The reality of electronic commerce in The Bahamas is stagnated to some degree by what is considered low quality telecommunications infrastructure, according to some Members of Parliament.
There are members of both sides of the House of Assembly who agree that services presently offered by Bahamas Telecommunications Company are not ready for electronic commerce.
According to Holy Cross MP, Sydney Stubbs, a GSM system is the platform, which facilitates e-commerce services.
“This is the direction that BTC should have already been at as it prepares for privatization.
“The honorable minister responsible for BTC is aware that the cellular system in its present form can not facilitate electronic commerce in The Bahamas,” Minister Stubbs said. “He recently informed me that very soon BTC will be expanding their network and will introduce a GSM system and this will prepare BTC to keep pace with developments around the world and allow us to successfully introduce aspects of electronic commerce in short order,” he told Members of the House Wednesday.
Agreeing that a global phenomenon like e-commerce mandates the establishment of a successful communications base, South Andros MP Whitney Bastian said “sadly, we are not equipped to meet the global challenge at this time.”
“The availability of telephone services in the Bahamas is still to be realized,” Mr. Bastian said. “In fact, what is the present status of the privatization of BaTelCo, which will determine the readiness of BaTelCo to meet the needs of the Bahamas as an e-commerce center?”
But the country’s readiness for the possibility of e-commerce becoming the third pillar of the economy is beyond the challenges of telecommunications infrastructure.
Chief for the government is to ensure that a well-regulated framework is in tact, officials have said.
Mr. Stubbs noted, “it’s one thing to set up a website, but another thing to attract business.” There are e-commerce success stories around the world and the government hopes that The Bahamas would write its own chapter.
In the United States e-commerce accounts for $9.5 billion of the Gross National Product (GNP), while in Canada it accounts for US $4.5 billion. In Trinidad, US $1.2 million derived from e-commerce goes towards the GNP and in Jamaica, US $3 million.
While the Bahamas readies for its e-commerce industry, Mr. Stubbs cautioned Bahamians who intend to take advantage of new opportunities in that field to arm themselves with a copy of the U.S Patriot Act.
The Patriot Act puts the burden of responsibility on the owners of a website to know who they are conducting business with as there are harsh penalties for wrongdoings.
“If there is a transgression, a Bahamian under the Patriot Act can be indicted in the U.S for doing business with some international drug dealer who may go on your website and do a business transaction with you. You better know who you’re doing business with. That’s the preamble of the Patriot Act.
“Bahamians are going to have to study it…it must become the second Bible to the Bahamian Constitution. You have to know the Patriot Act if you’re going to play this game of electronic commerce. Don’t let anyone fool you,” he warned.
Foreshadowing that electronic commerce will become the principal avenue for conducting trade in 2005 when the Free Trade Area of the Americas Agreement scheduled to be concluded, Mr. Stubbs said that there is tremendous potential for The Bahamas. The Bahamas is one of 34 countries presently considering signing onto the FTAA, which would result in free trading across borders.
Presently, global e-commerce stands at an estimated US $100 billions and is projected to grow to about US $2 trillion to US $3 trillion.
Once the Bahamas becomes fully immersed in e-commerce, Mr. Stubbs said he is confident that companies would experience economic growth, while consumers would be able to choose from a broader selection of products and enjoy lower prices.
By Hadassah Hall, The Bahama Journal
