CANTO’S 35th Annual Conference and Trade Exhibition opened on a high noted as stakeholders directed focus on the need for collaboration, co-ordination, disruption and the harmonisation of the regulatory structure within the Caribbean and Latin America so as to develop the Region’s digital space.

The conference, which is ongoing at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, is being held under the theme “Transitioning to a Digital Region – Opportunities and Challenge”.
At the conference so far, which opened on Sunday, Senior Vice-President and Chief Technology/Product Officer, T&I, Liberty Latin America (LLA), Vivek Khemka, and Country Manager, C&W Communications, Barbados, Jenson Sylvester, used the opportunity to present on the current focus, accomplishments and future direction of LLA and C&W Communications.

Khemka noted LLA’s US$771M capital investment in the Region in 2018 and the 68 per cent growth in Internet carried by LLA. He also highlighted that in 2019, LLA promises to pump 19 per cent of its revenue into capital investment for the company and the Region.
On the other hand, Sylvester said while some of the Region’s territories lagged behind international averages for Internet network and LTE coverage, the Caribbean is uniquely poised through C&W Communications’ leadership position in the industry to make a strong push forward in digital optimisation for future progress.

At the conference too, a Ministerial Roundtable brought to the fore the similarity in philosophies and initiatives by countries to optimise digitisation and digital technologies to access government services, stimulate economic growth and create digitally-literate nations.

Leveraging her over 30 years of experience in the telecommunications industry; Miranda Curtis, Board Director, LLA reiterated the capacity of digitisation to provide opportunities to expand entrepreneurial activity, build start-ups and facilitate the delivery of government resources, in particular in the areas of health and education.

There was also an interactive discussion on “Strategies to Survive Disruptive Times” which emphasised the need not only to plan ahead for the inevitable disruptions taking place in an increasing digital space, but also invest in disrupting yourself as a company because “what got us here is not going to get us there”.

“There was consensus by the panel that there must be synergies with employees, customers and your business plan,” CANTO said.
Representatives from government, academia and the Region’s private sectors, discussed the possible Market Consolidation in the Age of Convergence, and they acknowledged that digital transitions, which may be driven by business considerations, should also work to benefit the people of the Region.

Caribbean residents, it was noted, may reside in small countries, but they expect “the best the world has to offer — the best service and lowest prices to enable them to compete in the global market”.

Closing off Monday’s round of talks was an insightful and provocative discourse on bridging the digital divide and the partnerships and strategies required to enable greater broadband connectivity.

Panelists speculated that broadband connectivity to every home, while desirable, may not be feasible in the context of scale and the business case for the Caribbean Region.

However, it was suggested that connectivity to foster domestic growth, capacity building for users, increased digital literacy and an all-round analysis of the entire eco-system of innovation are the parallel discussions that must take place in our Region when considering connectivity.

The conference agenda included strategic industry discussions on the current regulatory environment in the Region, cyber security and data protection.