The National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC) joined with other local members of the Information Telecommunications Technology (ICT) family in celebrating World Telecommunications and Information Society Day (WTISD) last Friday.
WTISD was celebrated locally with an expo at Heritage Square.
The NTRC’s Universal Service Fund (USF) Project Manager, Shontell Murphy, who helped to man the NTRC’s booth at the expo said the display was successful in sensitizing the public about the NTRC.
“We explained why we exist and how we function and provide services,” Murphy said, adding, “We always welcome opportunities to familiarise Vincentians with our work in the sector and this initiative definitely helped in that regard.”
She stressed that having a booth alongside being an official sponsor of the event “did tremendous work for the image of the NTRC in terms of establishing ourselves as an avid contributor to the rapidly growing ICT industry in St. Vincent and the Grenadines”.
Meanwhile, USF Administrator Kyron Duncan said the NTRC is the body that helps regulate the telecommunications sector in the country, “so it was World Telecommunications and Information Society Day and so we took the opportunity to enlighten the public about the USF and some of our projects”.
Some of the projects by the NTRC include the EC$1.3 million LIME contract that will see 12 tourist sites and other areas throughout the country receive payphones, wireless Internet services and 24 hour video surveillance, the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), which helps to reduce the response times to emergencies and disasters that may affect fisher-folk, the yachting community and other users of our maritime territory, and the free wireless Internet at schools, community centres and police stations.
The expo heard remarks from Minster of Information and Communication Technology Camillo Gonsalves.
Heritage Square was a hive of activity as persons competed in a number of ICT based competitions and won prizes from organisations like Digicel, LIME and the NTRC.
The purpose of WTISD is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as ways to bridge the digital divide.
Booths at the expo included National Insurance Services, First Caribbean Bank, Digicel, LIME, and Columbus.