CEO ‘Pat’ Walters sees ICT as major national development tool

RELIABLE, REGULAR, UP-TO-PAR AND EASILY-ACCESSIBLE internet service are perquisites for sustainable national development according to Patricia ‘Pat’ Walters, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of St. Kitts and Nevis Telecommunications Co. Ltd aka ‘The Cable’ based in Basseterre, St Kitts.

In a recent exclusive with www.aroundtheregions.com Walters said the island wide ICT infrastructure investments by The Cable throughout the 174 Km2 St. Kitts has placed them in a unique position where this Majority owned Government Entity owns the precious asset of ICT. It was noted that for economies to remain relevant and thrive, in this digital age, the enhancement of ICT, was a critical success factor. This media house learnt that only a hand full of other Regional Jurisdictions are in this enviable position.

Usually reliable sources noted Antigua and Barbuda, Belize and Trinidad and Tobago are the other Caribbean countries with similar Government majority owned vested interest in ICT.

The CEO noted that since 2021 Everyone in St. Kitts has access to FREE internet, if needed, with The Cable’s Deployment of Free Wi Fi in downtown Basseterre and Free High-Speed Wi Fi in All 17 Community Centres in St. Kitts.

While Walters is understandably cautious about revealing the quantum of the financial investment so far in the St Kitts ICT infrastructure, she emphasised the commitment is not only justified but critical to a successful fully digital economy.

“What I can say is that access to the internet, especially during the pandemic, is now seen as very significant, just as important as access to power and water. That’s why The Cable took the bold step to deploy island wide Free Wi-Fi services. She stated that nobody using the internet at the 17 community centres pays for it.  “We continue to pay for the bandwidth. We continue to pay for the installation, maintenance and the equipment. We pay for the everything and indeed it’s a significant cost,” the CEO disclosed.

Walters said ‘The Cable’ has not limited the internet to the interior of the community centres  but has made it also accessible in the common external areas, in keeping with the company’s national development philosophy of affordable and available Internet of the highest quality  easily-accessible to the entire population.

Walters created history on September 5^th, 2018 when she was named the first female CEO of ‘The Cable’ and was recognized for this accomplishment last year, during International Women’s Month.

‘Pat’ as she is affectionately called, commenced her stellar career in finance, in the retail and shipping industries before moving to telecommunication when she joined Cable and Wireless (C&W) in the United Kingdom (UK).

She held positions as financial controller; director and company secretary, C&W Cayman Islands; financial controller, C&W (St. Kitts-Nevis Ltd); and chief financial officer (CFO) at the Telecommunications Services, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) C&W St .Kitts and Nevis Ltd and Senior Vice President (SVP) Bahamas Telecommunications Co. Ltd.