Connecting Trinidad & Tobago Through ICTs Mr. John Mollenthiel Deputy National Chief Information Officer 14 th July 2008

By the year 2020, Trinidad and Tobago will be a united, resilient, productive, innovative and prosperous nation with a disciplined, caring, fun-loving society, comprising healthy, happy and well-educated people and built on the enduring attributes of self-reliance, respect, equity and integrity… Vision 2020Vision 2020 has five (5) Developmental Priorities: –Developing Innovative People –Nurturing a Caring Society –Enabling Competitive Business –Governing effectively –Investing in Sound Infrastructure & Environment Vision 2020 Vision 2020 – National Strategic Plan

National ICT Vision social economiccultural “ Trinidad and Tobago is in a prominent position in the global information society through real and lasting improvements in social, economic and cultural development caused by the deployment and usage of information and communications technology” ConnectivityEfforts to date have focused primarily on “Connectivity” “Usage & UptakeRefreshing for the period 2009 – 2013 with a focus on “Usage & Uptake ” fastforward fastforward – National ICT Strategy

2005 Telecommunications Sector opened up to full competition 2006 All appropriate Government information available on-line 2008 All schools with computers and high-speed Internet access 2008 All libraries with computers and high-speed Internet access 2008 Community Connection Programme in place 2008 All appropriate Government services available on-line 2008 Over 50% of homes with PCs and Internet access 2008 Over 50% of population “regular Internet users” 2008 Over 50% of businesses on-line and seeing business benefits    fastforward fastforward – Stated Objectives

Multiple concessions granted for: –mobile –mobile services –cable/fixed line –cable/fixed line services –international –international services –radio –radio services National Broadband StrategyNational Broadband Strategy to foster: –Robust regulatory environment –Optimal domestic routing (IXP) –Augmentation of international bandwidth capacity –Competitive domestic hosting environment (hosting clusters, Payment Service Provider, Certificate Authority) –Development of domestic e-Content Telecoms “Telecoms”… Liberalized Environment

Government Communications Backbone (GovNeTT)Government Communications Backbone (GovNeTT) –Common network connecting all Ministries; serves as the preferred platform for inter / intra-Ministerial communication & collaboration –Supports enterprise-wide application deployment (e.g. human resource management, payroll, electronic document management) Government “Government”… Effective & Efficient

government at your service –ttconnect Online –ttconnect Online  e-Government Portal (Internet) –ttconnect Service Centre –ttconnect Service Centre  common counters (in Person) –ttconnect Hotline –ttconnect Hotline  toll-free call service (Telephone) Government “Government”… Effective & Efficient

Focus on the SMEsFocus on the SMEs –B2B e-Marketplaces smeXchangesmeXchange EnterpriseNeTTEnterpriseNeTT –Business modernization training (business planning, quality management, web design, etc.) e-Business Roundtablee-Business Roundtable –a private sector led partnership with government that aims to map out a strategy for economic growth and success Business “Business”… Competitive

National e-Payment StrategyDeveloping a National e-Payment Strategy to facilitate online payments.ttAdministration of the.tt country code Top Level Domain Fiscal IncentivesFiscal Incentives to encourage the adoption of ICTs Electronic Transactions Data Protection BillsElectronic Transactions & Data Protection Bills awaiting legislation Technology ParksTechnology Parks to play a key role in developing the country’s ICT sector (e.g. e-TecK and the Tamana InTech Park) Business “Business”… Competitive

All public libraries already outfitted with computers and Internet access Community Access Centres / TelecentresEstablishing Community Access Centres / Telecentres across the country to: –Provide access to technology, the Internet and relevant training –Encourage development of local content / tailored content to suit the needs of the community (fishing, agriculture, etc.) Computer RefurbishmentComputer Refurbishment –Establishing a programme to refurbish used computers for distribution to communities and schools e-Waste –Considerations for e-Waste and other environmental concerns associated with the disposal of Community “Community”… Connected & Caring

Primary & Secondary –Educating through the use of / in the use of ICTs (teachers and students) –ICT added to the curriculum –Computer labs in every school FreeFree Tertiary Education University of Trinidad and TobagoUTTThe University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) established to build domestic capacity in key areas, including ICTs COSTATTCollege of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTATT) Education “Education”… Innovative People

Skills training / Job experience through a series of national programmes –On-the Job-Trainee (OJT) –Multi-user Skills Training (MuST) This can provide the necessary technical skills for the CACs –Youth Training & Employment Partnership Programme (YTEPP) Mobile ICT Learning Centres (YTEPP’s Bus ) Education “Education”… Innovative People

Trinidad and Tobago recognizes the importance of ICT for the development of the Caribbean region: A strong Caribbean voice needed at International Fora such as WSIS, the eLAC process, and the ITU Need for benchmarking in the Caribbean to better assess development in the region Need to collectively address common ICT challenges such as the Digital Divide, Regional Connectivity and ICT knowledge transfer Trinidad and Tobago represents Caribbean interests on the ITU Council and is a member of the Commonwealth Connects Steering Committee Conclusion & Final Thoughts

THANK YOU