A roundup of the ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region during the period Monday 20 August to Sunday 26 August 2012.
Monday, 20 August 2012
…Scrap metal thieves hit LIME for $9m
Jamaica – As the government considers lifting the ban on the scrap metal trade, telecoms company LIME is reporting that the latest incident of theft of some of its transmission cables in Hellshire Heights, St. Catherine, has resulted in service restoration costs of $3.5 million… more
Electronic monitoring or ‘tagging’ of people
Trinidad & Tobago – The Administration of Justice (Electronic Monitoring) Act was assented to on July 3, 2012. It comes into force on a date to be set by the President. The act provides for the implementation of a system for electronic monitoring in Trinidad and Tobago… more
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
URCA probes deeper into BTC blackout
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has told its regulator that the mass disruptions back in June were the result of failures associated with the firm’s back-up power supply… more
CXC calls for more technology in the classroom
Guyana – CXC Registrar Dr. Didacus Jules says the “chalk and talk” mode of teaching is dead and it is time teachers’ start using the tools available to reach their more technologically savvy students… more
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
BTC talks set for next month
Bahamas – Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC) and a government team of negotiators are expected to begin talks in late September as the Christie administration forges ahead with its plan to regain a majority interest in the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), according to businessman Franklyn Wilson, one of the government’s negotiators… more
Grenada taking steps to improve cyber-security
Grenada – The Grenada government is increasing efforts to improve its cyber-security, with the establishment of a national Computer Incident Response Team (CIRT)… more
Significant number of “One Laptop” computers stolen – Luncheon
Guyana – A “significant number” of netbooks for Guyana’s One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) project has been stolen from its Forshaw Street, Queenstown warehouse, Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon has confirmed… more
Two remanded over stolen GT&T cables
Guyana – Two men who were caught with a large quantity of Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) cables on Saturday at ‘D’ Field, Sophia, were remanded to prison when they appeared before Magistrate Alex Moore at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court yesterday… more
New LIME call centres coming to Barbados, Jamaica and St Lucia
Jamaica – Telecommunications giant LIME is to return a call centre to Barbados and establish new centres in Montego Bay and St Lucia to serve the region, according to reports out of Jamaica… more
Innovative Telephone customers suffer outages
US Virgin Islands – Innovative Telephone customers in Charlotte Amalie, including a number of V.I. government agencies, experienced service outages on Tuesday resulting from damage done to a major cable on Monday… more
Thursday, 23 August 2012
Couple charged in lottery scam
Antigua & Barbuda – The Lottery Scam Taskforce has charged a couple who allegedly tricked an American man into travelling here to collect a fake lottery prize… more
ISP linked to Belize, ordered to block sites selling counterfeit goods
Belize – AltusHost is a European Internet Service Provider (ISP), but according to a PC World.com article, it’s based in Belize and has recently been ordered to shut down twenty-five of its websites for selling counterfeit goods… more
C’bean schools to benefit from Virtual Subject Association
Guyana – The introduction of a Virtual Subject Association is expected to be created by next month, with a view of soliciting the collaboration of educators across the Caribbean, to help address concerns detected in the subject areas of Mathematics and English… more
Education in a digital world
Guyana – The managers of the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) have echoed a view we posited a few weeks ago. We spoke about the available technology and of the need for the education system to adopt the technology… more
Digicel fraud accused gets bail extension
Jamaica – Philpott Martin, computer specialist and computer programmer accused of stealing $30 million in call credit from telecoms giant Digicel, had his bail extended when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court on Monday… more
Four T&T companies anger IOC legal dept
Trinidad & Tobago – The local operations of at least four companies have incurred the wrath of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) legal department with their social media marketing. Digicel, Mario’s Pizzeria, SportWorld and MasterCard have caught the attention of the IOC’s legal department for their “unauthorized association” with the London 2012 Olympics, including through the use of the image of Olympic gold medallist Keshorn Walcott… more
Friday, 24 August 2012
BTC Negotiator: ‘Political Risk’ Now Key Concern For Investors
Bahamas – Foreign developers and lenders are increasingly including ‘political risk’ in their assessments of whether to invest in the Bahamas, a key member of the Government’s BTC negotiating committee conceded yesterday… more
Security expert to address internet governance forum in St Lucia
St. Lucia – Fortinet, a world leader in high-performance network security, announced on Wednesday that it will participate in the eight Caribbean Internet Governance Forum and Cyber Security Workshop in St Lucia from August 29 to 30… more
HIPCAR holds stakeholders workshop
St. Kitts & Nevis – The Harmonization of ICT policies and legislation across the Caribbean (HIPCAR) Project has provided an opportunity for St. Kitts and Nevis to review, adopt and make amendments to the electronic transactions legislation during a recent workshop… more
Innovative finishing repairs to severed underground line
US Virgin Islands – Innovative Telephone was wrapping up repairs Thursday night to restore telephone service to hundreds of customers affected by damage to a major underground cable in Charlotte Amalie… more
17,492 laptops for students, teachers
Trinidad & Tobago – The distribution of 17,492 HP laptops, totalling more than US$9 million, will be distributed to Form One students between September 5 and 18… more
Saturday, 25 August 2012
New Mobile Technology For Hospitality Sector
Jamaica – Jamaican hotels will soon have an opportunity to upgrade their facilities’ services with new technology, allowing visitors to access various hospitality options through applications on their mobile smart phones… more
Sunday, 26 August 2012
– nil –
Image credit: RambergMediaImages (flickr)
