Internet penetration increased by about 200% over the period 2004 to 2009, growing from 4.29% to 12.30%. There are now about 990 Internet connections in SVG representing a 20% growth as compared to a 30% growth reported for 2008. Expansion in the Internet market was again fuelled by an uptake of fixed broadband service; the number of fixed broadband subscribers increased some 22% but was offset by a 24% reduction in dial-up subscribers. Fixed broadband subscribers accounted for 97% of all fixed Internet subscribers, up from 92% previously. At the same time, the cost of Internet broadband fell significantly over the same period, from a cost of $299 for 256 kbps to a rate of $79 per month for the minimum speed offered to residential customers of 1 Mbps. There are presently three licensed fixed Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in SVG which offers one or more of the following: ADSL broadband, dial-up access, and high speed Internet access via cable modem. Mobile Internet access is via ordinary mobile subscription using GPRS and EDGE rather than through a separate subscription for mobile broadband as true mobile broadband through 3G networks is not yet available to users. This made it very difficult to determine the true number of mobile Internet users in SVG as any subscriber with a GPRS or EDGE ready mobile phone can browse the Internet. Users with a pre-paid mobile subscription can access Internet service for $0.01 per kbps while post-paid users have access for $40 per month. Network speed and quality are generally regarded as good across the country. DSL, ISDN, ADSL, Leased Circuits (frame relay) and Dial-Up service are available. The initial cost of access to the Internet for the residential customers averages around EC$ 219, with a recurrent cost is therefore clear that citizens have reasonable access to the technology necessary to access online government services and information on the Internet, as tele-centres and Internet cafes are contributing significantly to making the Internet available to those who cannot afford personal Figure 4: Internet Subscribers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines Source: ECTEL/operators-with estimates where ECTEL did not receive data from operators averaging EC$ 90 per month for unlimited access. For commercial customers, the initial cost averages around EC$ 343. Subscriber complaints per 100 connections are about 17%, and generally ISPs attend to 40% of these complaints within 24 hours. In addition to an estimated 18 Internet cafes, about 200 free or subsidized Internet access points are available across the country. Based on national import figures, it is estimated that personal computers (PCs) per 100 inhabitants averaged 43.5% over the period 2005 to 2009. It access at home, or who do not have access from school, or at the workplace. However, such facilities are less common in the rural areas of the country as compared to availability in the urban communities. Though this figure appears to be moderate showing that citizens can access online government services and information via tele-centres, Internet cafes and from home, much more needs to be done to ensure that greater Internet access is available to every community including the rural areas of SVG. Defining the Re-launch Point P a g e | 23