The way has finally been paved for residents of Barbados and the rest of the Caribbean to pay a fixed rate for roaming when they use their mobile phones when travelling throughout the region.
And while telecoms companies are yet to indicate what their new roaming rates will be, Prime Minister Mia Mottley has put them on notice that they will be monitored to ensure consumers are actually reaping the benefits.
On Wednesday, telecommunications companies Digicel and Cable & Wireless, which trades in the region as FLOW, and Prime Minister of Grenada Dr Keith Mitchell, who has responsibility for telecommunications within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), signed the Declaration of St George’s Towards the Reduction of Intra-CARICOM Roaming Charges, paving the way for new fixed roaming charges to become a reality.
“We want our citizens to feel it where it matters – in their pockets. We will closely monitor adherence to the commitments made today and follow through. We encourage consumer groups to do so as well,” said Prime Minister Mottley.
“We are, of course, prepared to take whatever action is necessary to ensure that from today, our citizens can enjoy broader services and lower, more predictable, and capped costs as we move towards that coveted single space and, indeed, my great dream – the elimination of roaming charges for our citizens in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM),” she added.
Under the Declaration, signed during a ceremony in Grenada, the parties have agreed on an implementation timeframe between the second and third quarter of this year to make the new rates a reality, taking into consideration the technical aspects and public awareness campaigns to take place.
They have also agreed to cooperate on the development of a roadmap for the planned CARICOM single ICT space.
Prime Minister Mottley, who attended the signing virtually, stressed the need to eliminate roaming charges.
“In Europe, they have done it and the reality is, our citizens would like to roam as if they were home because they are at home in the Caribbean Community. This is our single domestic space.
“We accept that the first stage of that journey is the commitment signed here by the telecoms providers offering new roaming arrangements where the charges are substantially lower and, more importantly, capped at reasonable levels that are monthly commitments that most CARICOM citizens can easily and equally afford,” said Mottley.
It was at the 31st CARICOM Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of the Heads of Government in Bridgetown in February 2020 that the Barbadian leader signalled that a single roaming rate was in the making. This was followed by several discussions with the telecoms providers, and in July last year, those negotiations were concluded.
Mottley said the next step was to create a “single regulatory space” to ensure the costs for telecoms services were not exorbitant, adding that she hoped the framework for this would be in place within the next 12 to 18 months.
“If we can do this, then we will add significantly to the competitiveness of the region and it becomes even all the more critical given the likely increase in the prices of fossil fuels that we will face as a result of the geopolitical tensions in the world,” she said.
Vice President for the South Caribbean at Cable & Wireless Communications Kurleigh Prescod said the company will be rolling out its campaign soon and the new single rate should be in place “by the latest March 31”.
Pointing to C&W’s commitment to the region, he said company officials understood and appreciated the importance of “a true Caribbean single market with cost-effective and reliable connections at its heart”.
“We at Cable and Wireless are, therefore, pleased to share that we have taken this first transformational step to provide our valued CARICOM customers with significantly reduced roaming packages across the region, which deliver simple, consistent and transparent rates, and overall reduction in customer charges and eliminate the shock of receiving exorbitant bills. We will start to promote these in our markets in the coming weeks and months,” said Prescod.
Meanwhile, Digicel’s Director of Government Affairs Kieran Mulvey described the signing of the agreement as a very significant one for the region, noting that Digicel also hoped to have its new roaming rates in place within a month.
“Today represents a significant initial milestone on the roadway towards achieving a single ICT Caribbean space that is so vitally important not just for the social aspects of the economy and peoples of the Caribbean, but for their economic development as well,” said Mulvey.
Prime Minister Mitchell said the agreement signalled the beginning of new opportunities for the region.
However, he cautioned that “our eyes are set firmly on the ultimate goal, which is to achieve total elimination of roaming charges throughout the entire CARICOM family”.
He said he believed the reduced charges will help to drive digital commerce, regional integration and economic development, and will have a greater impact once total elimination was achieved.
The Grenadian leader is expected to provide a detailed update to CARICOM Heads of Governments in Belize next week and start discussions on the total elimination of roaming charges.
marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb
