Minister: 52% with Internet in T&T

(Trinidad Express) Fifty-two out of every 100 households in Trinidad and Tobago have access to broadband Internet services.

Public Administration Minister Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan made this point yesterday during an address at the opening of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) preparatory conference for the upcoming “Connect to the Americas Summit” at The Carlton Savannah, Port of Spain.

Seepersad-Bachan compared Trinidad and Tobago to other English-speaking Caribbean territories such as Jamaica which scored the lowest broadband penetration at 4.3 per cent.

Her data originated from a 2010 ITU study which scored other territories such as Dominica with a broadband penetration of 47.1 per cent, St Kitts and Nevis at 25, Barbados at 20.6, Antigua and Barbuda 17.2, St Vincent and the Grenadines 11.4, St Lucia at 10.7, Grenada at 10.1 and the Bahamas at 7.1 per cent.

Seepersad-Bachan said in Trinidad and Tobago, “broadband penetration continues to climb steadily and there has been an 89 per cent increase in subscriber growth within the period 2006 to 2011”.

She attributed this growth to the fact that there are currently seven operators who provide broadband services to citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.

“Therefore as with most markets, competition among players leads to improved quality of service and more affordable prices for consumers,” she said.

“Here in Trinidad and Tobago, we have recorded approximately 192,000 fixed Internet subscribers with over 190,000 being subscribers of fixed broadband Internet services, as at the end of 2011,” she added.