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Technology Crisis
Published: Monday | April 18, 2011
Jamaica sees dramatic decline on world ICT index
Job creation, investment under threat
Livern Barrett, Gleaner Writer
OVER THE last four years, Jamaica has tumbled 28 places on the World Economic Forum's Networked Readiness Index (NRI), setting off alarm bells over the listing which compares the level of preparedness for investment and development of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in more than 138 countries.
The latest NRI ranking released last week show that Jamaica fell seven places to 73 last year on the key indicator which looks at the environment for ICT in each country, the readiness of key stakeholders to use ICT and its actual usage among these stakeholders.
In 2006-2007, Jamaica was ranked 45th, placing the country second only to 27th-place Barbados in the region.
Opposition Spokesman on Energy, Phillip Paulwell, yesterday described the rapid decline as a crisis and said the plan by his Government in 2007 was to use the development of the ICT sector to drive the creation of "thousands of jobs".
"Now that we are falling and other countries are seemingly doing far better than us, we are not going to be getting those jobs and, very importantly, those companies that have invested in Jamaica will not have the push to do better than our competitors in the region," argued Paulwell.
The former industry and commerce minister, who is credited with overhauling the nation's telecommunications sector, said Jamaica's slide in the latest NRI was "very disturbing and disconcerting" coming in just four years.
"It means that all the gains that Jamaica was touted to have achieved and being the model for not only the region, but the world, as to how we liberalised our telecommunications sector ... . I think we have lost those gains," he asserted.
The World Economic Forum, through its website, indicated that the NRI measures the propensity for countries to exploit the opportunities offered through ICT, adding that it "seeks to better comprehend the impact of ICT on the competitiveness of nations".
Professor Hopeton Dunn, director of the Telecommunications Policy and Management Programme at the Mona School of Business, also lamented that Jamaica's falling NRI rankings make it a less attractive country for international investment.
"Investors look at these things and what we need is a more holistic and strategic plan to build up our ICT industry," Dunn suggested.
The latest NRI comes just days after Dunn presented his findings on the most recent islandwide survey of broadband and ICT indicators in Jamaica.
The survey shows that only 15 per cent of households have access to the Internet in their homes.
The survey, which was produced by the Mona School of Business, in collaboration with several regional partners, also shows that only 24 per cent of households have access to computers in their homes.
The main reasons for the low numbers, according to the survey, include the high cost of the equipment, high cost of Internet service, lack of interest and the fact that it is not available in some areas.
Dunn said the numbers should be cause for concern since the Internet is what he described as the central hub for education and economic analysis.
He said the level of Internet access in Jamaican households is similar to the global average for the poorer countries of the world and is not something the country should be proud of.
Last night, calls to the minister with responsibility for technology, Daryl Vaz, went to voicemail.
Technology Crisis
Published: Monday | April 18, 2011
Jamaica sees dramatic decline on world ICT index
Job creation, investment under threat
Livern Barrett, Gleaner Writer
OVER THE last four years, Jamaica has tumbled 28 places on the World Economic Forum's Networked Readiness Index (NRI), setting off alarm bells over the listing which compares the level of preparedness for investment and development of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in more than 138 countries.
The latest NRI ranking released last week show that Jamaica fell seven places to 73 last year on the key indicator which looks at the environment for ICT in each country, the readiness of key stakeholders to use ICT and its actual usage among these stakeholders.
In 2006-2007, Jamaica was ranked 45th, placing the country second only to 27th-place Barbados in the region.
Opposition Spokesman on Energy, Phillip Paulwell, yesterday described the rapid decline as a crisis and said the plan by his Government in 2007 was to use the development of the ICT sector to drive the creation of "thousands of jobs".
"Now that we are falling and other countries are seemingly doing far better than us, we are not going to be getting those jobs and, very importantly, those companies that have invested in Jamaica will not have the push to do better than our competitors in the region," argued Paulwell.
The former industry and commerce minister, who is credited with overhauling the nation's telecommunications sector, said Jamaica's slide in the latest NRI was "very disturbing and disconcerting" coming in just four years.
"It means that all the gains that Jamaica was touted to have achieved and being the model for not only the region, but the world, as to how we liberalised our telecommunications sector ... . I think we have lost those gains," he asserted.
The World Economic Forum, through its website, indicated that the NRI measures the propensity for countries to exploit the opportunities offered through ICT, adding that it "seeks to better comprehend the impact of ICT on the competitiveness of nations".
Professor Hopeton Dunn, director of the Telecommunications Policy and Management Programme at the Mona School of Business, also lamented that Jamaica's falling NRI rankings make it a less attractive country for international investment.
"Investors look at these things and what we need is a more holistic and strategic plan to build up our ICT industry," Dunn suggested.
The latest NRI comes just days after Dunn presented his findings on the most recent islandwide survey of broadband and ICT indicators in Jamaica.
The survey shows that only 15 per cent of households have access to the Internet in their homes.
The survey, which was produced by the Mona School of Business, in collaboration with several regional partners, also shows that only 24 per cent of households have access to computers in their homes.
The main reasons for the low numbers, according to the survey, include the high cost of the equipment, high cost of Internet service, lack of interest and the fact that it is not available in some areas.
Dunn said the numbers should be cause for concern since the Internet is what he described as the central hub for education and economic analysis.
He said the level of Internet access in Jamaican households is similar to the global average for the poorer countries of the world and is not something the country should be proud of.
Last night, calls to the minister with responsibility for technology, Daryl Vaz, went to voicemail.
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