San Juan, 02/08/16 – Delegates in any room on day one of the conference would have experienced and interacted with some of the region’s leading thought drivers and policy makers where ICT is concerned. Of equal value on day one was the high powered and influential global leaders who also weighed in on where ICT can take the region and some of the issues we will continue to grapple with in the present and immediate future.
The day opened with the Ministerial round table moderated by CANTO Chairman Julian Wilkins. Present were the Honourable, Medford Nicholas – Antigua and Barbuda, the Honourable Catherine Hughes of Guyana, and the Honourable Maxie Cuffie of Trinidad and Tobago. The session included a Keynote: Smart Nations, On the Way, by Joe So of Huawei Technologies
HUAWEI was able to provide firm tangible evidence of the benefits of smart cities and how the concept continues to bring efficiencies in education, traffic and even crime management. Issues which Caribbean nations continue to grapple with. In so doing Huawei solidified its continuing role as a technology partner in the region and the headline sponsor of the Conference.
The feature address was delivered by John Reid of C&W Communications. He gave some perspective on the changing landscape in the Caribbean with the entry in 2016 of Liberty Global which now includes Columbus Communications and Cable and Wireless Communications. In his address, he recognized the evolving nature of the telecoms industry with a projected increase in Caribbean Internet users from 38% (2015) to 50% (2020) and advocated for Investment which he believes would bring more innovation.
This and more is happening at CANTO’s 32nd Annual Conference and Trade Exhibition currently taking place at the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel and Casino from July 31st – August 5th. This year the theme of the conference is “Building an entrepreneurial ecosystem through sustainable strategic partnerships”. CANTO Chairman Julian Wilkins expressed his excitement “… in seeing the Conference come to life and the reality of CANTO efforts unfolding as operators, regulators, regional and international stakeholders sit in the same room and engage in meaningful discussions about ICT in the region.”