This is a roundup of ICT/technology news across the Caribbean region during the period Monday 22 August to Sunday 28 August 2011.

Monday, 22 August 2011

Broadcasters Worried

Belize – The 42nd annual general assembly of the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) opened in San Pedro, Belize, last Wednesday with concerns for the continued viability of several in the broadcast industry in the region, as entities report declining revenue levels, in most cases back to levels they were five years ago… more

Seven Mile Beach 4G goes live

Cayman Islands – Social networks have been abuzz over the last couple of days with news that LIME’s new 4G mobile network was already available in select parts of Grand Cayman, well ahead of the scheduled rollout in September… more

E-Waste Policy Coming – Holness

Jamaica – Education Minister Andrew Holness says the Government will be looking at developing an electronic waste (e-waste) policy and creating an industry to deal with the management and recycling of this refuse… more

CANTO CARIBBEAN TELECOMS MINI MBA – Register Today!

St. Maarten – Achieve a better understanding of your people, your products, and your business – giving you an unparalleled view of where your organization stands its strengths and future growth opportunities. Have a solid platform on which to make strategic, technical, financial and management decisions that are reliable, well grounded and commercially viable…. more

Tuesday, 23 August 2011

GT&T still unhappy with telecoms bill

Guyana – The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) is unhappy with the Telecommunications Bill currently before a parliamentary select committee for fine-tuning before it is passed into law, effectively ending the company’s virtual monopoly on international voice and data services… more

Wednesday, 24 August 2011

Cellular providers struggling to repair wind-battered networks

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands – Calls to two Sprint cell phone numbers based on St. Thomas and St. Croix revealed the same dead end: “Your call cannot be completed at this time. Your cellular phone provider circuits are busy. St. Thomas Six.”… more

Thursday, 25 August 2011

BTC disconnects lines ahead of Irene

Bahamas – Nassau resident Gregory Saunders was shocked yesterday evening when – amidst all of his Hurricane Irene preparations – he found his home telephone line disconnected… more

Gov’t Decision Taken On Digicel-Claro Merger

Jamaica – It appears that the Government has approved the merger of telecommunications firms Digicel and Claro… more

Digicel Business celebrates

Trinidad and Tobago – Digicel Business may only be two years old but it has already acquired a leading Caribbean Information and Communication Technology (ICT) company; Netxar Technologies… more

Friday, 26 August 2011

SMART and Telemedia sign interconnection agreement

Belize – SpeedNet and Belize Telemedia executives penned their signatures to a major accord this afternoon. Last year in the height of a telecom war, B.T.L. removed Smart from its international circuits claiming that there was no valid agreement to host SMART… more

Boyce: Telecom sector lagging

Barbados – Senator Darcy Boyce, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Energy, Immigration, Telecommunications and Investment, has suggested that Barbados is lagging in the telecommunications sector on the international stage… more

Jamaican PM to make statement on Digicel-Claro deal

Jamaica – The prime minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, is expected to make a statement on the pending merger between telecommunications companies Digicel, and Claro, by next week… more

Conditions being negotiated in Digicel/Claro deal

Jamaica – Prime Minister Bruce Golding is expected to make a statement on the pending merger  between telecommunications companies Digicel, and Claro, by next week, including conditionalities that are now under negotiation… more

Saturday, 27 August 2011

ICT should be affordable and reliable, says Barbados minister

Barbados – Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Energy Telecommunications, Immigration and Invest Barbados, Senator Darcy Boyce, has called on information and communication technology (ICTs) providers to make services more affordable to the public… more

Construction to begin on new broadband network

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands – Next Generation Network President and CEO Julito Francis told board members Friday that he expects to break ground on the territory’s new broadband network next month… more

Sunday, 28 August 2011

– nil –

___________