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02nd September 2010
St Lucia moves to develop domestic Internet Industry
Local Content Providers to Benefit from Domestic Internet Exchange Point
By Gerard Best

Mrs. Allison Jean, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Communications, Works, Transport and Public Utilities, has declared Government’s intention to facilitate the establishment of an Internet Exchange Point (IXP) in St Lucia as a matter of national priority.
Speaking at a recent Caribbean Internet Exchange Point Awareness symposium hosted by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) and US-based nonprofit research institute Packet Clearing House (PCH), Jean noted that IXPs were conspicuously absent, not just in St Lucia, but in the wider English-speaking Caribbean.
“Countries all across the world have realised and exploited the benefits of IXPs,” stated Jean in a presentation that highlighted the fact that without the establishment of a local IXP to allow for the free exchange of domestic Internet traffic, the domestic Internet industry would never reach its full potential.
Since the liberalisation of the telecommunications market in the Caribbean, St Lucia has witnessed an exponential growth in the number of Internet users, but the country has become increasingly reliant on Internet-based services. Jean pointed to the fact that IXPs are considered internationally to be a foundation and catalyst for domestic internet services and industry development.
Feature speaker at the event, Mr Bevil Wooding noted, “Building an IXP is a technically trivial exercise; building the level of trust and collaboration required between the stakeholders in the process is not always straightforward.”
Wooding, an international technology strategist, is the Caribbean Outreach Manager for US-based PCH. He also serves as the Program Director for the CTU’s Caribbean ICT Roadshow. PCH is well qualified to tackle the subject of IXPS. Over the past sixteen years, PCH has built or supported more than one third of the world’s 300 IXPs.
Wooding shared, “In forming new Internet exchanges, PCH facilitates a multi-stage process. Local stakeholders are organised to form an independent association. PCH can then work with that association to help guide the necessary decisions regarding organisational, financial, and governance structure. We also work with governments around the world to ensure a beneficial regulatory climate is in place for countries to realise the full benefit IXPs can bring.”
Wooding, whose feature address had a clear developmental emphasis, is also part of another international nonprofit organization. He is Chief Knowledge Officer of Congress WBN, a Caribbean-based entity focused on social and national development. In his presentation, Wooding drew from his international experience to provide numerous examples of how IXPs can be practically leveraged in the region to address the issue of local content development, community empowerment and the propagation of Caribbean values.
He repeatedly challenged the audience to look beyond the technical considerations and recognise the social and economic implications of Internet Exchange Points. Referring to examples from developing countries around the world where IXPs helped spark local innovation and entrepreneurial activity, he stated, “The Caribbean deserves no less; our countries should not be deprived of this most fundamental facility; and perhaps most importantly, our children should not be denied the opportunity to be equal participants in the global Internet.”
“We will continue to work with the CTU, Governments and other interested stakeholders to conduct educational workshops that help ISPs to achieve the level of cooperation necessary to form an IXP and begin peering. We are also working the Caribbean Network Operators Group (CaribNOG) to help roll out follow-up workshops to convey routing and peering technical skills,” Wooding assured.
Bernadette Lewis, Secretary General of the CTU, reiterated her organisation’s long-term commitment to regional development, stating, “The CTU will continue to seek out and partner with organizations that demonstrate a sincere commitment to national development.”

 
 
She added, “Our member states have indicated their serous intent to engage in longer term economic development and national infrastructure planning projects that allow countries to take full advantage of the opportunities of the Internet economy. Through the evolving Caribbean ICT Roadshow we will continue our outreach to Governments and to help policy makers understand the economic improvements and the changes to the regulatory and business environment that an IXP will bring. We are also working with ISPs and entrepreneurs to identify business opportunities and develop market niches in content provision and technological innovation across the Caribbean.”
Lewis issued an open invitation to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) across the region to come on board the initiative to spur the development of the domestic internet industry in every Caribbean country. She said, “The support of regional ISPs like LIME and Columbus Communications is critical to this initiative. The CTU through the Caribbean ICT Roadshow is doing its part to create wide stakeholder awareness. We have regional Governments and Private Sector groups offering neutral rent-free facilities to host IXPs. We have non-profit groups like PCH, Congress WBN and CaribNOG stepping forward to provide free equipment and free training to governments, businesses, network administrators, entrepreneurs and content providers. What we need now is immediate and decisive from our ISPs to make the establishment of IXPs in the Caribbean a reality. This is an opportunity for ISPs across the Caribbean to clearly demonstrate their commitment to regional development.”
About IXP’s:
The key point to note is that because IXPs allow domestic internet traffic to be exchanged between the customers of local service providers at no cost, the market for local internet-based services receives an immediate and significant boon.
This opens a new world of possibilities for
1) Governments in terms of delivering quality services to citizens
2) Schools/Police Stations/Hospitals/Business/Media Houses in terms of deploying services like VoIP, Video Conferencing, e-Health and the like that originate in country and target locals. These services will no longer be subject to the delays and inefficiencies involved when the data traffic has to go to US only to be returned to the island.
3) Local Content Producers and Entrepreneurs including local radio and TV stations who want to publish their high quality audio and video online for domestic audiences
Two other very significant implications for the establishment of an internet exchange point in St Lucia centre around disaster preparedness and data security. Without an IXP all services that depend on the Internet would be taken offline in event of a cable cut or other international outage. With an IXP local traffic and local services continue to function uninterrupted. This means email, local e-government services, and other vital communication services necessary for a robust domestic environment and economic activity are protected.
From a security stand point if local internet traffic is kept local then sensitive data intended for a domestic recipient is not subject to inspection by other governments whose agenda may not be congruent with national policy or interests. This has serious implications for both Government and the private sector.

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