Telecommunication policy in the Caribbean a comparison of telecommunications in the Dominican Republic and Haiti

Abstract

Several factors affect the development of telecommunications policy in a country. These include government intervention, geography, alliances, and economic stability. By studying different countries, and comparing these factors and the rates of growth of each state, one can further understand the different levels of telecommunications development. This thesis will explore telecommunications policy, its success and failures, in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, where telecommunications has become a major source of jobs and economy due to foreign investments. Analysis of telecommunications policies, regulatory bodies, and agreements will be studied and compared to each country's rate of growth in the past 10 years. This thesis will provide recommendations for the successful implementation of regulatory policies in the named developing Caribbean nations. By examining the policies in these nations, this thesis will determine the effectiveness of the country's telecommunications policy. Additionally, the thesis will explore the influence of specific actors, such as corruption, nonenforcement of regulatory laws, lack of developed accounting and auditing systems, and the limitation of the government in developing policy.