MAHO BEACH, St. Martin (June 20, 2002) – The Caribbean Association of National Telecommunications Organizations (CANTO), will hold its annual membership meeting in Cuba in January 2003, and its 19th annual conference in The Bahamas in June next year, chairman of the organization’s board of directors, Mr. Cornelius Prior Jr. disclosed Wednesday, June 19, 2002.

In a brief remark to delegates during Wednesday’s announcement of the joint initiative of Nortel and Tel-Em to provide e-learning opportunities to various St. Martin institutions, Prior said the actual dates of next year’s meetings would be communicated to members at a later date.

Congratulating both Tel-Em and Nortel for their initiative, Prior noted that before the former hosted the just-concluded 18th annual conference and trade exhibition, not much was known about the company. “Now, we all know Tel-Em,” he said. Some 330 delegates participated in the St. Martin conference.

CANTO has 47 member companies spread over 28 countries and territories from Cuba and Jamaica to Suriname and Guyana. They employ over 20,000 people and together, provide 2.9 million customers with fixed line telephones and another million customers with fixed and mobile cellular service.