{"id":76050,"date":"2015-05-13T05:00:14","date_gmt":"2015-05-13T10:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=76050"},"modified":"2017-04-07T20:10:47","modified_gmt":"2017-04-08T01:10:47","slug":"game-changer-ectel-countries-punch-weight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2015\/05\/game-changer-ectel-countries-punch-weight\/","title":{"rendered":"A game changer: how ECTEL allows five countries to punch above their weight"},"content":{"rendered":"

This month, the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) celebrates its 15th<\/sup> anniversary. Here we highlight its impact on the countries it serves.<\/em><\/p>\n

For those of us who have an interest in the Caribbean telecoms\/ICT landscape, you may have observed that although the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL)<\/a> might not be as visible as some of the other regulatory organisations in the region, it appears to be held in very high regard by the players in the market, their fellow regulators, and even governments. Moreover, it is seen as a thought leader, as frequently it is one of the first regulatory organisations in the region to broach a topic, and engage its stakeholders, in order to determine the policy position that should be adopted.<\/p>\n

Established by Treaty signed on 5 May 2000, by Saint Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada, ECTEL was created as part of wider telecoms sector reform process that was jointly undertaken by those countries. The process, for which the countries secured part funding from the World Bank, was initially conceptualised in 1998to introduce \u201cpro-competitive reform\u201d. However, that goal was subsequently abandoned and replaced with realising full liberalisation of the telecoms sectors in those five countries. The video below tells the ECTEL story, which is part of the journey the countries took toward enjoying the benefits then now have in telecoms and ICT.<\/p>\n