San Juan , 04/08/16 – Wednesday August 3rd and there was no letting up of the pace and exuberance or participation as delegates started day three of the CANTO 32nd Annual Conference and Trade Exhibition which is currently taking place at the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel and Casino from July 31st – August 5th.
The day started with a session on Caribbean Women in ICT, and the panel included Chair, Jennifer Britton, CARICOM; Rochelle Cameron, CW Jamaica; Siobhan C. James-Alexander – CEO Digicel St. Lucia; and Gladys Maldonado, Associate Member of Puerto Rico Telecommunications Regulatory Board. The panel saw vibrant dialogue not just on stage but also with questions and contributions of persons who assembled to listen to the panel.
The sessions discussed issues which women continue to grapple with in the workplace, and brought to the fore statistics relevant to women in the region and their involvement in ICT. Some of the issues raised include the fact that women make up only 30% of ICT workforce, that mentorship continues to be an issue for women and a vibrant debate as to whether women in ICT support other women in regards to promotions; the argument was made that women don't have to support a woman's promotion based on her gender.
Teresa Wankin, Secretary General of CANTO in bringing a close to the session advocated for a new and novel sponsorship model which she plans to engage operator with. The model would see funds being contributed to developing women in ICT as well as involvement of girls in the Hackathon at next year's Conference.
The session on next generation communications proved to be a very insightful one, opening several windows to market and global developments which are bound to affect the region and CANTO's work in the future.
Day three also included a session on Next Generation Communications. Delegates had an opportunity to benefit from presentations which included: Embedded SIM (eSIM) present and future; Next Generation Communications (5G); Fixed LTE – Delivering BB with a Positive ROI, and Collaborative Engineering Solutions for Effective Multi-Access Technologies Rollout. As ICT development continues to be dynamic and revolutionary, these sessions provided much thought provoking material from presenters with significant industry experience.
As day three came to a close delegates had the opportunity to participate in the final session entitled GSMA Capacity Building Training Session. A presentation entitled Mobile Sector Taxation facilitated by Mani Manimohan was the highlight of this session. Among other things the session looked at spectrum, regulatory fees and taxation.
The day culminated with the closing cocktail reception which was sponsored by C&W Business, C&W Networks and Flow.
About CANTO
CANTO is recognized as the leading trade association of the ICT sector for shaping information and communication in the Caribbean. Founded in 1985 as a non-profit association of 8 telephone operating companies, CANTO has now grown to over 120 members in more than 31 countries. A Board of Directors appointed by the membership directs policy of the Association. This strategy is executed by the staff of a permanent Secretariat based in Trinidad and Tobago.
Media Contact
Name: Tricia Balthazar
Title: Service Development Manager
Phone: 1(868) 706-9787
Email address: tbalthazar@canto.org
