1. ICT Business & Innovation SYMPOSIUM 2012
Regional ICT Policy Development – Catalyst for Social and
Economic Transformation
Hyatt Regency Hotel T&T - 19 November 2012
Towards a SMART Broadband
Caribbean Community
CANTO – IDB – Caribbean Governments
Regenie Fräser
Secretary General CANTO

2. CONTENTS
• Vision & Mission
• Connect the Caribbean
• CANTO/IDB/Caribbean Governments Synergy
• Broadband Forum November 2011, Miami
• Outcomes
• IDB Members Countries
• Components of the Project
• Launch Broadband Infrastructure and Public
Awareness in the Caribbean Project

3. VISION AND MISSION
Membership
• 119 Members comprising: operators, regulators,
governments and suppliers, from 35 countries on 4
continents
Mission
To facilitate the development of ICT solutions for the
benefit of members and other stakeholders in the
Caribbean
Vision
• To be the leading authority in shaping information
and communication in the Caribbean

4. Connect the Caribbean
• CANTO’s Connect the Caribbean Initiative has been
created in support of the International
Telecommunications Union’s Connect the World theme.
• CANTO members and regional leaders are determined that
the Caribbean as a sub-region must achieve their
collective ICT goals and not be lost in the initiatives for the
wider Americas.
• Broadband Infrastructure and Public Awareness in the
Caribbean Project - Towards a SMART Broadband
Caribbean Community

5. CANTO/IDB/Caribbean
Governments Synergy
• IDB objective
– provide Latin America and the Caribbean with technical and other
assistance to support accelerating the penetration and usage of
broadband as a critical technology for innovation
• Caribbean Governments Objectives
- Design of National ICT Plans
• CANTO objective
– Accelerating Broadband Experience in the Caribbean – transforming
the way we live - Towards a SMART Broadband Caribbean Community
Synergy produced the CANTO/IDB/Caribbean Governments
Broadband Forum in 2011

6. Broadband Forum
November 2011, Miami
• Create a dialogue on accelerating the penetration and
usage of broadband as a critical technology for
innovation and as a means to increase productivity,
growth and social inclusion for the region
• Seventy–five ICT experts and decision makers including
Caribbean Government Ministers, regulators,
representatives of regional organisations, operators,
suppliers and civil society

7. Outcomes Broadband Forum
• Creation of a document outlining the current state of
broadband access/availability/coverage/penetration and
recommendations on infrastructure requirements and
regulatory policy, as informed by operators, regulators,
governments, consumers and other stakeholders in the
relevant IDB member countries
• Development of strategies to facilitate the wider adoption
and deployment of ICT and use of e-business/e-commerce
across SMEs and large businesses in order to increase
competitiveness, efficiency, productivity and the
promotion of innovation in the countries involved.

8. IDB Member Countries
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belize
• Dominica Republic
• Guyana
• Haiti
• Jamaica
• Suriname
• Trinidad & Tobago

9. Components
1. Broadband diagnosis and infrastructure maps;
2. Review of regulatory and institutional
frameworks and current sector trends;
3. ICT awareness and capacity building in the
Caribbean; and
4. Regional public policy recommendations for the
design of national broadband strategies.

10. Launch Broadband Infrastructure and Public
Awareness in the Caribbean Project
• Invite all stakeholders to participate in this initiative of
CANTO/IDB/Caribbean Governments to accelerate the
broadband experience in the region and transform the way
we live
o Official Project Launch: Steering & Technical
Committee Meetings
o 5th – 7th February, 2013
o Hyatt Regency Hotel - Trinidad & Tobago
Immediately following 29th AGM and Mini Expo of CANTO
4th-5th February 2012

11. Thank You
For more information about CANTO,
the Broadband Project and other upcoming
events, please visit
www.canto.org
rfraser@canto.org
1868-7350440
1868-3552505