Tweet
Government to promote Jamaica as an IT destination
published: Tuesday | November 21, 2006 <DIV class=KonaBody>
Ross Sheil, Staff Reporter
Government is to make a renewed push to promote <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-SIZE: 13px; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; POSITION: static">Jamaica</SPAN> as a destination for outsourcing information technology (IT) businesses as part of an updated strategy for the sector, says Phillip Paulwell, Minister of Information, Technology, <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-SIZE: 13px; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; POSITION: static">Energy</SPAN> and Commerce.
Covering the years 2007-2012, the strategy includes an update to the Telecommunications Act of 2000 which made the liberalisation of the sector possible.
The new act will also create a <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; FONT-SIZE: 13px; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; POSITION: static">single</SPAN> regulator for the industry, merging the telecommunications regulatory portfolio held by the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) with the Spectrum Management Authority (SMA) and the Broadcasting Commission.
Awaiting approval
Mr. Paulwell said the strategy should be approved by Cabinet this month and the legislation passed by Parliament mid-2007.
"We have the opportunity to again launch a massive promotion effort to attract outsourcing business from the United States and elsewhere into Jamaica now that we have cheaper broadband, more reliable technology infrastructure and training being done through the e-Learning project and HEART/NTA," he said.
He acknowledged that the previous push to establish <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; FONT-SIZE: 13px; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; POSITION: static">call </SPAN><SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; FONT-SIZE: 13px; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; POSITION: static">centres</SPAN> business in Jamaica, including a failure to create a pr
Comment