A roundup of the ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region during the period Monday 5 November to Sunday 11 November 2012.
Monday, 5 November 2012
LIME answers calls
Barbados – LIME continues to listen and respond to customer concerns, said its Managing Director Alex McDonald… more
Tuesday, 6 November 2012
Mega high-speed Internet comes to A&B
Antigua & Barbuda – After much anticipation, and several delays, Digicel Antigua & Barbuda officially launched its 4G LTE high-speed Internet service yesterday, the first mobile provider in the Caribbean to do so… more
Competition in Barbados telecoms market key to development of sector, says minister
Barbados – Increased competition in the telecoms market is expected to play a major role in the Barbados government’s strategy to bring the sector on par with the offerings in countries which are leaders in the sector… more
LTE Network Plan By BTC
Bahamas – THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company plans to introduce its Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in a few weeks, BTC CEO Geoff Houston said yesterday… more
Unions up heat over firing of BTC manager
Bahamas – President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Obie Ferguson yesterday suggested industrial action is looming if the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) does not soon rehire fired BTC senior manager Elizabeth Thompson… more
BUSINESS: LIME reduces iPhone 4S price
Jamaica – LIME has reduced the price of its iPhone 4S handset by 20 per cent to J$12,720 plus General Consumption Tax (GCT) when taken with its value-packed Ultrapak and post-paid data plans… more
Govt Committed to Widening Technology Access
Jamaica – Minister of State for Science, Technology, Energy and Mining (STEM), Hon. Julian Robinson, says that the government is committed to providing Jamaicans with access to computer technology and for them to use it in productive ways to improve their lives and the country’s economy… more
Reggae Music 2.0: How Will It Succeed In The Digital Age Of Music, Brand, Culture?
Jamaica – Already a phenomenon spawning successful artistes, events, products, loyal buying communities and a global culture, Reggae Music is one of Jamaica’s most successful exports, but is yet to fully capitalise on how the Digital Age has changed the music game… more
Wednesday, 7 November 2012
Cellular Monopoly Retarding Growth, Telecoms Investment
Bahamas – The Bahamas’ information and communications technology (ICT) sector generated revenues of almost $450 million or 5.7 per cent of the country’s total GDP in 2011, a Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) executive said yesterday… more
URCA Close To BTC Probe Completion
Bahamas – THE Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) is close to completing its investigation of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) summer network outage… more
URCA: ICTs have generated $450M in revenue
Bahamas – The Bahamas’ regulated Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have generated close to $450 million in revenue towards the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employed more than 1,300 people… more
Digicel partners with Huawei to introduce best value tablet across the region
Regional – Digicel Group and Huawei Technologies have partnered to introduce a new tablet across the region. Powered by Digicel’s 4G Mobile technology, the stunning Huawei Media Pad 7 Lite is the best value tablet to be unveiled in the market and will be available next week at Digicel dealer stores in Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cayman and the ABC islands – Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao… more
Thursday, 8 November 2012
APUA and CTV Launch Bundling Services
Antigua & Barbuda – Bundling services are being offered in Antigua & Barbuda by a cable and utility company, a first for the country… more
Caribbean Small Business Ecademy™ Exhibits At The ICT Fest 2013
Antigua & Barbuda – Caribbean Small Business Ecademy™ exhibits at Lucky Booth #13 the ICT Fest in Antigua from November 13th to November 15th 2012… more
BTC ‘Bottlenecks’ From 400% Mobile Data Growth
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) is investing a further $2 million in its 4G network to relieve “bottlenecks” at 15 cell tower sites caused by a 400 per cent increase in mobile data usage, its chief executive yesterday also targeting a ‘doubling’ of its Internet market share… more
BTC Creates 145 Jobs
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has created 145 full and part-time jobs since its immediate post-privatisation downsizing, its chief executive adding that another 200 employees – some of whom had been waiting 10 years – were either promoted or “reclassified” within the company… more
BTC to invest $50M in 2013
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) will spend as much as $50 million in 2013 on a number of projects to bolster its infrastructure and services… more
BTC Targets ‘Another 20%’ In Cost Slashes
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) needs to “reduce operating costs by another 20 per cent” before cellular phone services are liberalised, its chief executive yesterday saying its post-privatisation transformation had reached “the halfway mark”… more
Houston Denies Thompson Was Fired Over Union Role
Bahamas – Bahamas Telecommunications Company CEO Geoff Houston denied claims yesterday that the company fired former senior manager Elizabeth Thompson because she became a union official… more
Houston: Future meltdowns ‘unlikely’
Bahamas – The top executive at Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) says a future meltdown of the network is “less likely” to happen following new measures to back-up the system… more
Increased security for BTC following unions ‘invasion’
Bahamas – Security at the headquarters of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) will be heightened in the wake of last week’s “invasion” by union members, BTC CEO Geoff Houston revealed yesterday… more
Smartphone data to rise 200%
Bahamas – Smartphone and data usage have been growing “exponentially” in The Bahamas, rising by up to 50 percent over the last 12 months… more
Free government TV not entirely F.R.E.E.
Cayman Islands – Despite the premier’s insistence that the new government TV channel, which is now broadcasting the Legislative Assembly live, is free, anyone wishing to tune in will need to have, at the very least, a basic subscription with WestStar TV… more
Digicel Haiti Taps Astellia for Network Assurance
Haiti – Digicel Haiti will purchase Astellia’s 3G network assurance solution to improve quality of service and customer loyalty in Haiti… more
Haiti – Security : The Conatel working on a law on Cybersecurity
Haiti – In the first Workshop on Cybercrime and Cybersecurity in Haiti, which has just ended, the national and international experts have put forward the different security issues in the virtual world [forgery, bank fraud, tax evasion, cyber-attack, etc…] … more
Senate Hearing on Digicel Decline in Service Quality
Haiti – The rapid decline in quality of Digicel service since becoming the sole mobile carrier in Haiti renewed hearings in the Senate regarding the telecommunications sector… more
OECS e-government project to launch partial electronic tendering system
OECS – The OECS Secretariat’s E-Government Regional Integration Project (OECSEGRIP) will officially launch a partial electronic tendering system on Thursday in Saint Lucia… more
C&W Caribbean ends September with nearly 1.6 mln mobile subs
Regional – Cable & Wireless Caribbean saw its revenues decrease 4 percent year-on-year to USD 159 million in the six months ended 30 September 2012… more
Public broadband network approves $3.1 million in contracts for build-out
US Virgin Island – The V.I. Next Generation Network board approved $3.1 million in new contracts Wednesday to continue building the territory’s first open-access broadband network… more
Friday, 9 November 2012
BTC ‘Principal’ Driver For Cwc’s Caribbean 4% Earnings Growth
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) was the “principal” driver of the 4 per cent operating income increase enjoyed by its regional parent during the 2012-2013 first half, with mobile data usage in this nation having increased 600 per cent in 18 months… more
Christie Gov’t ‘Respects’ BTC Privatisation Deal
Bahamas – The Christie administration has “made it clear they respect” the agreement that privatised the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), its majority owner yesterday saying it would not allow the Government’s attempts to regain control to hurt its own shareholders… more
CWC calls govt talks ‘fruitful’
Bahamas – Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC) is reporting “fruitful” negotiations with the Bahamian government regarding a majority takeover of the country’s sole mobile carrier… more
Fired BTC manager before Labour Board
Bahamas – Talks over whether fired Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) manager Elizabeth Thompson was wrongfully terminated continued yesterday between BTC and its managers union… more
Columbus Acquires Telecorp: Expands Columbus Business Solutions Brand to Honduras Business Community
Honduras – Columbus International Inc. (“Columbus”) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Telefonica Corporativa (Telecorp)… more
LIME fights on, but loses more
Jamaica – LIME’S fight for mobile subscribers may have returned strong gains for the beleaguered telecoms company… more
Saturday, 10 November 2012
Digicel Must Come Better Than That
Antigua & Barbuda – The Editor: Permit me some space in your medium to express my absolute disappointment in one of this country’s most vaunted telecommunications companies… more
Police warn on Internet fraud
Bahamas – Police yesterday pointed to a worrying trend of Internet fraud, including identity theft ahead of the holiday season… more
Jamaica 4th in Region in Internet Use
Jamaica – The latest report on Internet saturation across the Caribbean indicates that over half of Jamaica’s 2.87 million people or about 55.1 per cent, are using or has access to the internet… more
The Internet Is Mobile, Social And Consumer Driven- Where Are The Business Opportunities?
Jamaica – The world may not be flat, but the Internet has created a level playing field where the opportunities are greater and there are more routes to creating and finding jobs, owning a business and achieving personal success… more
Cable & Wireless wants full control of TSTT
Trinidad & Tobago – Cable & Wireless Communications, the minority shareholder of Telecommunications Services of Trinidad & Tobago (TSTT) has made its clearest statement yet on its desire to take full control of its joint venture in T&T, of which the Government investment vehicle, National Enterprises Ltd, is the majority 51 per cent shareholder… more
Sunday, 11 November 2012
Haiti – Politic : The CONATEL before the Senate Committee
Haiti – Following a convening of the Senate Committee on Telecommunications, Jean Marie Guillaume, Director General of the National Council of Telecommunications (CONATEL), accompanied by Jacques Rousseau, Minister of Public Works, Transport, Energy and Communications appeared before the senators… more
ICT And The Census
Jamaica – It is widely accepted that information and communications technologies (ICT) are an ever-important enabler of sustained economic growth… more
Online high school comes to the Caribbean
Jamaica – Youth and adults alike from across the Caribbean will soon have the opportunity to complete high school without having to enrol in the traditional school system… more
Image credits: RambergMediaImages (flickr); Wikipedia; The Eleutheran; Wikipedia; Caribbean BETA
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