St. Kitts and Nevis Government Considers Wide Area Network

Nigel Cassimire, a Consulting Telecommunications Specialist with the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU)

Basseterre, St. Kitts, March 30, 2011 (SKNIS): Authorities in St. Kitts and Nevis are exploring the specifications of establishing a Government Wide Area Network (GWAN) in order to facilitate greater efficiency and enhance global competitiveness.

Nigel Cassimire, a Consulting Telecommunications Specialist with the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) told SKNIS that the GWAN is an effective tool as it would essentially connect all of Government’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) operations and services.

“The more that we facilitate the interworking of Government, he said, “the more we make it easier for citizens and businesses to interface with Government, Mr. Cassimire explained, while noting that Ministries and Departments must work together to simplify processes.

To reinforce the point, the Consultant – who is in St. Kitts and Nevis to conduct a technical audit on behalf of the CTU – referred to registrations, such as establishing a business, which requires input from various Ministries.

“If we had an integrated network within the Government, we can make it easy and maybe even pleasurable, to deliver those services,” Mr. Cassimire stressed. He added that a business-friendly and less bureaucratic environment will be beneficial when dealing with international matters and foreign investments.

Meanwhile, Minister responsible for Information Technology Honourable Glenn Phillip disclosed that the implementation of Government’s I-Literacy initiative, which features providing laptops to high school students and teachers, will be boosted if there is a GWAN.

“They will need to interact, not only with educational services, but [learn about] the function and role of Government,” he stated, while also citing plans to increase e-Government services and offer Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services. “These services cannot be instituted in a meaningful way unless we have a serious interface network and this is part of what the [technical] audit will tell us as we look forward to the future,” Minister Phillip stressed.