Prepared by Russell Davis Director Systems Engineering - GT&T

email: syseng@gtt.co.gy 1

Caribbean Telecommunications Union

Internet Governance ForumSeptember 5 – 6, 2005Georgetown Guyana

Challenges of the Internet

2

Introduction

For the purposes of context and perspective, a brief overview of the Guyana Telephone & Telegraph’s (GT&T’s) development of and positioning in Internet deployment in Guyana is necessary. This follows below since this has direct bearing on topics that will be discussed in this presentation, in keeping with the theme of this Forum - Internet Governance.

3

GT&T is the current Incumbent fixed voice and International Connectivity Operator in Guyana by virtue of an agreement signed between the Government of Guyana and Atlantic Tele-Network in June 1990. This agreement gave GT&T an exclusive license in the provision of the above offerings for a period of 20 years [with the option of renewal for another 20 years].

4

GT&T considers Guyana’s connection to the Internet to be an aspect of International Connectivity covered under its License. As can be imagined, this is a controversial and contested National Issue. Notwithstanding this, there are several resellers of Internet access who do not utilize GT&T’s International backbone for connection to the Internet. And, needless to say, these operators pose a challenge for the company. Note however, that under the current laws, these are all illegal operations. For this reason, the competitive factors to GT&T associated with these players’activities will not be directly addresed in this presentation.

5

GT&T’s Internet Gateway was installed in December 1996. Initial connection to the Internet backbone was via a 256K satellite link. The Network was designed to provide 64/128K leased line links to ISPs and corporate clients.The First ISP was connected in January 1997.

6

Since then, the network has grown to meet demands. Currently, GT&T has a capacity of 28Mb/s Symmetrical Internet backbone connectivity via Americas 11 submarine fibre optic network with 9Mb/s Asymmetrical Internet backbone connectivity via satellite for redundancy.

7

Current Service Offerings: Bandwidth Resale to 5 ISPs, Corporate and Friends and Family Dialup, Hosted Mail Service, DSL , Dedicated Lease CIR service using DSL line access and National Frame Relay Network and Dedicated IP Services, Mobile Internet access via GPRS network.A high level overview of our existing Internet system architecture is displayed in Figure #1 and existing rates for referred services is displayed in the following tables. All prices quoted are subject to commercial negotiations.

8

9

Facts about GT&T’s DSLPrices� Installation: Waived� Activation: Waived (If service

retained for 6 months) � Modem: GD$15,640� Monthly lease: GD$33,250 - 256Kbps� Monthly lease: GD$20,000 - 192Kbps� Monthly lease: GD$9,980 - 128Kbps

10

New Bandwidth Prices Based on Americas II Plus 25% Satellite Restoration (US$/Month)

BANDWIDTHInstallation 1-Year 2-Year 3-Year

64 Kbps 1,750 3,200 2,880 2,592128 Kbps 2,010 5,650 5,085 4,577192 Kbps 2,200 9,200 8,999 8,695256 Kbps 3,000 9,388 9,182 8,871384 Kbps 3,400 10,548 10,310 9,950448 Kbps 3,600 11,459 11,200 10,809512 Kbps 3,950 12,075 11,802 11,390640 Kbps 4,010 13,267 12,967 12,515768 Kbps 4,100 14,039 13,714 13,230896 Kbps 4,500 15,366 15,019 14,495

1,024 Kbps 4,600 18,078 17,664 17,0401,544 Kbps 4,600 24,332 23,499 22,6491,664 Kbps 4,600 25,000 24,144 23,2712,048 Kbps 5,000 31,600 30,494 29,396

11

New Bandwidth Prices Based on Americas II without Satellite Restoration (US$/Month)

BANDWIDTHInstallation 1-Year 2-Year 3-Year

64 Kbps 1,750 2,700 2,430 2,187128 Kbps 2,010 4,181 4,090 3,998192 Kbps 2,200 7,453 7,290 7,044256 Kbps 3,000 7,606 7,438 7,187384 Kbps 3,400 8,546 8,352 8,061448 Kbps 3,600 9,283 9,073 8,757512 Kbps 3,950 9,782 9,561 9,227640 Kbps 4,010 10,748 10,505 10,139768 Kbps 4,100 11,374 11,110 10,718896 Kbps 4,500 12,449 12,167 11,743

1,024 Kbps 4,600 14,645 14,310 13,8041,544 Kbps 4,600 19,712 19,037 18,3492,048 Kbps 5,000 25,600 24,704 23,815

12

Contract Duration Bandwidth

28.8 Kbps 64 Kbps 128 Kbps 256 Kbps 384 Kbps 512 Kbps

1 Year

Installation 250 1,100 1,550 2,530 2,975 3,500

Monthly Rental 245 1,190 2,142 3,808 5,312 6,300

Service Deposit 245 1,190 2,142 3,808 5,312 6,300

2 Years

Installation 250 1,100 1,550 2,530 2,975 3,500

Monthly Rental 200 1,063 1,913 3,264 4,900 5,990

Service Deposit 200 1,063 1,913 3,264 4,900 5,990

3 Year

Installation 250 1,100 1,550 2,530 2,975 3,500

Monthly Rental 120 850 1,530 2,800 4,095 5,200

Service Deposit 120 850 1,530 2,800 4,095 5,200

Short Term

Installation 250 1,100 1,700 2,530 3,500 3,500

Monthly Rental 325 1,200 2,300 3,912 5,400 6,500

Service Deposit 325 1,200 2,300 3,912 5,400 6,500

Schedule 1.1: Corporate Own Use Price List With 25% Satellite Restoration (US$/Month)

13

Schedule 1.1: Corporate Own Use Price List Without Satellite Restoration (US$/Month)

Contract Duration Bandwidth

28.8 Kbps 64 Kbps 128 Kbps 256 Kbps 384 Kbps 512 Kbps

1 Year

Installation 290 1,190 1,700 2,830 3,100 3,700

Monthly Rental 180 900 1,700 3,200 5,000 5,950

Service Deposit 180 900 1,700 3,200 5,000 5,950

2 Years

Installation 290 1,190 1,700 2,830 3,100 3,700

Monthly Rental 150 825 1,590 2,940 4,530 5,300

Service Deposit 150 825 1,590 2,940 4,530 5,300

3 Year

Installation 290 1,190 1,700 2,830 3,100 3,700

Monthly Rental 80 750 1,350 2,400 3,700 4,850

Service Deposit 80 750 1,350 2,400 3,700 4,850

Short Term

Installation 290 1,190 1,700 2,830 3,100 3,700

Monthly Rental 260 945 1,750 3,300 5,125 6,000

Service Deposit 260 945 1,750 3,300 5,125 6,000

14

•GT&T’s Internet Governance and Administration Issues.

IP addressing ,allocation and Domain Name Management.System Administration and Bandwidth Management.Quality of Service MaintenanceDemand Forecasting and Facilities’Provisioning.Cost Recovery and Revenue Regulatory and Policy Environment.Security

15

IP addressing, allocation and Domain Name Management.

Currently, GT&T issues blocks of Public IP addresses to its ISPs and clients per service offerings description. This allocation essentially is based on IP ranges ( IPv4- address numbering protocol) obtained from our Internet backbone service providers.Said addresses are used internally for our DSL, CIR and dialup offerings.GT&T utilizes Private IP addresses for corporate networking and Operational and Maintenance LANs.

16

There is no single National or Statutory entity that governs or controls Public IP addressing in Guyana

17

The Public IP addressing methodology used by GT&T is based on allocation of blocks of 30 usable addresses for every E1 of dialup capacity requested by ISPs. The ISPs are free to allocate for their internal networks by use of subnet masking techniques. In addition, for our Corporate Dedicated Service offerings, blocks of 16 IP addresses are assigned.

18

• Domain Name Management is not practiced by GT&T except for GT&T’s requests to Domain Name Registrar for domain names for GT&T’sown use (gtt.co.gy, gol.net.gy, cellinkgy.com). There is an interesting aspect to the .gy domain name which is currently administered in Puerto Rico as opposed to being under national administrative control. This issue continues to engage the attention of the Government of Guyana and the University of Guyana the latter is currently considered to be the appropriate administrative entity for this aspect of national Internet administration. GT& T supports these efforts.

• GT&T also utilizes the services of LACNIC (Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry ) for our system ASN or Autonomous System Number.

19

System Administration.

Consistent with network topology in Figure # 1, our network administration utilizes UNIX based Operations Support Systems (OSS)

20

Based on our primary role as a Bandwidth Reseller, the majority of System Administrative issues faced by GT&T occurs in the maintenance and management of physical transmission links to the end users who typically are tasked with the complexities of multiple customer support, provisioning and end-user device support for their clients. However, GT&T has the capability to implement load balancing and MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) for ISPs with multiple connections to our backbone. The latter enables greater flexibility based on its characteristics of relatively high levels of integration of routing and switching in addition to Quality of Service support and Traffic engineering.

21

Most difficulties occur in initial system turn-up and configuration testing, with the primary Operational problems occurring in the access management and maintenance arena per Service Level Agreements (appendix I ) to our clients.

22

Quality of Service (QOS) and Bandwidth Management.

QOS is monitored on a daily basis with focus on access testing, packet loss and latency monitoring .A copy of existing ISP Service Level Agreements is contained in appendix INetwork Architecture illustrates the level of equipment redundancy implemented at the Network Core.

23

The satellite redundancy is a thorny Operational issue since undoubtedly fibre optic is the transmission medium of choice for any form of data communication due to the elimination the latency (delay) associated with extra terrestrial transmission and therefore the level of satellite redundancy is a constantly debated issue which is highlighted on every occasion that a fibre optic disruption impacting Americas 11 occurs. It is simply not cost effective or Operationally sound to maintain 100% satellite redundancy network primarily due to satellite bandwidth charges and earth station equipment provisioning and maintenance requirements. This conclusion is based on arguments of effective asset management and maintenance.

24

Bandwidth management is based on ensuring that CIR clients receive the bandwidth per SLA and that an acceptable bandwidth/user ratio is maintained for non CIR clients to minimize over-subscription. It should be noted that most ISPs who receive service from GT&T are utilizing bandwidth shaping techniques which we have observed has resulted in more efficient bandwidth distribution to their clients

25

Demand Forecasting and Facilities Provisioning

Based on current service offerings, demand forecasting is essentially driven by ISP bandwidth utilization measures and projections and rapid DSL growth.

26

This cycle addresses increases in and equipment provisioning for International backbone connectivity including satellite redundancy, network core capacity ( routers and Ethernet interfaces) and access network improvements ,including reduction in local copper loop lengths for increased bandwidth capability and use of fibre optic cable and wireless last mile access solutions as the client requirements may dictate.

27

Since demand forecasting is directly correlated to market conditions, Internet access ubiquity or lack thereof is a mitigating factor to aggressive and rapid facilities increases by GT&T. This point will be expanded upon in successive slides.

28

Cost Recovery and Return on Investment.

In Guyana, the best estimates are Personal Computer penetration rates and Internet user statistics are as illustrated below with similar data on a sample of other Caribbean countries. For comparison extra regional measures are also presented. Unfortunately, none of the referred databases are Caribbean in origin and are somewhat dated.

29

In addition, the Internet use statistics are inherently difficult to accurately quantify since there are difficulties in ascertaining subscriber bases especially due to the use of the internet at Internet cafés, at schools and at the workplace. Statistics are not based on precise methodology. However, the data is indicative of a low penetration and usage ratio which I suspect has not doubled as of time of writing.

University of California, Santa Cruz -UC Atlas of Global Inequality 30

Communications and Connectness 2000JamaicaPersonal computers (per 1,000 people) 46.58Internet users 80000BarbadosPersonal computers (per 1,000 people) 82.24Internet users 10000GuyanaPersonal computers (per 1,000 people) 25.55Internet users 4000

University of California, Santa Cruz -UC Atlas of Global Inequality 31

Trinidad & Tobago

Personal computers (per 1,000 people) 61.8

Internet users 100000

Grenada

Personal computers (per 1,000 people) 127.07

Internet users 4113

St Lucia

Personal computers (per 1,000 people) 141.03

Internet users

St Vincent & the Grenadines

Personal computers (per 1,000 people) 105.79

Internet users 3500

CIA - World Factbook 2005 32

Rank Country Internet users Date of Information

1 World 604,111,719

2 European Union 206,032,067 2004

3 United States 159,000,000 2002

4 China 94,000,000 2004

7 Korea, South 29,220,000 2003

68 Jamaica 600,000 2002

109 Trinidad and Tobago 138,000 2002

111 Guyana 125,000 2002

118 Barbados 100,000 2003

185 Antigua & Barbuda 10,000 2002

33

34

TOP 25 COUNTRIES WITH THEHIGHEST INTERNET PENETRATION RATE

# Country or Region Penetration(% Population)

Internet UsersLatest Data

Population( 2005 Est. )

Source and Dateof Latest Data

1 Sweden 73.6 % 6,656,733 9,043,990 Nielsen//NR June/05

2 Hong Kong 70.7 % 4,878,713 6,983,938 Nielsen//NR Feb./05

3 Denmark 68.7 % 3,720,000 5,411,596 C.I.Almanac -Mar./05

4 United States 68.5 % 202,888,307 296,208,476 Nielsen//NR June/05

5 Norway 68.2 % 3,140,000 4,606,363 C.I.Almanac -Mar./05

6 Australia 67.2 % 13,784,966 20,507,264 Nielsen//NR June/05

7 Iceland 67.1 % 198,000 294,947 C+I+A - Mar./05

8 Netherlands 66.2 % 10,806,328 16,322,583 Nielsen//NR Jun./04

9 Switzerland 63.9 % 4,760,011 7,452,101 Nielsen//NR June/05

10 Canada 63.8 % 20,450,000 32,050,369 C.I.Almanac -Dec/03

35

11 Korea, (South) 63.3 % 31,600,000 49,929,293 KRNIC - Dec/04

12 Finland 62.3 % 3,270,000 5,246,920 C.I.Almanac -Mar./05

13 Japan 60.9 % 78,050,000 128,137,485 C.I.AlmanacMar./05

14 Taiwan 60.5 % 13,800,000 22,794,795 C.I.AlmanacMar./05

15 Singapore 60.2 % 2,135,000 3,547,809 ITU - Sept/04

16 United Kingdom 59.8 % 35,807,929 59,889,407 Nielsen//NR

June/05

17 Portugal 58.2 % 6,090,000 10,463,170 C.I.AlmanacMar./05

18 Liechtenstein 57.3 % 20,000 34,927 CIA - Dec./02

19 Germany 57.0 % 47,127,725 82,726,188 Nielsen//NR June/05

20 Austria 57.0 % 4,650,000 8,163,782 C.I.Almanac -Mar./05

36

21 New Zealand 56.8 % 2,340,000 4,122,609 C.I.Almanac -Mar./05

22 Bermuda 54.0 % 34,500 63,849 ITU - Dec./03

23 Croatia 52.0 % 2,318,240 4,459,137 ITU - Sept/04

24 Ireland 51.2 % 2,060,000 4,027,303 C.I.Almanac -Mar./05

25 Faroe Islands 50.7 % 25,000 49,329 CIA - Dec./02

TOP 25 in Penetration 64.0 % 500,611,452 782,452,378 IWS - July 31/05

Rest of the World 7.8 % 438,099,477 5,637,650,344 IWS - July 31/05

World Total Users 14.6 % 938,710,929 6,420,102,722 IWS - July 31/05

NOTES: (1) Only countries with a Penetration Rate higher than 50% qualify for this list. (2) The Internet Penetration Statistics were updated on July 31, 2005. (3) Demographic ( population ) numbers are based on the data contained in world-gazetteer.com. (4) The most recent usage information comes from data published by Nielsen//NetRatings , ITU ,Computer Industry Almanac and other research sources, for definitions please read thesurfing guide. (5) Data from this site may be cited, giving due credit and establishing an active link back to InternetWorldStats.com . ©Copyright 2001-2005, Miniwatts International, Ltd. All rights reserved.

37

In Guyana, dial up access to the Internet using GT&T’s fixed network is toll free by order of the Regulator.

38

Guyana, with its low population density, large and geographically challenging terrain, nationally limited power and domestic transportation infrastructure place an onerous financial burden on an Operator with compliance standards of International QOS including reliability to unilaterally deploy Internet access nodes in rural areas, since significant resource assistance including some cost subsidization to both the Operator and communities’ from relevant stakeholders would be a pre-requisite for implementation viability and sustainability.

39

GT&T is a limited player in the ISP market as the revenues derived from our corporate clients, DSL etc are currently an insignificant % of revenues derived from our current Internet service offerings. It must be noted that our initial decision to defer from direct competition with ISPs is one which was based on stimulating local entrepreneurs, but is inconsistent with the global business practices of the majority of incumbent operators. It is sufficient to state that this market entry deferral is the subject of constant internal debate ,but remains our current policy.

40

Mobile devices which facilitate Internet access via our GPRS network are costly in a country with < USD 4,000 Per capita income levels. See below.Rank 146 Guyana $3,800 2004 est. (CIA World Factbook 2005)The above represents a paradigm in which inevitably the costs of Internet bandwidth will be significant and apart from increasing our access capability in a national fashion via DSL, the options for stimulation of increased domestic Internet usage in the absence of existing strategic alliances in the Private sector e.g. bundled offerings which include access devices at low cost to consumers and Government are limited or non-existent. The reality is that access ubiquity increases usage which reduces costs per end users.

41

Regulatory and Policy Environment

Guyana’s Regulatory and Policy Environment as it relates to the Internet can be described as being inadequate for the comprehensive yet flexible framework required for effective and progressive Internet Governance.

42

Indeed, this conference and its objectives are extremely relevant since it can be categorically stated that the entire Caribbean region has yet to develop any standardized and transparent policy mechanisms that can sufficiently address the ever evolving Internet, specifically addressing the multiplicity of user requirements, the reality of copyright and intellectual property protection, fraudulent activity including identity theft, privacy and security including National Security implications, threats to Incumbent Telecommunication’s Providers due to PSTN bypass and required infrastructural and network change-out which is the inevitable result of the growth of the Internet .

43

The Internet’s byproduct of IP telephony and the growth of broadband essentially blur the distinctions amongst traditional telephone companies, ISPs, cableTV providers, software developers (re: Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Teleo, Vonage, google and multiple other players ) which is one component of network convergence and Next Generation Networks (NGNs). Educational and health care benefits that are directly linked to the Internet and access to same by our citizens, businesses, administrative and state entities. These are all significant issues for Operators, Regulators and Policy –Makers.

44

Per below extract, the entire global community is at the stage where the Internet has become part of all spheres of domestic, business and National administrative activity.

45

46

In light of above, the Guyanese environment in which there are views expressed that the technologically driven Internet is a form of natural and national resource as evidenced by toll free dial up access and prohibiting of charges to send email to the mobile network is symptomatic of the scope of the problem. While this may not be applicable to all Caricomcountries, one can make a logical conclusion that Guyana’s status is reflective of a larger region-wide problem.

47

The Guyana operating environment is characterized by great difficulty in ascertaining what rules govern the practices of alternate Internet providers e.g. What QOS are they adhering to? What statutes allow them them to offer International voice? What are their Service Obligations? Can they be prosecuted for unauthorized PSTN connections? Are they licensed and if so, how? Are they taxed, based on usage and customer base? What are their obligations when offering voice for emergency 911 type calls? Is this a case in which well intentioned efforts to foster growth in ICT have created an enabling environment of a cyber wild west that may only benefit profiteers and speculators whose interests may not coincide with the National Interest?

48

Security

Since the Internet is essentially a global multimedia network, it is inherently insecure or susceptible to penetration for disruptive and destructive purposes. Increasing use for commerce and sensitive transactions coupled with increased personal data transiting the medium , increases the risk and motivation for the anti-social or criminally intent. All parties from the domestic user to the Network Administrators face an almost daily battle in ensuring the sanctity of their Internet Use.

49

GT&T faces Denial of Service Attacks to our Network which are generally isolated by destinationGT&T has had fortunately to date not suffered virus attacks aka Trojan Horses and incidents of worms on the backbone. However, our customers have suffered infections from worms and viruses, the elimination of which we assist with on a case by case basis including IP address blocking if necessary as a last resort.

50

GT&T currently proactively uses remotely hosted services which identify blacklisted sites, Spam sources in addition to Firewall and virus blockers for our mail servers.GT&T has found that our use of UNIX based Operating systems is more resilient to penetration than Windows based applications.

51

GT&T cooperates by isolating, warning and if necessarily blocking IP addresses once notification and evidence is supplied of Copyright infringements transiting our network.The recent emergence of problematic and potential for criminal intents generated via emails sent via SMS to mobile network users is an issue under serious scrutiny.

52

Multimedia platforms that can send images from the mobile network via the Internet are anticipated to pose privacy violation issues in the near future.The above two issues are but examples of the problems that will be faced as mobile networks increasingly become enabled to interact with the Internet as part of the convergence reality i.e an all IP based infrastructure which is largely driven by equipment manufacturers. A primary issue will be real time tracking and positive identification of criminally minded, technologically savvy perpetrators using the convergence of the Internet coupled with mobile access to engage in socially negative activities.This also has National Security implications.

* Security Approach for OSS Systems -Dittberner Associates Inc. 53

General Rules of security involve management of physical access to facilities*, rigid management of passwords*, a hierarchical system of access authorization*, reliable systems for user authentication*, deployment of systems such as Intrusion Detector Systems (IDS), encryption techniques, however, the bottom line is that rigid monitoring by Network Administrators in addition to robust and duplicated network protection based on network architecture is essential since there are constant efforts by highly intelligent and skilled operatives reinforced by powerful processing capability who view the Internet as means to probe and penetrate networks based on their competence in identifying vulnerabilities. This is an ongoing battleSee below extracted from the ITU which illustrates a global perspective on Spam and Internet security.

54

55

Summary and ConclusionI have attempted to highlight issues of relevance to the conference theme [Internet Governance] from a GT&T perspective. I believe that GT&T’s experience can prove useful in pursuit of our collective objective of assisting policy makers and other stakeholders to craft harmonized guidelines for Internet Governance in our region. What we need urgently, is a governance regime that is acceptable to all stakeholders.

56

Summary and Conclusion (cont’d)

Some core issues and questions that should inform the dialogue on governance are:

i. Can the Internet actually be governed? If so, should Governance be limited to centralized IP addressing and allocation, or should it be extended to cover issues such as content restrictions based on intrusive monitoring by private and/or state entities?

ii. Do we have database or body that actually collates Internet use and PC (or access device) penetration on a per country basis? Is there a role for Caricom here?

57

Summary and Conclusion (cont’d)

iii. What are the implications for individuals rights of privacy and access to information?

iv. What would be the ideal legal framework for providers to operate in to ensure proper apportionment of liability for criminal use of facilities without knowledge of the registered owner/operator?

v. Are there currently any applicable liability laws in the region?

58

Summary and Conclusion (cont’d)

vi. Do Operators practice self Governance? [e.g. blocking of “objectionable sites.”] And, who decides what is “objectionable?”

vii. How does the CSME plan to deal with issues of Internet Governance? Note: The Internet adds a new dimension to the concept of movement of persons and skills.

59

Summary and Conclusion (cont’d)viii. Are there common Internet Governance

practices that can be enforced including domain name management and regional IP registrar services anticipated in Caricom? If so, what body, how constituted? Have we assessed either as independent nation states or collectively, potential inter-operability issues of IPv6? Is any technical standardization in the region envisaged?

ix. Do we have a common regional voice at ICANN?

x. What are the National and Regional Security requirements and/or objectives that must be factored into any Internet Governance regime?

60

Summary and Conclusion (cont’d)

xi. What is the regulatory framework that would govern IP based triple play offerings (voice, video and data)?This is applicable in the context of both fixed and mobile delivery, the latter is based on the 3G migration market drivers.

xii. Will ISPs offering voice be regulated under the same service obligations and consumer protections as traditional telcos? In theory, it is a relatively simple technical matter for an ISP to develop (including independent access network) to become a parallel provider offering voice with PSTN access.

61

Summary and Conclusion (cont’d)xiii. Will national numbering blocks be assigned to

ISPs to offer Vonage type services?xiv. What would be the policy on emergency calls

and prioritization in a packetized environment? Should they be allowed PSTN interconnect via legislation or via commercially negotiated and private interconnection agreements?

xv. How are WLAN offerings e.g Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11), and WiMax (IEEE 802.16) going to be administered since they essentially will afford users particularly mobile anywhere , broadband connectivity with consequential potential triple play applications? Should and would they be regulated? Is there an existing framework that can facilitate this to the satisfaction of all stakeholders?

62

Summary and Conclusion (cont’d)xvi. Is access ubiquity across the region sufficient to

warrant significant focus on Internet Governance in a region wide fashion at this juncture? In other words, is the development of an extensive Governance regime merited, given our limited resources? Should not access be given higher priority? I refer to below extract from the Millennium Development Goals i.e Goal 8:Develop a global partnership for development, ‘In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies—especially information and communications technologies’. Without fear of contradiction, all Caricom countries surely are signatories.

63

Summary and Conclusion (cont’d)

xvii. The question that must be asked is where are we really including policy and national budgetary allocations on region-wide basis with regards to the target statistics of “Internet access rate defined as those with easy access to the Internet of > 50%?” See below extract.

64

65

Summary and Conclusion (cont’d)

xviii. See below extract from the ITU world summit on the information society with regards to a summation of key Internet Governance Issues.

66

67

AcknowledgementsMr. Gene Evelyn – Director Rate Making GT&TMr. Ganesh Sharma – System Admin Data Network Services GT&TMr. Ian McFarlane – Engineer Planning – Systems Engineering GT&TMr. Lloyd Blackett – Engineer International Transmission GT&T

68