-ministry preparing foundation for new regulatory regime

HIGHLIGHTING her ministry’s projections for 2018, Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes on Tuesday disclosed that full liberation of the telecommunications sector will not be achieved this year as negotiations between Government and Atlantic Tele Network (ATN), the parent company of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) are yet to be completed.

Minister Hughes was at the time making her 2018 budget debate presentation before the National Assembly. She said her ministry is working on a number of preparatory activities for the commencement of the new regulatory regime given the passage of the Telecommunications Act 2016.

The Public Telecommunication Ministry and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) have been negotiating with the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) and Atlantic Tele-Network (ATN), with the aim of ending GTT’s claim to a monopoly over international voice and data transmissions and domestic wireline service. The minister had publicly expressed the hope that the telecommunications sector would have been fully liberalised before year-end.

Hughes said there are two main areas to be focused on, pointing to the ATN negotiations and preparing the regulations which will be managed by the telecommunications agency.
“Preparations for this new agency are moving apace, but as I said before, its ‘birth’ will come about when the negotiations come to a close with Atlantic Tele Network Incorporated, the parent of GTT. To date, we have completed the agency’s structure, job descriptions, financial regulations, staff manual administrative procedures for commencement in the first quarter in 2018,” the minister stated.

Back in October, Government had announced that Cabinet granted approval for the establishment of the Guyana Telecommunications Agency and the commencement of the Telecommunications Act 2016.
The establishment of the agency is the first of two phases that would allow for the full implementation of the Telecommunications Act.

“This phase being implemented from October 1 to December 31, 2017 will involve the formation of the agency as a body corporate in accordance with the Act as well as a number of essential administrative and organisational activities which will include staffing of the agency and the finalisation of licensing procedures in preparation for liberation and new licenses to be issued to telecommunication entities,” Minister of State Joseph Harmon had told reporters.

At the end of that phase, the Telecommunications Agency is expected to be in a position to absorb the functions of the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU), and to have capacity to deal with the additional regulatory functions mandated by the Act.
Moreover, they will soon be subsumed within the Telecommunications Agency, Hughes stated.

She explained that efforts are continuing to ensure that with the merger Guyanese broadcasters are prepared for the analogue to digital transition.
At the end of July, consultations were held with television broadcasters about the transition from analogue to digital terrestrial television broadcasting.
“The NFMU is the ‘driver’ of this process. The consultations were to discuss the “Roadmap” to transition that will guide the conversion process. It is part of the overall strategy to allow Guyana to catch up and keep up with fast advancing technologies being implemented by the countries we are connected with through trade, and otherwise,” said Minister Hughes.

Additionally, the minister said the National Broadband Project, which is a three-year project estimated at US$37.6M is slated to begin in the latter half of 2018. This project, she said, will upgrade the eGovernment Network to enable equitable delivery of services to citizens in the areas of education, health, security, government administration, business, citizenship and immigration.

An application has since been submitted to the China EXIM Bank for a loan to have the project executed. Government is currently awaiting approval.

10-YEAR STRATEGY
Minister Hughes also spoke to a nationalistic 10-year strategy which is based on two pillars: the growth of ICT as an independent sector and its application as a cross-cutting component in all other sectors.
Those sectors include governance, science, innovation and the creative industries.
“The strategy is well underway and the next stage is to begin the multi-stakeholder consultation process that will include members from all the sectors,” said the public telecommunications minister, who noted that the objective of the strategy is to create jobs for young people, thereby reducing unemployment across the country.

Hughes said too that new legislation will be enacted to address the ‘information age’.
She noted the Intellectual Property Protection legislation while noting that Guyana would be unable to position itself as a credible offshore provider of ICT and other knowledge-based services unless investors and potential clients are certain that their intellectual assets would be protected.

The Ministry of Public Telecommunications along with the Ministries of Business and Education will soon start a review of the existing legislation.
Additionally, the e-Commerce/e-transaction legislation will support the ability of entrepreneurs to transact business in the Internet space with legal protections and validations while a robust Cyber Security policy will support this legislation, the minister told the House during the second day of budget 2018 debates.

Meanwhile, a knowledge-driven, e-ready population with a focus on people in rural and hinterland areas who are usually left out is continuously being rolled out.
Minister Hughes said her ministry in association with the Ministries of Education and Business as well as the private sector will develop comprehensive, agile training programmes to prepare citizens to compete for employment domestically, in the region, and to prepare them to operate their own businesses.

“For Guyana to develop and maintain a competitive edge, the curricula at all of our educational facilities from the primary level must be aggressively strengthened with a technological-focus,” she told parliamentarians.

AWARENESS ACTIVITIES
In that regard, that ministry has begun its citizen outreach and awareness activities as part of the overarching plan to develop the ICT sector.

“This involves building an internal media platform to disseminate information and encourage feedback and collaboration. Our Industry and Innovation Unit has responsibility for management of the ministry’s social media presence,” Minister Hughes explained.
“Our outreach and education services also include capacity building seminars, hackathons and Code 10-year Sprints. The primary purpose is to encourage citizens to get involved in nation building with innovative ideas,” she continued.

Additionally, the ministry intends to seek out an animation expert next year to create an animation and game design curriculum to train local IT instructors in the growing field.
“Well-trained animators should be able to enlarge the animation production group that already exists, and ultimately enable Guyana to offer candidates for CXC’s Animation & Game Design subject at the CAPE level,” the minister posited. She also noted that a series of hackathons will be hosted next year to identify talented persons who could be pushed to establish their own businesses.

Given the outlined plans, the Ministry of Public Telecommunication intends to have a draft national ICT plan to provide the policy and technical direction for the Government of Guyana which will also see the completion of legislation for electronic transactions and data protection to be submitted to Parliament.

The refined Intellectual Property legislation is also expected to be completed. Meantime, people in remote communities will be exposed to the benefits of ICT via free, easy access to the Internet and national outreach programmes, Hughes stated.
Additionally, citizens from across the country will be prepared for employment as a result of the short- term training courses to be provided. The minister disclosed too that at least one Coding Academy is to be created with support from her ministry.

A study is to be completed which suggests the terms and conditions and other major components for an ICT Venture Capital Fund while a preliminary design and completed feasibility study for an ICT Park, is expected in 2018.