Being E-Ready throughout all sectors of the society A society that is e-ready is one that has three primary things in place i.e. the tools, infrastructure and education. The Government is presently reviewing its taxation policy on computers and its peripherals and on Internet access. It realizes that for the digital divide gap to close people will have to have access to the tools at a reasonable rate. Presently computer penetration is at approximately some 20-25% of all households. In the next 2 years the Government desire is to have that this number doubled and the ideal that computers become as prevalent as a television set. Having computers without having access to Broadband would be very limiting and frustrating to end-users. Broadband can be analogous to having a big pipe that delivers water but instead of water, it would be the simultaneous delivery of voice, data and even video. The delivery of Broadband is best done by fibre optic cable, but can also be a wireless system e.g. via satellite or microwave. The only undersea fibre optic cable coming into the country is via C&W i.e. Eastern Caribbean Fibre System. The pricing mechanism that is being used by C&W to determine these tariffs is a “value system.” If benchmarking is used to compare prices of C&W’s broadband services against other providers worldwide it would be evident that the true economic cost for provision of these services are exceeded many times over. C&W in light of the impending liberalization of the telecom sector has begun the process of reviewing and in instances lowering tariffs for its Broadband services. Presently, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda have received several applications to provide cable services into the country, which we are reviewing in earnest. Education is the most critical element of ensuring that the society is E-ready and the Government of Antigua and Barbuda have recognized this fact and has made substantial investments to that end. Antigua and Barbuda International Institute of Technology (ABIIT) is one of the institutions training a cadre of professionals to meet both local and international needs of the IT industry. [For an in-depth discussion on the topic of education and strategies being pursued by the Government please reference the Antigua and Barbuda Draft Strategies for Implementing ICT Policies in The Education System of the OECS] 12