A roundup of the ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region during the period Monday 21 May to Sunday 27 May 2012.
Monday, 21 May 2012
BTC improving customer service by constructing contact center
Bahamas – Improving customer service is a top priority for the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), which has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars to establish a contact center, Guardian Business can confirm… more
BTC launches 4G in Abaco
Bahamas – Thousands of Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) customers can now experience improved cellular service, as the company launched its 4G network in Abaco over the weekend… more
BTC opens Treasure Cay retail store
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has opened its seventh retail store… more
Vehicle Tracking
Grenada – Digicel, the fastest-growing mobile operator in the Caribbean has launched in Grenada the “Digicel Vehicle Tracking” system, an easy to install EDGE electronic device for fleet management companies across the spice isle that tracks the location of vehicles… more
Credit-Card Alarm
Jamaica – Criminals lurking in legitimate business places are swindling huge chunks of money from unsuspecting Jamaicans and Jamaican companies by way of wire fraud, according to information coming from the police’s Cybercrime Unit… more
IT company launches cash recycler machine
Jamaica – Information Technology Company Management Control Systems (MC Systems) has introduced cash-notes accepting and recycling Automated Teller Machines (ATM) to the Caribbean… more
Lottery scam ‘crumbling’ with arrests including alleged mastermind
Jamaica – The police here are reporting that a lottery scam worth billions of Jamaican dollars (one Jamaica dollar=0.011 US cents) is crumbling after the weekend arrest of several people including an alleged mastermind… more
Monday Talk With Michelle English – Going With The Jamaican Flow
Jamaica – A blonde bundle of energy all but whizzed into the office as we settled down at Flow’s New Kingston head offices. A firm handshake and a bright musical ‘hello’ later, Michele English was whirling into her seat while flashing her tresses into place… more
St Lucia to become ‘WiFi country with free islandwide access’
Saint Lucia – St Lucia is taking steps to increase wireless broadband (WiFi) Internet penetration with an ultimate plan to make it free across the country, Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony has announced… more
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
The Transition to Digital Television
Barbados – Telecommunications providers across the region need to present a unified approach in the move to Digital Television Broadcasting… more
In Cuba, mystery shrouds fate of Internet cable
Cuba – It was all sunshine, smiles and celebratory speeches as officials marked the arrival of an undersea fiber-optic cable they promised would end Cuba’s Internet isolation and boost web capacity 3,000-fold. Even a retired Fidel Castro had hailed the dawn of a new cyber-age on the island… more
Ex-Haiti official gets US prison for telecom bribery
Haiti – A former senior telecommunications official in Haiti was sentenced to nine years in prison yesterday for accepting about $500,000 in bribes from two US companies that secured lucrative long-distance phone contracts in the Caribbean nation… more
Put more youth online, urges World Bank
Jamaica – Jamaica is being urged to steer its youth toward online commercial innovation if it is serious about fast-tracking national development… more
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
C&W Monopoly About to End
Antigua & Barbuda – Cable & Wireless’ monopoly on international calls will expire on June 23… more
Cheaper Overseas Calls
Antigua & Barbuda – Overseas telephone rates could be reduced by as much as 50 percent with the end of the Cable and Wireless monopoly… more
OECS judges meet on intellectual property laws
Antigua & Barbuda – OECS High Court judges met here for a one-day workshop on Tuesday aimed at enhancing efficiency, consistency, and fairness in the adjudication of intellectual property cases… more
BTC Warns: Cellular Service Disruptions Coming
Bahamas – Cellular customers will experience disruptions in services Telecommunications Company (BTC) carries out upgrades in the coming weeks, according to a BTC official… more
Atlantic Bank and Smart team up to Go-Mobile
Belize – Banking in your hands, it’s the slogan for the new mobile banking services being provided by Smart in collaboration with Atlantic Bank… more
Smart P.R. says service restored in southern communities
Belize – While the new service will be convenient, Smart customers in the south experienced difficulties connecting on Saturday and this past Tuesday… more
Thursday, 24 May 2012
Jobs extended for call center workers
Antigua & Barbuda – The 156 call centre workers to be sent home next month have been given a three-week reprieve… more
Jobs For Youth
Antigua & Barbuda – Government has announced a major training programme that will involve up to one thousand youth… more
BTC Undergoes Massive Cellular Upgrades
Bahamas – BTC customers will experience a leap in the quality, speed and consistency of cellular service when the company completes critical milestones of an ongoing 18-month, $42 million upgrade this June officials said today, a transformation that when completed by late summer will make wireless device service in The Bahamas among the best and fastest in the world… more
Houston dispels notion of BTC blackouts
Bahamas – The CEO of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) is allaying concerns over supposed “blackouts” and setting the record straight over the provider’s $42 million upgrade… more
New cable provider rolls out service in Barbados
Barbados – Backed by a $65 million initial injection, and the hope of creating more than 200 new jobs in Barbados, Karib Cable is promising to deliver business at the speed of light… more
Slowdown in tourists to Caribbean hits revenues at Cable & Wireless Communications
Regional – The British telecoms business, formed in 2010 following the demerger of Cable & Wireless, operates in the Caribbean islands, Macau, Monaco and Panama… more
World Bank approves US$25M for Caribbean ICT infrastructure
Regional – The World Bank yesterday approved a US$25 million financial package for the first phase of a Caribbean Regional Communications Infrastructure Programme that will provide 27 million people with access to better and affordable broadband services… more
Leewards Times website hacked
St. Kitts & Nevis – A local media house’s website was hacked overnight by an apparently international hacker, who goes by the name of Saudi Terrorist… more
Friday, 25 May 2012
BTC appoints Major to executive team
Bahamas – Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) announced yesterday the company has named leading Bahamian business executive Gershan Major to its expanded management team, as vice president of channels and marketing… more
BTC Delivers Strong Financial Performance
Bahamas – BTC’s parent company, Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), announced its annual results for the 2011/12 year today, the first time the company’s performance included a contribution from BTC, the local telecom which CWC formally acquired a majority share in April 2011, at the start of CWC’s financial year… more
BTC’s $91m Boost ‘All The Uplift For’ Parent
Bahamas – THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) $91 million operating income (EBITDA) performance generated “pretty much all of the uplift” for Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC) during the 12 months to end-March 2012, it was revealed yesterday, accounting for almost one-third of its Caribbean regional earnings… more
CAB’s net income jumps 37%
Bahamas – Cable Bahamas Limited (CAB) experienced a 37.3 percent increase in its net income for the first quarter of the fiscal year, with its profits rising to $6.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012… more
CWC: ‘No Major Problems’ With Gov’t Over BTC
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) majority owner yesterday said it did not “anticipate significant problems” with the newly-elected Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) government, and its top executive plans to meet Prime Minister Perry Christie in three weeks’ time to further build their relationship… more
St Lucia, Grenada and St Vincent to Receive Broadband Improvements
OECS – St Lucia, Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines will be part of the first phase of a 10-year Information and Communication Technology programme funded by the World Bank… more
Saturday, 26 May 2012
Exercise Region Rap Tests Emergency Telecommunications Systems
Barbados – The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) conducted its annual Region Rap Exercise on Friday… more
Caribbean Telecommunications Union seminar to hear update on network security
Regional – Delegates to the 10th Ministerial Strategic Seminar of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), which opens in Miami on May 29, will receive an update by Fortinet Inc, a world leader in high performance network security, on network threat landscape trends, vulnerability and the best ways to mitigate them… more
Sunday, 27 May 2012
BlackBerry maker aims to tighten hold on regional market
Colombia – Research In Motion (RIM) made no bones about it. It is coming back for leadership of the lucrative world market for smartphones with its sleek and more advanced BlackBerry Curves, officially unveiled in this ancient Colombian city on Wednesday… more
Image courtesy of Gary Thomson and RambergMediaImages, flickr; and The Eleutheran.
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