BDT Director Doreen Bogdan-Martin delivered opening remarks to the 4th edition of the Caribbean ICT Regulatory Forum. The session aimed to engage representatives of the Caribbean and Latin American National Regulatory Authorities, as well as other stakeholders to advance discussions on regulation for digital transformation to prepare the region for the 4th Industrial Revolution.
Ms Bogdan-Martin recognized that over the past months of the COVID crisis, the global regulatory community has had to scramble to help operators keep networks up and running in the wake of unforeseeable surges in demand. She praised, “Across the Caribbean region, it is a credit to the speed and effectiveness with which you reacted that the lines of communication were kept open and accessible to the people and communities that continue to be so reliant on them."
She specially congratulated Caribbean ministers, public health officials and professionals for their quick action to ensure that the region was spared the worst of the trauma that continues to impact much of the rest of the world. Ms Bogdan-Martin noted that many present in the meeting also importantly contributed to ITU's REG4COVID initiative, and thanked them for their efforts which helps regulators everywhere draw on each other's experience.
Given that the ICT policy-maker community is still uncertain of what the seismic shifts of the COVID crisis are going to mean for work forward, Ms Bogdan-Martin said that the “5th generation regulatory principles, embodied in this year's GSR Best Practice Guidelines, are the vital, flexible, 'fit-for-purpose' framework that will allow us to navigate the uncharted waters that lie ahead." She explained, “In today's uncertain world, the most successful approaches will be those where all stakeholders work together to create win-win strategies that benefit government, industry, and, of course, users."
Ms Bogdan-Martin noted that the Caribbean region is a diverse region with particular needs. She assured that “ITU is working very proactively alongside you to help you build bridges to new potential partners, whether they be other governments, traditional telcos, OTT platform providers – or even partners from other sectors, like energy." ITU is already engaged with a large number of Caribbean countries on digital transformation issues, from smart cities; e-agriculture; m-payments; e-government, connected health care; digital transition, etc.
She highlighted that while all these actions are important, “they must be underpinned by a strong, enabling framework that binds them into a coherent whole and translates into the ubiquitous, meaningful, people-centric connectivity that changes lives and builds the resilience we need to face future crises."
Ms Bogdan-Martin emphasized the importance of bringing diverse voices to the table, and adopting a more 'Whole of Government Approach' that views digital platforms as the underlying bedrock for each and every type of service and interaction. She reiterated, “At ITU, we are committed to providing every country with the technical support it needs to get to grips with complex issues like spectrum management and conformity and interoperability, to help nations extract maximum value from existing networks and seamlessly integrate new infrastructure."
