Issues and Answers - Quality of Internet Service in Saint Lucia (Sept. 21st 2026)

Heat. [music] Heat. [music] I'm Shelton Daniel continuing our conversations about internet quality in St. Lucia and today we have as our guest a voice from the private sector. His name is Kispier and he is the senior projects manager of innovative business solutions. Ganis, welcome to the GIS and to issues and answers. All right. Thank you, Sheldon. >> We've been having a conversation getting the perspectives of people we consider to be experts or veterans in the field of telecommunications, especially um internet service, internet service providers. Where exactly are we in terms of um where we need to be, you know, where internet is concerned? Um considering that it is regarded as something that is so vital, so critical to our development in a multiplicity of areas and that for which we um aspire um to achieve whether it is in the business sector, whether it is in education, uh whether it is in what is called the knowledge based economy, you know, all all the jagen and all those names. If I were to tell you about the quality of internet service in the country and you being the expert, the person who knows how to um separate um the pulp from the juice and so on would say well when you talk about quality, you know, what really are the metrics and and the criteria that you're looking at? I'm pitching that question to you. If you were to comment or to speak or to measure internet quality, what are some of the um critical areas that you would zero in on? Okay, there'll be a few tenets. One will be speed and the other one will be capacity. These are the main ones and also um reliability. So how long it stays up for. So um speed is how fast you could send a packet. So you downloaded a movie, how fast you could download the movie. Reliability is how long it stays up before you get a fault and also how long it it takes before the provider could repair it. >> Right? So these are the main metrics and these are where people complain the most. Okay, I was downloading a movie and it buffered or I was submitting my exam and it dropped or I haven't had internet for a few days. Yeah. >> So hearing those areas and knowing that they are the ones that you would use in doing some kind of a critical or relevant or pointed analysis of internet service. Um where would you say we are overall if you if you were to give a grade on any scale 1 to five 1 to 10 what would you say >> kind of geographical so maybe in cash might be fine because there might be multiple businesses that have internet so you could hop on and get free internet maybe get might be supplied maybe in a rural area it might be more patchy so it depends on um where you live so um I showed my age but basically when there was DSL um cable wire lime. It was like a copper wire going to your house. So it was susceptible to rain and weather just like a telephone was. Now there's um broadband over fiber and coax. It's more stable in in that regard. So it doesn't go down generally due to weather. Um I remember at some point there was an attempt to I think the spectra it used the radio >> and that was affected by um weather. So different mediums affected by different things. So as far as stability generally I think internet on the whole is more stable. As far as penetration they still there still needs a lot of work to be done >> right as far as bridging a digital divide. >> Would you say any of these uh quote unquote shortcomings are impeding um our development in any way? Um and you would like to see them overcome so that we can take that greater leap forward. >> Yes. Especially now with um the digital economy, young people need the need. So I mean nowadays um being an influencer is actually a could be a very lucrative job opportunity. So they need to have internet connectivity all the time to be on the Tik Tok and the um the podcast people and all people. So that is a real thing nowadays. So that's important. Um so for vendors or speculators to order something on Amazon and get it and track your um is it um west or whatever it is. So you need internet all the time. >> Now >> with tourism nowadays a movie director or somebody like I could take a vacation to St. Lucia or the Caribbean >> and they might he he might come expecting that he could send his film project back to headquarters because that hotel has internet. So it's very important. um it makes the world smaller so to speak. You could be anywhere and work from anywhere. So it is very important. >> All right. I'm I'm I've been pushing this subject of internet and and our our digital capacity and so on because very often we hear ourselves compared to Singapore, you know, because of the almost similar um geographic um size, you know, and so on. But when we do a closer examination, we find that these are digital heavyweights. You know, they might be small in size, but when it comes to their capacity, to their capability, their resourcefulness um in those in in in in those areas, they're big. Um I don't know if we'll ever get there. Our population is a lot smaller than theirs, so probably the pool of of human resource. But if someone were to ask you now, what do we need to do to at least achieve a a greater closeness to parity in terms of digital and internet capacity and you are to say, hey, here's what we need to do. We need to double our our fiber optic capacity. We need to get into the satellite. I mean, I increasingly hear mention of Starlink and and those sorts of things. What would be your response to that if you were consulted? >> Okay, so it's not like one answer fits all. So first of all, our size actually gives us gives us an advantage as opposed to the other way around >> because >> the smaller you are, the coverage area is less >> the smaller and the less infrastructure you need to put in place to get it done, right? >> Um as far as fiber capacity um off island capacity, I do not think it's lacking and um what actually limits the capacity and the speed is actually the advancement in your switching equipment. So the fiber remains the same. The speed it travels at the speed of light is almost limitless. >> But as equipment evolves, you might be able to push more data down the pipe. So I'm not worried about the capacity. Um the different carriers, they share capacity, they share submarine cables. So off island capacity is not really the problem. Um so there is that. So if I was small size um you ask how you probably have internet better internet coverage. Now every not every many households have internet but it's separate. See the way it works. I am not a hands-on IT person but I manage an IT team in my personal life. So >> for that to happen you need to have everything on the same network. So um you ask what could be done? Um maybe via legislation or other means maybe the government could probably own the controllers and maybe offer incentives to own one because in England there is actually um something similar where um the public has access to your Wi-Fi but not your password. So it's almost like a party segmented they could get to share >> but you need to have one central controller so everybody's on the same network. So there be almost seamless >> um seamless transition. >> What what what would you need to get there? Would you need to um to have for example a public private partnership that government were to share investments because I've increasingly heard that if government wants to deliver to its people >> um not the desired but the needed you know um level of service and capacity and so on government will have to um put some money where that mouth is at least you know get into yeah >> there's something called um Wi-Fi 4 EU Wi-Fi number for EU where the municipalities actually um pay for the equipment I think and government does something. today is that as well in in Europe but what you're asking the closest to it I think is is England where um I'm not sure which city or whatever but it's about >> I can bet I think it's like BT so >> you could hop off somebody else's Wi-Fi not in the private space >> now in there might be a trust issue like okay the government on my network can they spy can they see my data so it will take an education >> so beyond investment we're talking about there might need to be legislative you know adjustments And how do you compensate the owner of the >> All right. Well, we've been talking for years about you know the grid and how people if private electricity generation can feed into the grid that talk has been going on. I don't think anything really concrete has come out of it. So maybe >> especially now there might be the issue of trust as well. Okay, who's on my network? Do they have access? What do I have access to? So there have to be an educational >> what kind of infiltration can they carry out? Well, let's just go back to something you said um a little earlier. Um that was with reference to us being small and that should in fact play to our advantage. Yes. You know, I have to tell you from a few of the other people experts that I've spoken that's what I'm hearing. I'm hearing very small. Um but whether you're in the cast area where you have a lot of flat space and so on akin to Barbados was mentioned as being um internet coverage may not be such a great challenge because it's basically a flat country. I'm told that you know moving out of Kulisak and heading into into Sarah that area the battling mountains and so on they can present a barrier. Is that because of the location of of of the service providing um networks or infrastructure towers and so on but I was told that you know our topography can be a limiting factor >> okay so that depends on the delivery. So if you are thinking of internet via the cables it does not present a real challenge except that you have to climb high and go through the hills. But if you're talking about um via mobile that might create a problem because each tower has a circumference >> the maximum at which it could transmit. So that is a problem. So it'll be um hampered by the hills and the mountains. Mhm. >> So that's talking about your LTS and your mobile. >> And that probably is why a lot of the um the complaints that you hear, they tend to come from mobile users, people who are using mobile internet that the moment you you pass um um Rosu or whatever, then you begin to get your signal wobbles and so on that um you're not getting it. Is there any good in between place you know um um um that you can resolve this matter? >> Well, okay. So since I'm not I'm no longer So okay. So >> that's exactly what I brought you because you're private sector. [laughter] >> Right. Right. So I've worked in both companies. So >> when there was the actually the expansion with um it was lime at the time I was there. So we started um with maybe like 15 towers and grew to about 30 towers eventually to about 60 towers >> and then the competitor at the time did the same. So there were some known um spots where you'd be dropping. So by sajikor after sandals that was one broad another one. So there were some troublesome areas like um a border. >> So the geography does present a problem for mobile internet not necessarily terrestrial or land-based internet. >> Okay. >> Right. So um but if each medium there are limitations so capacity wise >> so in certain so that's why say um Barbados you said topography so for as far as mobile is concerned they might be better off because there's no mountain blocking or impeding your signal. All right. Okay. This is a very good point. Maybe we can um we can look at that in some expanded way because um there's been talk about space. You know, if the land is presenting and the mountains and so on, then how about, you know, a satellite that can beam something down upon us and and we can overcome. So, hold that thought in mind. Okay. We're about going for a break. You are watching issues and answers, >> a production of the government information service. My guest today is Kispier. He is the senior projects manager with Innovative Business Solutions, a private sector entity. And we will continue chatting with him on this important subject of our internet service in this country. Where is it at now? And how does it square with our development goals and wishes? Don't go away. We'll be right back. >> What's in the food you're eating? Do [music] you really [singing] even know all the chemicals and hormones used to accelerate their growth? All [music] the artificial flavoring, sweeteners, and colors too we consume and we don't spare a thought for the damage that they'll do. [music] >> Think about the children. >> Think about the children. [music] How will we say [singing] that? Chemicals [music] and GMOs are not the solution. [music] Use organic enjoy. Food revolution. [singing] >> Excessive agrochemical use. Additives and genetically modified foods are harmful to health and the environment. Join [music] the good food revolution. Grow, buy, and consume organic. A message from Ry St. Lucia and the Ministry of Sustainable Development [music and singing] with funding from the GEF small grants program. UNDP good. [music] Thank you for staying with Issues and Answers, a production of the Government Information Service. I'm your host Shelton Daniel and my guest today is Canispier, a telecommunications industry veteran now with the private sector in a senior capacity and we are continuing our series of conversations about internet quality in St. Lucia given its importance, the vital role it is already playing and is expected to play in even bigger ways in our development future. Candace, before the break, I said I wanted to talk about um the satellite aspect. We have limitations with um you know the terrestrial installations, the excavations and all that we have to do to run cable to install towers. But I have heard that there is an option that has mushroomed and shows great promise for the future and that is the satellite aspect that from space you know signals and and and and communications bandwidths and so on can be beamed to us. We can subscribe to it. if we can get on to it and um someone has pointed out that this is even more interesting and needed in times of the year such as this the hurricane season. >> Yes, I agree. >> Can you expound on that and on other thoughts that you have? >> Right. So that method of delivery I is by radio. Right. >> So traditionally a radio has always been the most reliable. So when I worked with the private sector um a radio link I me like 23 years it probably probably went down twice. So normally would be held to like 99.999% reliability, >> right? The only thing for radio is that you cannot expand easily as you would something else. So the satellite is great as far as there's nothing much impeding the signal. It's in space you could get it. Um but over time I guess Elon will have to upgrade and keep upgrading. But as far as coverage hurricane season, other disasters, it is the easiest to deploy. >> Okay. So even if we get we get hit, there wasn't even hurricane and I think a major submarine >> um fiber optic cable between and [clears throat] Dominica got hit or in some way or the other and all our services were down and so on. So would that be the answer that um you know some some satellite based system? >> Um >> as far as you know you probably get a little subsume as we would say. Um are we are we any way heading in that direction as far as you you >> No, I am not sure but I guess anybody's free to take it on. the government can >> um >> it might not be as the capacity that you might expect on Starink because of the nature of it. So >> to increase the capacity would take a rocket trip each time. >> So it is actually limited to how fast you could expand it. >> You could expand the terrestrial much faster. So there'll always be a need for terrestrial because you could get a broadband, you get a DIA, you could get a capacity. So I think I'm not sure the the capacity you get on each of the each of these um Starlink connections but as far as reliability it is actually superior. >> Okay. When you hear of expressions of discontent with our internet service quality and so on. Do these tend to come more from um the private um sector and so on or or or from individuals or do they tend to come more from commercial/government because let's say government would be a big consumer of of internet um um services um the commercial sector and so on. What does the because some people have suggested that maybe in order to satisfy the broadband or capacity or bandwidth needs of government and the and the commercial sector maybe other smaller fry are being throttled and you know what is delivered to them is less. Is is that true? Is that necessary? And and might that be what is happening? >> Not so much. So there are two sides. So so government and and big business they take um direct internet access broadband. So it's a dedicated pipe to the premise. So it's almost like your private highway. So that's fine. >> Um broadband as we know it is actually shared but generally that is not I would say it is not but it's not the major problem. Um some of it is um customer education as well. >> Okay. >> So a Wi-Fi AP and access point transmits on two frequencies right the 2.4 and the 5 gig. >> Right. >> So the 2.4 four as well. >> Does the 5 gig same as the 5G because we is a different >> no so 5G in the terms of um your your um mobile is fifth generation that's 5G so that's a technology >> so but 5 GHz is a frequency >> okay >> so um at 2.4 so no most people would have the modem on 2.4 is the easiest so you could get it through the bathroom whatever it's more penetrative so you can go through concrete better okay >> and the five G is more capacity. >> Okay. >> So, >> so more capacity, less penetration. >> Correct. >> Less capacity, better penetration. >> Correct. >> All right. >> So, when somebody complains that they paid for 300 megs from FL or DL, but they only get 100, it's very likely it is not the carrier's fault. They might be on 2.4. So, the maximum you could get on 2.4 is about 100 megs. >> Mhm. >> To get your 300 megs that you paid for, you need to be on 5G. Mhm. >> But if you go all the way to your bathroom, you might lose it. >> Okay. >> That depends on the construction of your house. So it's affected by thick concrete rebar >> which >> your body. So the modem is actually your body um fluid water >> um significantly significantly dampers the signal strength and your body is about 70% water. >> So if the modem is behind you and you're in an area of weak signal and you on your phone that way, your body is going to take some of the signal. Your head is going to take some of it as well. >> Mhm. So it's a matter of education. So um maybe the place you position your your modem, your antenna, the orientation of your antenna, your the building that you're in. So if there are if um many of those modern buildings has those energy saving glass and reflections that too is going to cause scattering. So you have that to worry about the like I say rebar. So um drywall is okay but drywall if metal inside of it might cause reflections. >> All right. Okay. >> Yeah. So there are a number of other factors and not necessarily that the carrier is not >> fast enough or strong enough. Some of it is user related problems or could be solved by the user. Yeah, many have have pointed out that with while we remain focused perhaps even fixated on on capacity on speed and those things and that could possibly come at the risk of not paying sufficient attention to security that you know in this high capacity environment there enhanced security risk. Now we are in a world where tap and pay you you can pull up at a gas station and you don't have to worry about the bank notes not even the new polymer ones you just tap your card. Um, but with this whole tap and pay uh uh uh culture and so on, I'm told that people can pass by you without you being aware and they can they can essentially tap something or or get something off you generally about the security are we at a greater security risk and vulnerability which we have traded off for the speed and capacity. >> Um well I wouldn't say is because of the speed and capacity. These two are actually growing at the same rate basically. So with AI it actually makes it more risky >> but likewise the security companies are the firewall companies actually making more money in security. So there are companies that offer firewall for example I like IBS for example you could have >> um cyber security and protection that you need. So again users have to be cautious and take precaution. So you mentioned before um when the tap when the the the the tap and pay first came out there was almost no limit to how far away from the device the reading you could be so somebody or I I had heard of instances where you need to charge your car and you're not even close to it but that has been controlled you actually have to tap now as opposed to the proximity >> right but then >> if anything else there'll always be crooks who keep advancing and you have to be one step ahead with cyber security or take precautions yourself in protecting yourself. A >> as you look at at our country right now, um I I want to ask what have you noticed or what can you comment on in terms of what internet has done for us and what it has done to us? In in what ways that would come to your mind, you know, of off the cuff? Are we a better country? Are we an improved a more developed country because of internet and staying a breast of you know the advancements and the developments in in in its quality the robustness the stability capacity etc and and in conversely in what ways might we have done better or or or can we say um we need to do better um in order to ensure that we don't fall behind um the curve or the eightball whatever it is. No. >> Well, if anything, especially with um advancement in technology, there's always the other side. So, as far as internet um capacity, internet access, ubiquitous access is where we're heading toward. There's always the other side. So, parental supervision with more access with broadband. Okay. A kid who's not supervised could download movies they're not meant to see. So, there's always that side. um we get less sensitized >> to so long ago um you'd have never seen a murder live. Nowadays everybody has a camera and privacy issues is another thing another topic on its own. >> So yes it has helped us as far as development goes but then has almost maybe another one to say eroded our morals basically. So um you might hear now that um there's a shooting and five people die you'd say oh only five people. >> Mhm. So it's almost like okay I'm accustomed to hearing 100. >> Yeah. There's kind of a desensitization here. >> Yeah. We we see more and perhaps it has shown us more. So maybe certain crimes were always there but now we see it more. So there is that that moral aspect of it. >> But as far as development I think >> we basically are on the right track. But there are things that we can do um to actually improve it. like what I said before public um private partnerships. I'm not sure how that could go but it is possible. So it's almost like in town maybe every business has internet but it's theirs and then you might find poorers you know huddled in the corner in the evening doing this stuff. So um I think we can so that is what I was alluding to when I said about the size >> um as far as capital investment be easier to put internet in all of Indonesia than it would be to do New York City for example. So that's what what I meant by the size. >> Okay. Um can you in one minute tell me what are your thoughts on the need for compensation? I mean a lot of people are saying look I have whether it's a prepaid or postpaid plan but sometime during the billing period the service isn't what it's supposed to be it delivers less it goes down but at the end of the day I still have to pay the full rack rate um for my subscription plan there's never any little okay I'll give you 5 cents back because you know the service was a little wobbly on this date and so on. What do you think about, you know, um, internet service providers being mindful? I think it's a good marketing tool for them, but it doesn't seem to happen in our country. You know, the bill comes the same. >> If you were to unpack that, right? Say for example, an average internet plan might be $140, right? >> Now, that would mean $5 a day. >> That would be maybe like 50 cents, 25 cents an hour. >> So, it depends on if you go um use equality or equity. Mhm. >> So if you go in equality, you say okay 1 hour of your subscription would customer want 50 cents for the for the um inconvenient maybe not. >> Now if you were to go on the side of say equity, it would mean that maybe you were doing an exam you paid $5,000 for and then at the moment your class is only dropped and it's no refund. So will the company say they're going to refund your $5,000? So it depends on how they choose to to to do it. So it can be done, but it might be meaningless to somebody. You you would not want 50 cents for the hour you lost. >> You you just roll it off my next my next bill or whatever. And I think I think it can be >> there's a feel good about it. You know, >> at least he has something. But it's it's it's minuscule if you were to do it as far as they >> because if you owe them 50 cents, you know, they basically insist on every ounce or or scent of flesh that you owe them. But I want to thank you so very much. um Mr. Kispear um for joining us on this program to speak about this area which is within your experience and expertise and sharing your perspective on it with us the subject of internet quality um in St. Rosha really appreciate that. This has been Issues and Answers a production of the government information service with me, Shout and Daniel. We trust that you have been in some way enlightened or improved by the content, by the material that has come through this program. Um, we hope in the future to have others, not necessarily on this topic only, but on many others that we think would be of interest and importance um to the public, to our audience. Until next time, do enjoy the rest of whatever period you're in and whatever period this program reaches you. And saying for now, until next time, goodbye. [music] >> [music] >> Heat.