On what people describe as a historic day (February 23), Grenada’s Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Mitchell, signed a declaration with Digicel and Cable & Wireless to allow Caribbean nationals traveling within the region to benefit from a significant reduction in roaming charges.
The Declaration of St George’s – Towards the Reduction of Intra CARICOM Roaming Charges sees telecommunications giants Digicel and Cable & Wireless committing to implementing a new roaming model in their respective proposals.
In July 2020, Dr. Mitchell, who also serves as the head of Science and Technology in CARICOM quasi cabinet with responsibility for Information and Communication, met with the telecommunication providers to propose the declaration.
Barbados Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, who was also at that meeting, had this to say: “Removing roaming charges is one of the key pillars we see at this time to unleash growth, and the only way to do that is through the development of digital connectivity beyond the Caribbean region and integrating into the world economy.”
The telecoms companies were represented by the Director of Government Affairs Digicel Group, Kieran Mulvey, and Vice President, South Caribbean Cable & Wireless Communications, Kurleigh Prescod.
Dr. Mitchell shared that now, “Our citizens will be able to travel without the fear of incurring the normal exorbitant charges for voice and data usage as they conduct business or keep in touch with loved ones. We firmly believe that this critical reduction in roaming charges will help drive digital commerce, regional integration, and economic development and will have an even greater impact when total elimination is achieved.”
He commended the move as a significant step forward, one that will ensure predictability, transparency, and affordability for travelers. However, he emphasized the end goal for total elimination stating that “Ideally, Caribbean leaders want to see the full elimination of roaming charges…we will continue to push for this in the interest of our Caribbean people.”
He noted that a declaration of this nature rings true to CARICOM’s purpose and supports the theory of regionalism within the Caribbean.
“We are resolved that we cannot build a modern Caribbean Economy, we cannot forge a Single Market and Economic Space, we cannot develop a Pan Caribbean Marker in digital services if there are serious gulfs between our nations,” shared Minister Mottley in full support of the regionalist effort.
She said though the islands of the Caribbean are separated by sea, its leaders must continue to make an effort to forge bridges; this, she recalls, has been most critical in the wake of the current pandemic.
The implementation timeframe for the declaration is set between the second and third quarters of this year, considering the technical aspects of implementation and marketing campaigns.
