By ANNELIA NIXON

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

A CABINET minister yesterday urged The Bahamas to focus on extracting the economic benefits and opportunities from digital connectivity, as he asserted: “Let us not fall in love with technology alone.”

Sebas Bastian, minister of innovation and national development, said discussions at the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum (WTPF), which is being held in Nassau, have reinforced the need to measure Internet and digital connectivity by what people are actually able to do once they are connected.

“Connectivity is the foundation, not the final objective,” Mr Bastian said during the conference’s opening ceremony. He added that the focus must be on whether digital transformation allows people to learn, work, access services, build businesses and participate fully in society.

“Let us not fall in love with technology alone,” Ms Bastian said. “Let us fall in love with the problem, and allow technology to help us solve it.” 

The Bahamas is thus calling for a broader approach to connectivity, arguing that simply bringing Internet access to communities is no longer enough as governments confront the rising costs, risks and economic opportunities associated with digital transformation.

Policymakers, regulators, industry representatives, academics and other stakeholders attending the Forum are examining five major areas - bridging digital divides, making digital transformation more sustainable, strengthening the resilience of digital systems, expanding space connectivity and building innovation ecosystems that support entrepreneurship.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin, the ITU secretary-general, said 2.2bn people have never connected to the Internet, while hundreds of millions more remain under-connected. She said achieving meaningful connectivity by 2030 will require an estimated $2.6trn in investment, including $1.6trn for hard infrastructure.

“We have to ensure that our investment is also focused on bringing down the cost of services and devices, skilling, which is absolutely fundamental, accessibility, security, and resilience of that digital infrastructure,” Ms Bogdan-Martin said.

The Bahamas is also assessing how it can use a combination of submarine cables, terrestrial infrastructure and satellite technology to close connectivity gaps across its islands.

Mr Bastian said the Government is undertaking a nationwide assessment of The Bahamas’ communications network as it develops a broader digital infrastructure strategy. He said satellite connectivity is increasingly being considered as a way to reach communities where traditional communications infrastructure may be difficult to deploy.

The Government also views communications infrastructure as essential national infrastructure rather than solely a commercial investment. “It's not really just looked at as a commercial lens, like they typically do in private entities, but as necessary essential national infrastructure, no different than how we treat power, water,” Mr Bastian said.

He added that the Government intends to ensure that every island is connected. The expansion of satellite connectivity is, however, raising new questions for regulators about pricing, disaster response and the terms under which global satellite companies enter smaller markets.

Mr Bastian said regulators need to negotiate those issues before new technologies become entrenched. He argued that satellite services should be properly priced so that communications providers can ultimately offer them to consumers at affordable rates.

“If technology is there, and it's not being offered to the telecommunications company at a price that it can pass on to consumers that is affordable, then we would have missed the mark,” Mr Bastian said.

He also suggested that disaster-response obligations could be incorporated into licensing arrangements for satellite operators. Mr Bastian said regulators should consider requiring satellite providers to make services available for a specified period following a natural disaster, and pricing surrounding that should be discussed..

Ms Bogdan-Martin said fewer than half of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which include The Bahamas, currently have a multi-hazard early warning system, underscoring the importance of resilient communications infrastructure.

Mr Bastian also placed significant emphasis on education, skills and entrepreneurship. He said the speed at which artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies are developing requires education and training systems to evolve accordingly.

The ITU is also looking to space-based connectivity as an increasingly important component of the global digital economy. Ms Bogdan-Martin said the global space economy is estimated to reach $1.8trn by 2035, and argued that developing countries must have opportunities to participate in that growth.

At the same time, she said digital and AI infrastructure is becoming increasingly energy intensive, making environmental sustainability another key consideration.

The WTPF is expected to produce five consensus-based opinions covering the forum's major themes. According to Mr Bastian, the opinions are not binding, but are intended to provide practical guidance for governments, regulators, industry and other stakeholders.

Ms Bogdan-Martin said the Forum's recommendations will also help inform discussions ahead of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in Doha in November, where the organisation's strategic plan, strategic priorities and budget for the next four-year period will be considered.

Mr Bastian said the non-binding nature of the WTPF is important because it gives countries an opportunity to resolve disagreements and develop common positions before entering negotiations on binding agreements.

“If we can have these arguments and disagreements in a non-binding forum, once we leave this forum, it is our hope … that we'll be aligned on where we want to go as countries,” he said.