MODERN COMMERCE as we know it could hardly have been possible without an electronic communications system of some kind. For many years the telephone and later the telex machine provided that critical and time-saving link; and now in the wash of space age thinking we have discovered the Internet, aided and abetted by the ubiquitous computer.
In a lecture entitled Caricom Economy At The Crossroads, which he delivered at the Warrens Complex recently, Professor Avinash Persaud spoke about what he considered to be the benefits we could derive from managing and using the Internet as a factor of development. He argued that it would enable small countries like Barbados to access distant markets.
Some years ago, Frances Cairncross in a Sir Winston Scott Lecture delivered at the Frank Collymore Hall enlightened us on how the then incipient and rapidly developing communications technology would mean easier access to markets hitherto inaccessible for many small entrepreneurs, and difficult to penetrate for smaller countries.
Professor Persaud has taken the matter further. He is calling for cheaper access to the technology because he sees it as a major factor of development, and he appeals to Government to “take a proactive stance in the development and promotion of broader cheaper access to information communication technology”.
In effect he is calling for cheap, islandwide, high, dependable bandwith. This is an idea to be taken seriously, and there is much food for thought in the suggestion. The economist makes the further point, among a cluster of other ideas, that the technology enables and promotes weightless exports, and that cheap, high bandwidth is a prerequisite for exporting professional services to large distant markets.
Obviously, the development of the services sector would receive a shot in the arm, and, as the Professor remarked, it would suggest to the international community that Barbados is open for business.
Already the Cave Hill campus, like similar overseas institutions, allows free access to the Internet for students, and this has proved to be a boon for students who may wish to go beyond the classroom to track down and research relevant databases.
Only last month Lime and the Chamber of Commerce announced a $1 million Wi-Fi investment project that will stimulate and revitalize business, life and general vibrancy in The City and its environs; and earlier this week, managing director with LIME,
Alex McDonald, stated that “with this investment, Barbados will gain the distinction of having the first capital city and cruise port in the Caribbean with a ubiquitous Wi-Fi network in place”.
McDonald was speaking at a ceremony at The Crane, where he announced new investment to enable business executives to have access to faster and more sophisticated Internet and data services on their wireless devices.
These are welcome developments in the process of using the technology to make this island a more attractive place to do business, and Professor Persaud’s provocative lecture should energize us into making sure that we use the technology, as he says, not only to help our exports, but also to deliver better and more efficient service between Government and the people.