Yessir, but the report may be overstating what the Minister - here acting as a politician on the hustings! - say.
Universal internet access has been a public policy goal promoted by civic organisations in Jamaica since the early 2000s. We have advocated various policy configurations to objective.
For example, we have pushed for broadband to be the baseline for universal access in our regulatory framework even as we argue definition. This compels licensed providers to switch from plain old telephone service (POTS) coverage for meeting the service obligations of their licenses.
The National ICT Advisory Council which I chaired for a period drafted and recommended the change for the portfolio Minister as part of a set of interlocking proposals on spectrum licensing and management, utilisation of public right-of-ways and infrastructure, funding internet bandwidth for schools and other public institutions, community access points, the lot. Real actionable matters.
At the regional (CARICOM) level we engaged in setting and recommending policy objectives to harmonize spectrum use and reduce roaming charges.
You can forgive the Minister for a little youthful exuberance. [Disclosure: He is an alumni of my high school and represents the north Clarendon hill country in the Parliament where our school is located. We are collaborating on an initiative centred on our alma mater - and led by an old colleague from my AT&T telecoms days - for improving internet access to schools in the Upper Rio Minho Valley area via fiber with last mile 4G/5G distribution.]
CAS
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Carlton A Samuels
Mobile: 876-818-1799
Strategy, Process, Governance, Assessment & Turnaround
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