The Tribune

The Caribbean Association of National Telecommunications Organidations (CANTO) will hold its 30th anniversary annual conference and trade exhibition at Atlantis from August 10-15.

The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), in partnership with the Government, is the co-host.

BTC chief executive Leon Williams is the ‘master of ceremonies’ for the opening on Sunday, August 10, and will also bring remarks. Prime Minister Perry Christie will give the official address to mark the conference opening.

The conference theme, ‘Strategic Alliances for Sustainable Broadband Development’, reflects CANTO’s current thrust to form strategic alliances on broadband infrastructurel development throughout the Caribbean.

Mr Williams said: “Wireless data is now experiencing mass-market adoption, and growth is even faster than wireline because not only are individual users consuming ever more data, but the percentage of users using mobile broadband is increasing.

“The result is a huge projected increase in data consumption, as mobile broadband traffic continues to increase not just in the Bahamas, but worldwide.”

The conference offers a wide range of interactive workshops and informative telecommunications industry sessions through to August 15.

The first morning opens with a LIME-sponsored breakfast for Caribbean ministers with responsibility for telecommunications. Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), operating services under the LIME brand, is the dominant telecom provider in most of the Caribbean regional markets, with Digicel and other players offering competition, particularly in the mobile sector.

A private/public sector dialogue will discuss how the region could collaborate on making CARICOM a single information and communications technology space, and a session entitled ‘Broadband for All’ will provide plenty of opportunities for attendees to express their views and to get information.

The CANTO agenda concludes with its eighth annual Human Resources Forum on August 14-15, and the first of what is to be an annual marketing forum.

CANTO, founded in 1984, was formed to facilitate the development of the ICT industry for the benefit of members and other stakeholders in the Caribbean region. From an initial eight-strong membership it has grown to 123 members in 34 countries.