The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business

Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas’ top communications regulator yesterday admitted there is “much work to do” on ensuring affordable, widespread access to broadband Internet and mobile data.

Carlton Smith, the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority’s (URCA) chief executive, told the annual Exuma Business Outlook conference that a Universal Service Fund (USF) will be created to help finance the provision of broadband Internet services to far-flung, small and underserved communities in the Family Islands. Even though The Bahamas enjoys an 85 percent Internet penetration rate, he argued that the “most vulnerable” still lack access.

“Despite a high penetration rate, our Internet speeds are about one-third of the developed countries in the world. So accessibility isn’t just availability but responsiveness in a highly competitive digital world where the need for instant, uninterrupted and affordable service is a daily reality,” he added.

“On the affordability front, we still have much work to do. The IDB pegs The Bahamas’ broadband rates as 113 percent higher than the average OECD states, and mobile internet rates at 24 percent higher. As a regulator we are presently working to establish and implement a USF that would supplement the cost of basic Internet services for those who cannot afford access.”

The US has such a Universal Service Fund, which operates as a system of telecommunications subsidies and fees managed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). It is designed to promote universal access to telecommunications services.

The main drawback of a Universal Service Fund is that it keeps growing despite affordability improving many areas. Persons exploit, and take advantage of, the availability of free Internet service, opting not to pay in favour of using government-sponsored services.

Mr Smith said: “Providing supplemented access only addresses the needs of one vulnerable group. There is still a challenge with providing the same standards to those in our communities who are differently abled. As a regulator, it remains in our scope of work to ensure that, as technologies emerge, all Bahamians, regardless of ability have an equal opportunity to participate in digital societies.

“We realise that access also means ensuring that our people are trained to use these technologies. Along with investment and infrastructure and universal access is also the need to bridge the skills gap. Statistically, older people over the age of 65 represent less than 6 percent of total Internet users. Through local programmes and initiatives, such as our ICT seniors virtual workshop introduced in 2021, we must continue to find ways to ensure greater access.

“As a national regulator, access to technology is not controlled within our borders, yet relying on them for our own economic sustainability is certainly a major concern and one we must carefully consider,” Mr Smith added.

“The Bahamas’ digital transformation journey is a unique one encompassing geographic and socio economic factors that must be carefully considered for our Family Islands, including the Exumas, which contribute to our nation’s GDP and stands as one of the most recognisable symbols of our Bahamian and tourism product internationally.”