MOBILE CONTENT AND VAS WORKSHOP MARKS THE END OF CANTO 26TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organizations held its 26th Annual General Meeting at the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown, Guyana. The two day meeting was held from the 31st January to the 1^sT February, 2010 and was co-hosted by Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Co. (GT&T).  The AGM held under the theme “Embracing Technology for Economic Success” delved into the role the ICT sector plays in facilitating new and existing technologies to enhance the customer experience for the development of the region. The AGM was attended by well over 60 delegates.

The CANTO members discussed the activities of the Secretariat in 2009 and also created a working plan for the 2010 financial year.   The packed agenda included the board of directors meeting, five working committee meetings and the AGM proceedings.  The five CANTO working committees namely, Marketing and Communication, Human Resources, Regulatory & Emerging Technologies, Financial Advisory and Disaster Recovery Planning Committees were attended by all delegates and addressed the management and development of the respective areas in 2010.  

The Disaster Preparedness Committee (DRP) continued discussions on the telecommunications status of Haiti. CANTO will play a pivotal role in assisting Haiti’s communication sector by mobilizing its members and partnering with ITU, OAS/CITEL, FCC, CDEMA and CARICOM. CANTO is also in discussions with the ITU on a state-of- the- art broadband infrastructure as the key transformational mechanism that will lift Haiti out of chronic poverty.

For its Connect the Caribbean initiative (CTC), CANTO will develop strategies and forge partnerships with stakeholders for the following projects:

1. Regional Internet Exchange Points (IXPs)
2. Regional E-market place
3. Regional Community Content Creation

 Another highlight of the AGM was the election of board members, where a number of positions on the CANTO board were up for re-election. The following results were observed:-  

Re-elected •     

Mr. Davidson Charles, EVP Leeward, Cable & Wireless Antigua - Treasurer •      Mr. Julian Wilkins, Head of Group Telecoms Public Policy, Digicel Trinidad & Tobago -Director•      Mrs. Karen Bevans, Chief Operating Officer (Ag.), BTL (Belize) - Director •      Mr. Tellis Symonette, Vice President Wireless & Internet, BTC, The Bahamas - Director •      Mr. Linus Rogers, VP Regulatory & Asset Rationalization, TSTT, Trinidad & Tobago - Director 

Newly Elected •     

Mr. Lyrio Gomez, Member Executive Development Committee, International Affairs & Wholesale, UTS, Curaçao – Director The Chairman, Mr. Ian Blanchard, EVP Windward Transformation, Cable & Wireless; Vice Chairman, Mr. Dirk Currie, Managing Director, TELESUR and Mrs. Glenda Medford, VP Legal, Regulatory & Public Policy, Cable & Wireless Barbados – Director, will continue their term in office. 

Last but not least, is the Mobile Content and Value Added Services Workshop which was held from the 2^nd- 3^rd February, 2010 at the same hotel. This workshop explored challenges and exploration of new business models around mobile content and value added services. 

The Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organizations (CANTO) was founded in 1985 as a nonprofit association of telephone operating companies in the Caribbean.  CANTO is now recognized as a major trade association in the telecommunication sector with 104 members in 31 countries.

A Board of Directors appointed by the membership directs the policy strategy of the Association. This strategy is executed by the staff of a permanent Secretariat based in Trinidad and Tobago.   For more information on CANTO visit www.canto.org