Above: (L-R) Kieran Mulvey – Digicel’s Government Relations Director; Apollo Knights – Director, National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission; Martha Tate – Digicel’s Chief Business Officer; Addison Stoddard – Digicel TCI’s Chief Executive Officer; Roxanne Knights – Chairman, National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission; Denis O’ Brien – Chairman of Digicel Group. Photo courtesy Digicel.

In a move that marks a significant advance in efforts to bridge the digital divide and provide economic empowerment opportunities for citizen consumers, the Government of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, through the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC), has selected Digicel as its connectivity partner in a landmark five-year deal.

With research from the ITU showing that an increase of 10 percent in mobile broadband penetration yields an increase of 2 percent in GDP, the case for connectivity could not be more apparent.  This partnership between the Government of St. Vincent & the Grenadines and Digicel spells economic opportunity for thousands of Vincentians with the Government providing wireless internet access at 116 different locations across the mainland  – and as far as Mayreau in the Grenadines.

This means community centres, learning resource centres, playing fields, hard courts, tourism sites and NGOs will be connected to superfast broadband with download speeds of up to 300Mbps.

The programme to connect thousands of Vincentians was spearheaded by Apollo Knights, Director of the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission. At a contract signing ceremony at CANTO 2022 in Miami today, he commented; “This programme will have transformational benefits for thousands of Vincentians of all ages and from all walks of life. The ability to work, learn, interact and share at multiple locations across the islands will put St. Vincent & the Grenadines on the map as a connected society.”

Commenting on the opportunity, Digicel St. Vincent & the Grenadines CEO, Brenda Barbour-Charles, said; “We’re all about connecting the unconnected and ensuring that everyone, everywhere has access to the people and things they love most. In bringing superfast connectivity to thousands of Vincentians, we’re excited to be helping to position St. Vincent & the Grenadines at the forefront of the knowledge economy and to drive opportunities for all.”