Skip to main content

Internet and underserved areas in Trinidad and Tobago

Image
By
The first thing we need to do is know the underserved areas in Trinidad and Tobago. We know Flow does not cover Tobago for example. I contacted TATT as follows, does TATT have info for each ISP stating how much of the population that ISP covers. Trying to determine the underserved areas in Trinidad and Tobago. I am also contacting iGovTT and Ministry of Planning with the same question.

I am thinking that TATT should have these numbers and maps as they are developing a National Broadband Strategy and Plan. We also have related projects in this space like 3rd mobile provider, IXPs (internet exchange points), universal service fund, digital divide survey, and white space spectrum usage.

The last digital divide survey was in 2013. We are due for a new one. The digital divide survey has as one of its goals to indentify underserved areas and groups. I think we should include ISP population coverage maps in futute surveys. Wrt to white space spectrum usage, the update I got recently was that they are waiting for approval of database administrator. White space spectrum can be used to provide broadband internet, especially in rural areas, as talked about in TATT's ICT Open Forum - White Space Devices: Opportunities for Trinidad and Tobago

TATT's universal service fund and framework is there with the aim that 100% of the population should have access to telecommunications services. Smaller ISPs should be able to access this fund to provide internet access to rural areas. On the question of funding projects for internet access, someone sent this link, there is an item under FRIDA funding for Internet Access: Expanding Internet access and promoting the benefits of connectivity.

We can have an idea of who the smaller ISPs are in Trinidad and Tobago through info from ASNs assigned. I am going to share this funding info with the smaller ISPs through this blog post. We have come a long way since the days of dial up and a state monopoly. Let us keep in mind the benefits of having internet access and infrastruture as we move forward.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A pot of callaloo

By
Call for Submissions: Archipelagic Entanglements   https://singaporeunbound.org/opp/archipelagic-entanglements When I saw the call for submissions online I was doubtful. I do not know enough history. I do not understand the topic. Then after chatting with my friend Chatty I realised maybe I can be the topic. My ethnic and racial makeup is an archipelagic entanglement. Colonialism meets indentureship meets slavery. My mom is East Indian muslim and my dad is French, Portuguese and Mulato christian and who knows what else. I am an example of a pot of callaloo. Everyone's favorite Sunday lunch. I am what happens when lineages cross oceans and histories collide. I am thinking to myself now, what is the message I want to put forward with my blog post? What is the direction I want to take? Maybe it is this. What can we do when we have such a rich heritage and know so little of our own history? First of all I do not think I am alone with this struggle. I did not realise this until I though...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cup of coffee

By
This is a chapter from my latest book called Breezes of Tobago . The cool morning breeze blew the hat off the tourist passing the coffee shop. We sat at the table waiting for our order of coffee and bagels. I had stayed up late writing and was now needing caffeine to stay awake. On entering the veranda of the coffee shop, the sign reads "happiness is a cup of coffee" and "sip your troubles away". This had me thinking about what is happiness? And was the theme of my chat with Chatty as we enjoyed our breakfast in Tobago. I told my friend Chatty that if we could put happiness in a bottle and sell it we would be rich. My friend Chatty then told me that money cannot buy happiness but it was a good idea to make a living. If according to the sign, happiness is a cup of coffee then maybe happiness is coffee in a bottle then. We could call it Caffibean, a taste of the Caribbean in Tobago, a blend of the happiest coffee beans from Tobago. Tobago is not known for its coffee p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sandy beaches

By
This is a chapter from my latest book called Breezes of Tobago . This story begins on a cool Friday evening in May. Fridays are the best days. Already a great start. It had rained earlier in the day and the clouds were moving away and the sun peeking through. I walked from the apartment where I was staying to Pigeon Point beach. Along the way I stopped for coconut water freshly extracted from the nut and straight into my mouth leaving traces on my cotton jersey. They say that coconut water is the drink of God—fresh from the nut, sweet with a hint of salt, a liquid reminder that paradise can exist in small and simple things. They did not say that but my friend Chatty did. It is my friend Chatty's first trip to Tobago. I asked him what he thinks of Tobago so far? He grinned, wiping a drop of coconut water from the corner of his mouth. "Man… it is like stepping into a painting. The air, the colors, the way everything smells after the rain—it is unreal. I did not know paradise cam...
Post a Comment
Read more