b055045\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Cheryl Hector Fontenelle<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/ansord-hewitt-89b92244\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Ansord Hewitt<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ectel.int\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/our.org.jm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Office of Utilities Regulation<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/tatt.org.tt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.starlink.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Starlink<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Images credit:&nbsp; ECTEL;&nbsp; OUR;&nbsp; TATT;&nbsp; Largo Polacsek (<a href=\"http:\/\/pexels.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Pexels<\/a>);&nbsp; Pixabay (<a href=\"http:\/\/pexels.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Pexels<\/a>);&nbsp; Pixabay (<a href=\"http:\/\/pexels.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Pexels<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Ch\u00e9rie), by Andy Narrell<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Podcast editing support:&nbsp; Mayra Bonilla Lopez<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With Karel Douglas, the Executive Officer, Legal and Enforcement, of the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT), Cheryl Hector Fontenelle, the Acting Managing Director of the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL), which oversees telecommunications regulation in Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Ansord Hewitt, the Director General of the Office of Utilities Regulation, in Jamaica, we discuss the\u00a0evolution of telecoms regulation in the Caribbean region, and how regulation needs to evolve to accommodate the technology advancements that have been occurring and better position us for the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[355],"tags":[305,32,212,12,15],"class_list":["post-168180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","tag-digital-economy","tag-information-society","tag-policy-2","tag-regulation","tag-trends","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Featured-Image-%E2%80%93-Regulation-in-the-Digital-Age.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2iE1G-HKA","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168180"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":168409,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168180\/revisions\/168409"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}