Jamaica Ranks 91st and Trinidad 77th out of 110 countries in Digital Quality of Life Index Report for 2021

The Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) has given Jamaica a lot to think about amidst the hot air around making it a Digital Society, about better infrastructure, about rural access to the Internet by the nation’s school kids especially now, amidst the accelerated digital adoption by consumers and businesses because of the pandemic. Jamaica ranking 91 out of 110 countries is shameful. And I’m sure Trinidad and Tobago is not happy about their nation ranking 77th.

Every year, Surfshark, a cybersecurity company, carries out research to reveal the factors that affect countries’ digital wellbeing.  This year 110 countries were researched– two of them are Caribbean . The report indexes the countries across five fundamental pillars including internet affordability, internet quality, electronic infrastructure, security, and government. 

For internet affordability, Jamaica ranks 89th with Trinidad ranking 75th out of 110 countries.

For Internet Quality, Jamaica ranks 86th while Trinidad was ranked 65th

For mobile speed, Jamaica showed some improvement ranking 51st out, with Trinidad 48th place on the list.

For Broadband speed Jamaica is 72 in its ranking, while Trinidad gets 45th place in the ranking.

In terms of Electronic Government Jamaica places super close to the bottom of the list at 99th place and Trinidad is 80th.

You can read the full report on Jamaica here and on Trinidad here.

So how do we change things for Jamaica?

Maybe it’s time to be bolder to call out the hypocrisy and politicisation of access to computers, tablets, and other technology tools and equipment.

Maybe it’s time to be bolder to call out the hypocrisy of high customs duties and taxes on the tools and equipment that can spawn innovation, entrepreneurship, and wealth creation.

Maybe it’s time to be bolder to call out the toothless Office of the Utilities Regulation @TheOURja Jamaica’s independent utility regulator: Electricity, Water/Sewer & Telecoms [Phone & Internet who seem not to be able to hold service providers accountable for crappy and inconsistent service. 

Then a recommendation for the Government of Jamaica

The Government of Jamaica can wait for The tech/business community to lobby them or they can show a progressive spirit by removing those outrageous customs duties & taxes on computers, tablets & other supporting tech equipment for a period of 1 year to show their commitment to making Jamaica a digital society, and even more of an innovation nation.

Then I charge the tech/business community to go do some research to find out – who owns the Caribbean Internet Infrastructure – The companies and their ownership structure and the names of those people. Then research who owns the top companies that import computers, tablets, and computer parts? Then connect some dots.

What do you think?