Enhancing digital connectivity in the Caribbean / ACP Numérique Conference
A landmark ACP Numerique Conference on the opportunities for the enhancement of digital connectivity in the Eastern Caribbean offered by the Guadeloupe Numerique fiber optic undersea Cable took place in Guadeloupe on May 31, 2005.
This Conference had been organized at the initiative of Mr Victorin LUREL, President of the Regional Council of Guadeloupe; all the telecoms ministers from the neighboring OECS islands (St Kitts, Dominica, St Lucia, St Vincent and Grenada) attended this historic Conference; the Conference was held under the patronage of the European Union; the World Bank and the Agence Française de Développement were represented at a high level.
The purpose of the Conference was to discuss the ways and means of improving broadband connectivity in these 5 OECS countries thanks to the landing in their immediate vicinity of the Guadeloupe Numérique Cable which thanks to the support of the European Commission (FEDER) will cut the price of broadband in Guadeloupe to less than 375 euros Mbs/month before year end, from a current price of nearly 2000 euros Mbs/month; the Guadeloupe Numérique submarine system will be of public interest with open and equal entry to all operators.
President LUREL and the Ministers made the decision to work together toward the extension of the Guadeloupe Numérique cable to St Kitts, Dominica, St Lucia, Martinique, St Vincent and Grenada, with the support from the European Commission and the World Bank.
The objective of the extension project will be to cut the price of broadband often by way more than tenfold, to a maximum 500 euros Mbs / Month before year end 2006 in all these ACP islands; the global submarine system will be an open entry system of general interest, with the objective of driving employment and economic growth thanks to dramatically improved digital connectivity in the Region.
The May 31 ACP Numerique Conference has been a great sucess and the Ministers have agreed to sign with President LUREL a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a working group to monitor the definition and implementation of the project. The Ministers and President LUREL have agreed to meet again in October 2005 to discuss the recommendations of the working group.
The following day in St BARTH, on June 1 and on the occasion of the signing of the convention with Mr Bruno MAGRAS, the Mayor of St BARTH, for the extension of the Guadeloupe Numérique cable to St BARTH from St MARTIN, President LUREL said that the St BARTH extension of the cable was only the first extension of the Guadeloupe Numérique Cable and would momentarily be followed by the extension of the Cable to St Kitts and Dominica, around year end 2005 and to St Lucia, St Vincent and Grenada around year end 2006.
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