ICT stakeholders take advantage of a two day workshop …
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For Immediate Release
CTO-CANTO MOBILE CONTENT AND VAS WORKSHOP EQUIPS CARIBBEAN OPERATORS TO FACE FUTURE CHALLENGES
Operators and ICT stakeholders take advantage of a two day workshop, organised by the CTO and CANTO, to draw on key learnings and focus on the actions they must take to release the power and potential of mobile content and VAS in the Caribbean.
LONDON, February 4, 2010 – Operators and ICT stakeholders in the Caribbean region are now better prepared to implement various initiatives in content development and value-added service applications as a result of a just-ended two-day workshop, organised by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) and the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organizations (CANTO). The two organisations joined forces to deliver a comprehensive M-Content and Value Added Services (VAS) training workshop in Georgetown, Guyana, on the 2nd and 3rd of February 2010. The workshop, which was focused on the needs of the Caribbean mobile operators and other ICT stakeholders in the region, provided invaluable insights to the profitable opportunities for developing non-voice services, such as Mobile Content and Value Added Services (VAS), as well as the challenges posed for such new initiatives.
The workshop provided more than forty-five participants from the Caribbean the opportunity to work with CTO experts and examine key issues on the state of Mobile Content and VAS in the region. The training touched on key topics that included the development of mobile content and web 2.0, the challenges and opportunities posed by Mobile Financial Services (MFS) such as m-banking, and the use of mobile telephony as a tool to catalyse increased internet penetration.
Speaking at the workshop, Ms. Regenie Fraser, Secretary-General of CANTO, said that she was pleased that the CTO and CANTO were able to effectively collaborate and deliver the cutting edge workshop to the stakeholders in the Caribbean. She added that for many CANTO members “the development of Mobile Content and VAS is a critical concern. This workshop, like all CANTO and CTO initiatives, aimed to meet the most important and pressing needs of our members in the region.”
Remarking on the success of the workshop built on the CTO’s and CANTO’s previous collaborations, Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, CEO of the CTO, said, “The workshop is in continuum with CTO’s recent research projects and training activities that have highlighted the importance of Mobile Content and VAS for the advancement of the ICT industry and the socio-economic development of the Commonwealth. The increasing use of mobile applications that have a positive impact on the livelihoods of people in less developed countries, must be our focus. Thankfully, the tools to leverage the power of such applications are being put in place; mobile handsets are falling in price, networks have more capacity than ever before and applications are developing at a phenomenal rate. We have to now focus on getting more and more people to develop and use these potentially life-changing tools. Such collaborative workshops aim to equip participants with extra knowledge and skills.”
Falling average revenue per user from voice services, increasingly sophisticated and useful mobile content, as well as the development of more sophisticated mobile devices, have led to an increased focus on the development and benefits of M-Content and VAS.
The CTO-CANTO workshop provided great practical value for the participants, by drawing together key learning points on the actions that must be taken in order to release the power and potential of mobile content and VAS in the Caribbean.
The CTO organizes comprehensive workshops and events in the Commonwealth with a focus on the ICT sector. In the coming months the CTO aims to conduct a series of conferences and workshops on rural connectivity that would facilitate building of Public-Private-Peoples Partnerships (PPPPs).
About CANTO
CANTO was founded in 1985 as a non-profit association of telephone operating companies in the Caribbean. In 1999, the Board opened an associate membership class to suppliers, governmental departments and telecommunication consultants. CANTO views its role in the Caribbean telecommunications community as a leader, a policy influencer, an expert (in providing information in all aspects of the industry) and a facilitator (in encouraging dialogue and meaningful collaborative enterprise).
“CANTO’s mission is “working through the sharing of information, providing expertise and coordinating efforts to facilitate the provision of quality telecommunication services for the regional, economical, social and cultural development of the Caribbean.” (www.canto.co.cu)
About CTO
Founded in 1901, the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) is an international development partnership between the Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth governments, businesses and civil society organisations. CTO provides the international community with effective means to help bridge the digital divide and achieve social and economic development, by delivering to developing countries unique knowledge-sharing programmes in the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
With its headquarters in London and recipient members based in Europe, the Caribbean, Americas, Africa and Asia-Pacific regions, the CTO has been at the centre of continuous and extensive international communications development funding, co-operation and assistance programmes. CTO’s mission is to reduce global poverty through the more efficient utilization of ICTs, and its development agenda reflects the priorities set in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). (www.cto.int)
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