The Workplace of Utilities Regulation (OUR) in Kingston, Jamaica, the Jap Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) in Castries, Saint Lucia and representatives of 4 (4) Nationwide Telecommunications Regulatory Commissions (NTRCs) within the ECTEL Member States, signed a historic Info Sharing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at a digital signing ceremony on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
The NTRCs represented had been from the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The signing of the MOU alerts the beginning of the partnership between the entities via the OUR’s Info Centre (OURIC), a particular library which incorporates industry-specific and regulatory info and sources on issues pertinent to the mandate of the OUR and related to ECTEL and the NTRCs within the execution of their obligations. The MOU units out the framework for sharing info and sources between the signatories. It additionally offers steering on the sharing, use and dealing with of data and sources and establishes the procedures and necessities of the knowledge and resource-sharing partnership.
Talking on the signing ceremony, OUR’s Director-Normal, Ansord Hewitt, famous that this mission was initiated by the OUR three years in the past, firstly, with the augmentation of OURIC sources to facilitate the partnership after which discussions started in earnest with regional regulators two years in the past. He mentioned, “In the present day, we now have representatives from six (6) nations on this digital platform able to signal: Saint Lucia, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, and, after all, Jamaica. It’s testimony to our shared philosophy that we within the area are higher collectively. It additionally accords with my very own pondering that whereas our regional leaders proceed to work on the macro and state ranges to foster regional integration, we will on the institutional degree, take sensible steps similar to we’re doing in the present day, to deepen cooperation and by so doing make our personal incremental contribution.”
In welcoming the transfer, Cheryl Hector Fontenelle, appearing Managing Director of ECTEL, the regulatory advisory physique to the NTRCs, mentioned, “We have a look at this MOU as a framework for sharing of data and sources and think about it as a possibility for us to strengthen the continued collaboration amongst ECTEL, OUR and the NTRCs. The thought of collaboration is embodied in our Digital Communications Invoice (EC Invoice) laws right here within the Jap Caribbean, which has enshrined the truth that ECTEL and the NTRCs ought to share info with comparable organisations the place vital. It’s in opposition to the background that we will do extra collectively than on our personal. The MOU signing, subsequently, signifies this dedication.’
Talking on behalf of the NTRCs, CEO of NTRC, St. Kitts and Nevis, Ervin Williams, lauded the initiative, noting that the OUR is a superb useful resource for knowledgeable steering and regulatory help for different Caribbean regulators. He identified that ECTEL and the NTRCs shall be in a position companions on this settlement, particularly given the various views on the remedy of regulatory issues throughout the Organisation of Jap Caribbean States.
Below the MOU, the entities will share sources via digital doc/content material supply and, the place relevant, the OUR will present entry to its On-line Public Entry Catalogue (OPAC) to make requests and reservations for sources and ship content material electronically to the requesting Celebration. The signatories agree to incorporate the opposite Events in any outgoing piece of email to the general public on regulatory issues, amongst different issues.
