High roaming bills for Caribbean travelers should be ending now that an agreement has been signed between CARICOM and the region’s two major telecommunications companies. However, travellers will know how big that drop in charges will be only through Cable & Wireless Communications and the Digicel Group’s big reveals in the coming days and weeks. Caribbean roaming charges

Prime Minister of Grenada, Dr. Keith Mitchell, on Wednesday, 23 February, signed a declaration to reduce roaming charges, signaling a milestone on the road to the total elimination of those charges.

The other signatories to the Declaration were Mr. Kieran Mulvey, Director of Government Affairs, DigicelGroup and Mr. Kurleigh Prescod, Vice President of South Caribbean, Cable & Wireless Communications.

CARICOM citizens could start enjoying the benefits of the reduction of roaming charges as early as the second quarter of this year. The parties to the Declaration have agreed on an implementation timeframe between the second and third quarters of this year, giving consideration to the technical aspects of implementation and the public awareness campaigns that must take place, Prime Minister Mitchell said at the event.

Dr. Mitchell is the lead Head of Government responsible for Science and Technology in the CARICOM Quasi Cabinet and he is spearheading the CARICOM initiative to eliminate roaming charges for CARICOM nationals travelling within the region. Following a mandate from the Heads of Government of CARICOM, discussions began in August last year between a CARICOM negotiating team and two of the major telecommunications providers in the region.

The Prime Minster hailed the signing of the Declaration of St. George’s – Towards the Reduction of Intra CARICOM Roaming Charges, named after the capital of Grenada where it was signed, as an event that had immense significance for the Community. It signalled the beginning of opportunities that the Region should readily embrace, he added.

He explained that the signed declaration meant that citizens of CARICOM will benefit from reduced roaming charges, and was an interim solution that will give impetus to the Region’s march towards the Single ICT Space. In 2014, Heads of Government agreed to establish a CARICOM Single ICT Space, having recognised the critical role that information and communication technology plays in our social, cultural and economic development. The Single ICT Space represents the digital arm of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).

The Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) said the Declaration will also facilitate the provision of seamless mobile (cellular) services, including voice, SMS text and data. CARICOM residents will now roam in the CARICOM States at a significantly reduced cost, up to 70% saving by one estimate, the CTU said.

Prime Minister Mottley continued, “CARICOM has negotiated with local, regional and international industry as one, in the explicit pursuit of its single market and space. We must move on to the next steps of creating a single ICT regulatory environment in CARICOM and ensuring that the cost born by our citizens for telecom services relates to the cost incurred by telecom providers, and not have deemed rates of return that are outside the pockets of our citizens.” Caribbean roaming charges

Prime Minister Mitchell lauded the persons who participated in the governance structure the CARICOM Heads of Government had implemented to bring the Declaration into being. The structure comprised a Prime Ministerial Council of Dr. Mitchell and PM Mottley; a Ministerial Strategy Group, made up of ICT Ministers from four CARICOM Member States, headed by the President of the CTU, Minister Melford Nicholas, the Minister responsible for ICT in Antigua and Barbuda; an Advisory Working Group, made up of senior technical officers of three CARICOM Member States and senior officials of the CARICOM Secretariat and the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL); and a Negotiating Team, led by Mr. Selby Wilson of the CTU Secretariat.

“On behalf of my colleague Heads of Government and the people of the Caribbean Community, I thank them for that commitment to significantly reduce roaming rates in the region, but I stress again that there is much more to be done as we seek to deliver on our original objective.”

He added, “We have already commissioned a study with the support of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union on the impact of over-the-top services (OTTs) and Big tech within the regional ICT sector. We have also, with the support of the International Telecommunication Union, commissioned a study on the establishment of a single ICT regulator for CARICOM.” Caribbean roaming charges

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