The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (the “Board”) recently rendered a high profile decision in Fair Trading Commission v Digicel (mirror) where it confirmed the far reaching power of the Fair Trading Commission to intervene in proposed mergers of telecommunications providers. The decision will likely give telecommunications providers further cause for pause in future bids to…
Category: telecommunications
CANTO Code of Practice and Net Neutrality in the Caribbean
A voluntary code titled: Voluntary Code on Safeguarding the Open Internet” (”the Code”) was publicly unveiled at the recently held Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organizations (“CANTO”) meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Code’s stated objective indicates that: “The Code is in response to concerns brought forward by operators about consumer rights in accessing…
ECTEL proposes net neutrality language in draft regulations to complement revised Electronic Communications bill
The Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) is the regional, multi-state telecoms regulator for the Eastern Caribbean. Recently, ECTEL put forward a slew of recommendations on various regulatory instruments to be enacted in the Eastern Caribbean. The regulations would go hand-in-hand with the proposed revisions to the Electronic Communications bill. The proposed regulations cover: infrastructure sharing;…
The Brazil Whatsapp Shutdown and Lessons for the Caribbean
By now, the news cycle surrounding the temporary shutdown of Whatsapp by a Brazilian Court has petered out. If you missed it (or are only reading this 50 years later!), the gist is that in 2015 Whatsapp is a large transnational mobile messaging service with global appeal and very high reach in Brazil. Prosecutors in…