TSTT CEO: No ‘one size fits all’ approach with our wireless

Gregory Hill, acting chief executive officer at majority state-owned Telecommunications Services of T&T (TSTT), has made it clear that when the company deployed its wireless programme it did not take a “one size fits all” approach. He said the suite of services on offer from TSTT, from a technological standpoint, differentiates itself as it does not rely on a singular approach to broadband access.

“The blend of technologies includes a wireless mesh, Wi-Max and HSPA alongside our own broadband service. The varied access is meant to ensure that it caters for the different lifestyles and economic means of people, so that no one is excluded because of cost or location,” he said. Hill was speaking at the opening ceremony for the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organisations (Canto) 29th Annual General Meeting and Mini Expo Plus in Port-of-Spain on February 4.

At the meeting, Canto and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) launched a project called the Broadband Infrastructure, Inventory and Public Awareness in the Caribbean (BIIPAC).

Hill said, “Broadband access is an inescapable feature of forward-looking societies. It aids the democratisation of information by empowering more people to actively participate in what has become an ever increasing electronic landscape. The eco-system for such participation includes the pervasiveness of access, the cost of access, the cost of access equipment, the access infrastructure and content availability.

This is all guided by an overarching philosophy that in our time, access is essential to everyday living and the way we interact with each other, whether for work or leisure.”

Canto, IDB lauded
The TSTT CEO lauded Canto and the IDB for bringing the issue to the fore as it was timely, citing that many in the developed world were still grappling with it. Challenges that faced the industry, he said, included how to build the right type of infrastructure capable of catering to an exponential growth in demand, and at the right price.

That equation, said Hill, was high on the agenda of telecoms operators, governments and other stakeholders that understand the importance of information, communication and technology for the development of nation states. He expressed hope that discussions and deliberations would have been sufficient to inspire a new strategy within all stakeholders in tackling the regional broadband access challenge.

“This must be anchored specifically in the needs of the Caribbean given the territory’s unique history and culture. We also hope that the discussions will give content developers a level of confidence that there is a serious commitment to infrastructure build-out.  “This is so that they are encouraged even more to produce regionally relevant content which forms an important part of the whole eco-system.

In T&T, TSTT has had the foresight to follow a broadband development strategy that draws from knowledge gained from looking at other jurisdictions,” he said.