The Bermuda Government is committed to providing world class telecommunications and e-Commerce infrastructure and services to keep pace in a rapidly evolving world of technology. Harnessing the power of communications and technology will ensure a successful future for Bermuda’s international and local businesses.

Bermudians can choose from several internet service providers, cell phone companies and long distance carriers, all servicing the population of an island only 21 square miles. Both residents and businesses alike have benefited from the telecommunications infrastructure and e-services that enable communication both on the island and around the world.

The introduction of an online interface for all aspects of government is also well under way and residents can already carry out a number of tasks through the Government portal including re licensing cars and paying land tax.

The Island has also recently updated e-commerce laws that contain a number of “e-friendly” elements that make it easier for companies to operate solely in an electronic environment. Anti-child pornography and internet luring legislation has been enacted, with all-party support. The Ministry of Energy, Telecommunications and E-Commerce is conducting a total telecommunications regulatory review to address all aspects of the Island’s telecommunications infrastructure, and a new model has been proposed that is undergoing public and industry consultation.

In 2006 Bermuda was accepted as a member of the World Information Technology Services Alliance (WITSA) and the Government, in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce, bid successfully to hold the Global Public Policy Conference in 2009.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has also recognized Bermuda’s position as a world leader in Information Technology. In their 2007 e-readiness rankings, the EIU ranked Bermuda 15th in the world in terms of e-readiness.

E-readiness is the state of play of a country’s information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and the ability to its consumers, businesses and governments to use technology to their benefit. Bermuda moved up five places in the ranking from 20th – and once again placed third overall in the world in the category of legal environment, with regard to the needs of e-commerce.

The EIU has published its annual e-readiness ranking of the world’s largest economies since 2000. The ranking model evaluates the technological, economic, political and social assets of 69 countries and their cumulative impact on their respective information economies. The ranking allows governments to gauge the success of their technology initiatives against those of other countries. It also provides companies that wish to invest in online operations with an overview of the world’s most promising investment locations and an independent means of measuring countries’ performance in this area, relative to each other.

The rankings are based on a weighted collection of nearly 100 quantitative and qualitative criteria, organized into six distinct categories measuring the various components of a country’s social, political, economic and technological development.

Bermuda is the only UK Overseas Territory to be included in the survey. With this year’s focus on “raising the bar” (the report’s subtitle), the Island achieved a higher ranking, despite the measurements being more challenging.

Locally, this year’s Tech Week — motto: Everyday; Everywhere; Everyone — was a great success. A range of activities was aimed at enhancing public awareness of the electronic world and its possibilities, with a special emphasis on the Island’s students.

In the telecommunications arena, a new license has been awarded to a local company comprised of a consortium of local internet providers, to build a new undersea cable linking Bermuda and the US. The new cable will bring benefits to Bermuda’s residents as increased competition leads to improved price and service…

It is the view of the Bermuda Government that technology, its use and availability, is vital to the future success of Bermuda and all her people. Because of the Island’s remote location, telecommunications has been the lifeline for more than a century. The Government’s consistent focus on e-commerce and its possibilities keeps this world’s leading financial services jurisdiction at the forefront of the march of electronic commerce