Telecommunications Infrastructure
Liberalization and Deregulation
IT Geographics
The Bahamas is integrating information technology into existing industries such as financial services and tourism that are already using communication systems. Cable Bahamas announced plans to establish an e-commerce facility in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island. The project has a 5-year capital budget exceeding $60 million. The CEO of Cable Bahamas described the project as, "starting a new industry in The Bahamas, an industry which could become the keystone of future economic development."1
The Bahamas is a member of several regional organizations pursuing development of telecommunications in the Caribbean including the Organization of American States, CARICOM, and the Association of Caribbean States (ACS). ACS has a Committee on Science, Technology, Health, Education and Culture. It's chairman, the Hon. Phillip Paulwell, Minister of Commerce and Technology of Jamaica, spoke at a meeting in Jamaica in May 1999 about the importance of technological development emphasizing telecommunications and information technology.2
