By 2015, the Broadband Commission had set the goal that all countries should have a national broadband plan or strategy or include broadband in their Universal Access\/Service Definitions. In adopting a national broadband plan or strategy, countries would not only have had to establish a framework for its continued development and use, but would also have to demonstrate leadership and vision to improve the availability of broadband facilities and services in keeping with demand.<\/p>\n
As reflected in Table 1, with the exception of Dominica, Haiti, Saint Lucia and Suriname, all of the other countries included in the Broadband Commission\u2019s latest review have a national broadband plan or strategy. Dominica and Saint Lucia are reportedly in the process of preparing policies, which it is hoped would be finalized soon.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"Table](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Status-of-National-Broadband-Policies-2014.png?resize=560%2C511\")
Table 1: Status of national broadband policies in select Caribbean countries as at 2015 (Source: Broadband Commission)<\/p><\/div>\n
It is also interesting to note that for some countries, such as Grenada, the effective period of their plans or strategy has elapsed. Though its strategy and action plan may still be still in use, from a policy perspective, the country may not be fully benefitting from all of the developments that have occurred in the broadband Internet space. A similar argument could be made in the case of Jamaica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, both of which have plans are also over seven years old.<\/p>\n
Target 2: Making broadband affordable<\/h3>\nBy 2015, the Broadband Commission had set the goal that entry-level broadband services should be made affordable in developing countries through adequate regulation and market forces. Further, the price for a basic fixed-broadband service should amount to less than 5% of an individual\u2019s average monthly income.<\/p>\n
When 18 Caribbean countries was examine earlier this year, as part of our Snapshot:<\/strong> 2015 update on Internet\u00a0affordability<\/em><\/strong>,<\/a> only 14 countries had an fixed-broadband Internet plan that would cost for no more than 5% of a person\u2019s \u00a0average monthly income (see Figure 1).\u00a0 The exceptions were Dominica; Guyana, Jamaica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.<\/p>\n
![\"Figure](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Best-Internet-plan-for-5-percent-of-monthly-income-2015.png?resize=560%2C325\")
![\"Figure](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Percentage-of-households-with-Internet-in-select-Caribbean-countries-as-at-2014.png?resize=562%2C306\")
![\"Figure](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Percentage-of-Individuals-Using-the-Internet-2014.png?resize=560%2C314\")