NTRC Annual Report 2011

NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY COMMISSION NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY COMMISSION Annual Report 2011 SECRETARIAT INFORMATION National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC) P. O. Box 854 Maurice Bishop Highway Grand Anse, St. George’s Grenada, West Indies. Telephone: 1 (473) 435-6872 / 2646 Fax: 1 (473) 435-2132 [email protected] www.ntrc.gd Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) P.O. Box 1886 Vide Bouteille, Castries Saint Lucia, West Indies Telephone: 1 (758) 458-1701/2 Fax: 1(758) 458-1698 [email protected] www.ectel.int ii NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY COMMISSION Annual Report 2011 ANNUAL REPORT 2011 Contents Minister & Commissioners 1 Secretariat 2 Mission Statement 3 1. Chairman’s Remarks 4 2. Mandate & Background 6 3. Operations 7 4. Financial Report 37 5. Status of Communications Sector 45 6. Trend in Telecommunications 49 iii NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY COMMISSION Annual Report 2011 Minister Responsible for Telecommunications and Commissioners Left to right: Mr. Ruggles Ferguson, Mr. George Lashley, Sen. the Hon. Denneth Modeste (Minister Responsible for Telecommunications), Mr. Vincent Roberts, Dr. Spencer Thomas (Chairman), Mr. Bryan Scott 1 NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY COMMISSION Annual Report 2011 NTRC Secretariat Aldwyn Ferguson Sean Francis Coordinator Operations Officer Timothy Scott Cassandra Whiteman Telecoms Engineer Secretary Christa Burke Lucille Sullivan USF Administrator Office Attendant Hazel Ann Lewis John Gilchrist Admin Officer Telecoms/ICT Specialist 2 NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY COMMISSION Annual Report 2011 MISSION STATEMENT The Mission of the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission is to regulate the liberalized telecommunications sector in Grenada so as to ensure fair competitive practices by telecommunications providers and to promote and maintain high quality telecommunications services at fair and competitive prices for consumers. 3 NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY COMMISSION Annual Report 2011 1. CHAIRMAN’S REMARKS The notable milestones achieved by the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC) should serve as an impetus to drive the Organisation further towards the fulfilment of its mandate as established in the Telecommunications Act #31 of 2000. In fact, the celebration of its 10th Anniversary in 2011 was an occasion to reflect and to plan for future development. It was also an opportunity to reflect on the status and trends in telecommunications and ICT development and to reposition the Organisation to be in keeping with the dynamism and modernisation of the industry. The NTRC must be proud to have contributed to the tremendous growth in the sector over the years, and 2011 was a year to initiate and consolidate new thinking, new structures and new mechanisms and modalities for telecommunications and ICT regulation. In this regard, and given the converged telecommunications and ICT landscape in its broad scale and scope, the NTRC welcomes the initiation of work on a new telecommunications bill geared to facilitate a more robust competitive environment characterized by a liberalized and non discriminatory entry into the global electronic communications and internet economy. In 2011, the NTRC began the journey to be appropriately repositioned to remain relevant in the new dispensation. The opening of its new headquarters to enhance productivity and effectiveness and the establishment of a space therein as a centre of excellence for telecommunications and ICT regulation including rollout of a telecommunications /ICT seminar series reflects the new thinking. The establishment of the national IXP, the first in the English Speaking Caribbean is again a demonstration of the new thinking and the boldness to establish new systems and structures. The NTRC is firm in the belief that the national IXP dubbed GREX for Grenada Internet Exchange Point will enable far reaching economic and social benefits to the Grenadian population at large; (i) through improved efficiency and quality of data exchange, (ii) savings in telecommunications and ICT costs, (iii) the generation of new and additional revenues, (iv) the development of locally hosted content and services, (v) the facilitation of Grenada’s interface into the global internet infrastructure and (vi) the use of advanced services such as cloud applications. 4 NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY COMMISSION Annual Report 2011 The NTRC must be fitted and is been fitted to address the emerging challenges in the areas of mobile broadband technology, IPV6 uptake, electronic numbering, digital broadcasting, cyber security and domain name management. In 2011, the theme for the ITU World Telecommunications and Internet Society Day was “Better Life in Rural Communities with ICT”. The NTRC commenced work on its universal service programme with intervention in selected rural communities. In 2012, the theme is “Women and Girls in ICT”. The NTRC will assist the national effort in mainstreaming gender and ICT in national development. In 2012 and beyond, the NTRC’s domestic agenda will be dominated by the contribution to be made in the rollout of broadband infrastructure, applications and services through its universal service programme which will include an outreach and capacity building element focused on children in cyberspace. Concerted efforts will be made and dedicated resources will be made available for a series of interventions in the areas of cybercrime, cyber security, the protection of children and youth in cyber space and the wise and productive use of the telecommunications and ICT applications and services. Going forward, the NTRC will perform as an effective regulator to enhance the operations of telecommunications and ICT in the interest of the sustainable development of Grenada. Spencer Thomas Ph.D., Chairman 5 NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY COMMISSION Annual Report 2011 2. MANDATE & BACKGROUND The National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC) was established on 21st September 2000 pursuant to the Telecommunications Act 31 of 2000 to provide for the regulation of telecommunications. The specific mandate of the NTRC includes the following: To co-ordinate, facilitate and generally promote the purposes of the Treaty Establishing the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL)1 To establish an effective regulatory regime which will enhance the operations of telecommunications in the interest of the sustainable development of Grenada. 1 The Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) was established by Treaty signed by Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on May 4, 2000. ECTEL is a regional body with legal personality. Its main function is to promote and coordinate open entry, market liberalisation and competition in telecommunications, as well as to harmonise and further the regional policy objectives and overall development of telecommunications in the Contracting States. ECTEL is made up of a Council of Ministers, a Board of Directors, and a Directorate. General Obligations a. The Contracting States undertake to put in place all appropriate measures, including the enactment of an appropriate legal and regulatory framework to promote the purposes of this Treaty, the performance of their obligations under this Treaty, the implementation of the decisions of the Council and other matters for the efficient and effective operations of ECTEL. b. The Contracting States undertake to put in place in their respective jurisdictions a Telecommunications regulatory body to be known as the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission which shall coordinate and liaise with ECTEL. 6 NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY COMMISSION Annual Report 2011 3. NTRC OPERATIONS FOR 2011 3.1 Summary of Operations In several developed countries, telecommunications regulators are now responsible for regulation beyond traditional core activities. Our regulatory regime however, continued to be limited to traditional core activities. For Instance, the current licencing arrangement does not provide for interconnection between VoIP2 and PSTN3 licensees, and for the assignments of numbers for VoIP services. The NTRC along with ECTEL are now actively engage in consultations on a new communications bill to address the current deficiencies. During the year under review, the Term of Office of the 4th Commission expired and the 5th Commission was appointed. Several opportunities were provided for the professional development of Staff and Commissioners. The enhancements of the human resources were accomplished in collaboration with ECTEL, CTU, CTO and ITU. Despite many challenges, 2011 was a year of significant achievements for the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC). The year began with the staging of the Recognition and Awards Ceremony on the 28th January 2011 which was the culmination of the programme of activities in observance of the 10th Anniversary celebrated under the theme: Recognising and Celebrating Achievements – 10 Years of Continuous Growth in the ICT Sector. A total of nine persons were honoured for their contributions to the establishment and achievements of the NTRC. 2 Voice over IP (VoIP) commonly refers to the communication protocols, technologies, methodologies, and transmission techniques involved in the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the

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