The long-awaited Electronic Communications Bill was approved at the recently held 33rd Council of Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) Ministers Meeting, in St. Lucia.
The announcement was made yesterday, by Minister of Information Science Telecommunications, and Technology, Kelver Darroux, at the opening ceremony of the National Broadband Consultation here on Tuesday.
“There must be relevant regulatory and legislative instruments to ensure accessibility, affordability, and competitiveness of the service, while, at the same time, ensuring that the necessary incentives are provided for the rapid acceleration and adoption of services by government, businesses, and users,” he stated.
The bill is to replace the Telecommunications Act of 2000, which Darroux referred to as “outdated.”
“The telecommunications sector is very diverse and dynamic, and therefore, amendments had to be made to that bill, and we have decided to move forward with the EC Bill, to ensure that there is greater flexibility within the telecommunications sector,” he noted.
The Telecommunications Act of 2000 provides for the establishment of a Universal Service Fund, which, in Dominica, is managed by the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC), with the goal of promoting telecommunications throughout Dominica.
Darroux challenged the NTRC to more efficiently use the Universal Service Fund, as he stated that only a mere 56 percent of the fund is currently being utilized.
“I want to challenge the NTRC, publicly, that they need to make greater use of the universal service fund. This is the fund which the service providers make an annual contribution to, based on their gross profits, of 1 percent. And in St. Vincent, 100 percent of this fund is utilized on specific projects, while in Dominica, we have only a mere 56 percent use of that funds…” he remarked. “I challenge you to utilize these funds to a greater degree, so that Dominican citizens can benefit more tremendously from these funds.”
The fund comprises of contributions from each telecommunications operator
Where have the surplus funds collected over the years been going to NTRC????
And what will this upgraded telecommunication garbage going to do for us? We have a nation of hungry people that needs to be fed and they are not enjoying their new trade as beggars. Jobs we want. Phone technology can wait. I’ve been to Kelva’s house in St. Joe many times and that man fridge is overflowing with goodies while most Dominicans are left to lick the leftovers from Skeritt’s toilet bowl
“Jobs we want. Phone technology can wait.”
Regardless of who is in power, the connection is very clear and direct between a modern telecommunications infrastructure and a dynamic economy that produces the private sector jobs that are so urgently needed.
Ok wise guy let’s wait and see how many jobs this is gonna bring us
“Darroux challenged the NTRC to more efficiently use the Universal Service Fund, as he stated that only a mere 56 percent of the fund is currently being utilized.”
Well, that explains the NTRC calling for a programme to spur local content creation.