Telecommunications BTL’s sole telecommunications provider status Limited as well as its employees were is its power to block access to VoIP in order to transferred to Belize Telemedia Limited protect its international line revenue. The use (BTL). of VoIP either for domestic and international rights of Belize This means that in essence there are two telecommunication providers in Belize. It is pertinent to note, however, that BTL is the only Telecommunications Provider – that is it owns the international connectivity gateway as well as the land installed dark fibre and the national telecommunications Communications grid. Speednet Limited operates primarily through BTL – and its core business appears to be wireless telephony. purposes is not possible in Belize unless access is granted by BTL. The inability of Government Ministries and departments to use VoIP technology to minimize telecommunications costs and for society and the economy at large to apply teleconferencing technology to overcome communications logistical issues arising due to the geo-disparity of cities, municipalities and villages strategically constrains the ability for Belize to adopt an aggressive pace in establishing an information society and an information economy that places e-government as its The 2009 Scoping Exercise Report opines kernel. that one fundamental effect arising from CONCLUSION It is pertinent to note that nothing was Belizeans households own a cell phone and revealed in the e-Readiness assessment over half have cable TV service. Because Belize that would hinder Belize from becoming a has a young population (with over half under world class ICT state in the course of the the age of 24), it is even more likely that many lifespan of this Strategy (five years) if the more Belizeans will seek to become a part of political and business “will” was there to the global information society. Belize currently turn the situation around. Even with the has the infrastructure to meet their needs. It is high cost of internet in Belize, many not a question of hardware or software but Belizeans (over 73,000) have embraced “people-ware”. The “will” to do the right thing is the what is needed. internet. Over three Belize ICT National Strategy fourths of 39