As Guyana joins in the celebration of World Telecommunications and Information Society Day on May 17, the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU) in observance of the Day is calling for more investments and growth in the Telecommunications, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sectors.
According to the NFMU, the ICT sector is amongst the most profitable and successful in the world. With the theme for this year being “ICT entrepreneurship for social impact,” the unit noted through its Managing Director Valmikki Singh that “notwithstanding the risks and challenges, entrepreneurship is an endeavour that grows economies, both in the developed and developing world. With globalisation and the setback in the traditional productive sectors of our economy, more and more Guyanese entrepreneurs are emerging.”
It is therefore very appropriate said Singh, that ICTs could be harnessed, through entrepreneurship, for social development. This cuts across many of the 17 sustainable development goals of the United Nations, established in 2015 to be achieved within the next 15 years.
Singh highlighted that, for maximum impact, the environment needs to be conducive for investment and entrepreneurship. In this
Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes
respect, he said the Telecommunications Bill will be brought by Government to the National Assembly soon, with the purpose of creating an entrance in the telecommunication/ICT sector to full competition and implementing clear rules and guidelines for the regulation of the sector.
Earlier in the month, Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes pointed out that the Bill had been placed for legal vetting and she hoped to have it brought to Parliament before the ending of May.
The Telecommunications Bill invites the creation of a combative regime within the telecommunications sector as it facilitates an open, liberal and competitive sector which will be considered attractive to new market entrants and investors, while preserving activities of the current participants.
Additionally, it is required that the situations be favourable for investment and entrepreneurship to produce a maximum impact, hence the need to support existing operators in investing continually in order to create a pavement for other smaller players to become involved in the Telecom /ICT sector, said Singh.
With progressing countries similar to Guyana being more consumer centric, it is advised by NFMU that as a nation, we need to strive to be more innovative and creative, since this is expected to have the greatest positive economic and social impact on Guyanese.
For this reason, the NFMU has commenced formulating ideas to foster originality in the ICT sector, in line with the government’s policy of boosting the resourceful and innovative abilities of students.
According to Singh one of the ICT sector’s most popular invention is the mobile phone. “It has evolved to a smart phone and is ubiquitous in many countries. With the recent commercial launch (by our two mobile operators) of mobile broadband services to most of our population, smart phones are expected to be more and better utilised.
This means that in addition to more mobile applications (apps) being used, the demand for more apps will also rise. Herein lies a great opportunity for our Guyanese creators and innovators. Guyanese can also potentially market their mobile apps to the estimated three billion mobile broadband users worldwide.”
One classic example of a Guyanese-based mobile application is Directory.GY, which was identified as the official app of our Jubilee celebrations. The launching of this app was done last week by Intellect Storm, a group of young talented Guyanese innovators and entrepreneurs.
Generally, apps can range from simple social interactions and location services to providing counselling to persons in need or match demand with supply of goods/services, etc.
The possibilities of ICT entrepreneurship and the social impact that they can have are limitless and the NFMU encourages belief, saying “Once we believe, we can achieve.”
