| Caribbean multi-state telecommunications regulator Ectel plans to use a recently awarded US$ 2.7 million World Bank loan to finance sector reform, Ectel's director of technical services Donnie DeFreitas said.
With the World Bank financing, Ectel also plans to study the best means of increasing broadband coverage and lowering rates for mobile service. The loan, a blend of soft loans and credits with an average maturity of 10-15 years, will be used to strengthen the telecommunications sector’s policy, regulatory and legal framework.
Areas requiring attention include procedures for resolving disputes and a framework to manage universal access. The loan will also be used to carry out a study for a universal service fund, to decide the amount required, as well as how to apply and manage the fund. The focus of the universal service fund will be on providing broadband access and lowering mobile rates, DeFreitas said. He also added that current experience suggests the eastern Caribbean markets should ideally not have more than three mobile operators.
"Three is the ideal number for the consumer and two the ideal for the provider," DeFreitas said.
Ectel oversees telecommunications regulations in the five states that make up the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS): Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & The Grenadines.
Source: Business News Americas - WDR/Intelecon Regulatory News
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