Evidence-Based Regional Policy

Caribbean broadband prices are affordable. See the data. Read the report.

Caribbean telecom operators have built affordable, resilient broadband networks. Big Tech benefits from them every day. Now Big Tech should pay for the networks it uses.

Investment Gap Big Tech Free Ride Tracker
Cost of 5 GB Mobile Data (USD) Below UN 2% Target
USA
$2.58
Reunion
$2.64
Puerto Rico
$1.93
Ecuador
$1.02
The Caribbean
$0.85
Guatemala
$0.75
Fact: At $0.85 for 5 GB, Caribbean broadband costs less than 2% of monthly GNI. Operators reinvest ~0.5% of regional GDP annually.

The Gigabit Mandate: An Economic Imperative for the Region

February 2025
Decision of the 48th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community
Economic Velocity
📈
GDP Growth
🧠
AI Readiness
⚙️
Productivity Gains
Societal Transformation
🌐
Digital Transformation
🏛️
Public Sector Modernization
👥
Digital Inclusion
Global Integration
💻
Remote Work Opportunities
📊
SME Competitiveness
🧩
Regional Competitiveness

Caribbean Connectivity Spotlight

Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell
Regional Leadership

Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell

Grenada

“Strengthening broadband infrastructure and ensuring sustainable network investment.”

The Persistent Digital Divide Leaves Millions Excluded

Household Impact

1.6 million Caribbean households remain unconnected (excluding Haiti).

Including Haiti drives this figure to 4.6 million unconnected households across the CARICOM region.

15
MILLION
Caribbean citizens remain unconnected to mobile networks (including Haiti).

Regional Affordability Breakdown & Market Analysis

Broadband Price Comparison and Market Overview Visual

The $13 Billion Capital Barrier Separating Us from a Gigabit Future

THE INVESTMENT GAP
$8 – 13 Billion
⚓ Current Networks (2G/3G) ⚓ Gigabit Caribbean Society (4G/5G/Fiber)

The Human Cost

15 million Caribbean citizens remain completely offline without high-speed access.

The Capital Barrier

Upgrading legacy networks and deploying high-capacity fiber requires capital injections that the current telecom business model simply cannot generate alone.

The Traffic Tsunami: Global Tech Platforms Overwhelm Local Capacity

  • Mobile internet subscriptions grew from 9M (2015) to 17M (2023).
  • Average data traffic grew from 2.2GB to 3.0GB per month, projected to hit 15GB by 2030 (a 5x network multiplier).
  • Total mobile data traffic has increased by 500% over the past four years.
70% of Mobile Traffic is 4 Big Tech Companies
100% 75% 50% 25% 0%
Other 30%
Netflix 9%
TikTok 8%
Google 18%
Meta 35%
Total Caribbean Mobile Data Traffic Share (%)
Meta
Alphabet
TikTok
Netflix
Others

The Free-Rider Asymmetry: Maximum Extraction, Zero Contribution

Caribbean Telecom Operators Global Big Tech
Local Corporate Taxes & VAT Yes $0
Spectrum & License Fees Millions Annually $0
Local Employment Thousands of local jobs 0
Reinvestment into Local Infrastructure ~18% of Revenues 0%
Estimated Monthly ARPU / Revenue per user < $10 ~ $30
This ecosystem architecture represents a modern form of digital extraction—extracting maximum regional value with zero proportional contribution.

Support the Caribbean Gigabit Mandate

Join CARICOM’s push to align high-volume originators with network investments and secure a connected future for all Caribbean citizens.