Roundup: for the week ending 5 May 2013

A roundup of ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region during the period Monday 29 April to Sunday 5 May 2013.

Monday, 29 April 2012

Expert says cyber attacks increasing locally

Antigua & Barbuda – Computer technology expert Yves Ephraim has pointed to growing incidents of cyber attacks in the country as a new report points to its damaging effects on small businesses in particular… more

Bahamian Internet Chief Meets US Lawmakers

Bahamas – A Bahamian Internet business has spent the past week in Washington, D.C.in a bid to influence international internet policies… more

Mobile Gaming Starts Today

Bahamas – A major gaming company out of Las Vegas has reached an agreement with Atlantis to provide mobile gambling throughout the resort campus by as early as next week… more

Web Shops Gaming Could Be Legalised In 2014

Bahamas – Technology consultant C. Allen Johnson believes that with the country seeking to gain status in several international organisations, online gaming through web shops may be legal by next year… more

Prime Minister Announces Full Access To VOIP …

Belize – At today’s press conference Prime Minister Dean Barrow announced that at the end of this month BTL will enable full and open access to VOIP based services and applications in Belize… more

Grenada Readies ICT Push

Grenada – Information and Communication Technology will form a “major platform for growth” in Grenada, according to Information Minister Senator Winston Garraway… more

E-Government Initiative Moving Ahead

Jamaica – The Government is moving ahead with its E-Government (E-Gov) initiative, aimed at using Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to improve service delivery within the public sector… more

Samsung Galaxy S4 makes its Jamaican debut with Digicel

Jamaica – Hundreds of shoppers visiting the Digicel Tropical Plaza store were excited to experience the highly anticipated Galaxy S4, which became available in Jamaica on Saturday, April 27 exclusively through Digicel… more

Capacity upgrade for Caribbean cable network

Regional – A major cable system connecting various points in the Caribbean is receiving a capacity upgrade…more

LIME keeps customers moving smarter with Blackberry Z10

Regional – LIME has recently launched the new BlackBerry® Z10 smartphone powered by BlackBerry® 10, and revealed an offer in which three lucky customers from across the region could jet off to see Alicia Keys’ SET THE WORLD ON FIRE concert in Prague, Czech Republic… more

TELEM Threatens SCDF with Litigation on Damages Suffered — Claims that SCDF breached Sponsorship Agreement.

St. Maarten – As the 2013 carnival season is approaching its end which is scheduled for May 2nd, 2013, the SCDF is now faced with a possible court litigation which will be filed by TELEM Group of Companies with whom SCDF has signed a sponsorship agreement and has given the company certain exclusive rights… more

Microsoft and UTT support young tech innovators

Trinidad & Tobago – With the general aim to promote accessibility and use of computer technology (ICT) for innovative pursuits, Microsoft and The University of T&T (UTT) have entered into an agreement to help empower the nation’s youth. This agreement will also promote the latest use of technology and will reward and support young technology innovators… more

New Samsung Galaxy S4 sells out in 3 hours

Trinidad & Tobago – The Samsung Galaxy S4 sold out in less than three hours after it was officially made available Saturday to customers on both local mobile networks, bmobile and Digicel… more

Samsung S4 now available in T&T

Trinidad & Tobago – Digicel is now offering its customers the new dynamic Samsung Galaxy S4 handset… more

Tuesday, 30 April 2013

Antigua Computer Technology (ACT) Takes International Data Capacity From DiViNetworks

Antigua & Barbuda – ACT-online, the technology leading ISP in the Caribbean islands of Antigua and Barbuda, selected DiViNetworks as a second upstream provider for Internet connectivity… more

Dominican Republic telecom giant to issue US$90.0M bond

Dominican Republic – The Securities Superintendence (SIV) on Tuesday announced the approval on April 26 , a public offering of securities Tricom, SA to issue a US$90.0 million corporate bond, whose minimum shares are US$30… more

Teachers to be Trained Under STEM’s Computer Project

Jamaica – Minister of Education, Rev. the Hon. Ronald Thwaites, says teachers will be trained under the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining’s (STEM) project to distribute 25,000 tablet computers to students and teachers at 30 selected schools across the island… more

Who Stole My Cow? Open Data and Praedial Larceny

Jamaica – On December 23, 2012, thirty-two cows were stolen from a farm in Trelawny, Jamaica… more

Stakeholders Review Privacy and Freedom of Information Bills

St. Kitts & Nevis – Information Technology (IT) stakeholders in St. Kitts and Nevis are reviewing details of two draft pieces of legislation to ensure that the local laws are updated to meet today’s unfolding challenges… more

Privacy and Personal Data Protection Bill Under Review

St. Kitts & Nevis – The rights of individuals to access information that organizations hold about them as well individuals’ right to access information held by public organizations was the focus of a recent two-day HIPCAR workshop… more

Wednesday, 1 May 2013

ECFS taps Xtera to boost capacity

Regional – The Eastern Caribbean Fibre System (ECFS), which connects around a dozen countries in the Caribbean region, has selected Texas-based Xtera Communications to boost the capacity of its subsea cable system, which connects Tortola in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) to Trinidad at the south of the Caribbean arc… more

Moving to Managed IT Services

Trinidad & Tobago – The hype around cloud-computing, a surfeit of service provider options, and the ever-present target of reducing costs and improving efficiencies; are all spurring on a trend in the world of corporate information technology (IT). It is the move to outsourcing IT functions, popularly referred to as Managed IT Services… more

Smartphone war heats up with launches

Trinidad & Tobago – The battle for control of the local smart phone market heated up with the recent launch of the Blackberry Z10 at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain… more

Thursday, 2 May 2013

Mobile Data Subscribers Increase Over Six-Fold

Bahamas – Mobile data subscribers increased more than six-fold within one year following the launch of services by the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), it was revealed yesterday, with fixed-line Internet’s market penetration also enjoying a 22 per cent increase… more

Cable giant extends reach to Barbados

Barbados – With more than US$60 million invested in Barbados and a promise to build out its advanced broadband infrastructure to serve 100 per cent of homes on the island in three years, Columbus Communications, operators of Flow and Columbus Business Solutions, this week introduced a series of firsts to Barbados, the latest and fifth market for the broadband company… more

BTL drops VoIP restrictions

Belize – Belize’s full-service telco Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) has confirmed that the company will provide unrestricted access to Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP), effective from 30 April 2013, and the service will be open to all BTL subscribers using DSL, fixed-wireless broadband, CDMA and EDGE/3G mobile internet services… more

BTC laments ‘onerous’ price rules

Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) is taking exception to “onerous” retail price rules spawned by regulatory powers exercised in a “high-handed manner”… more

Buy local IT and build Cayman, Anderson says

Cayman Islands – Information technology could be the missing element that the Cayman Islands needs for her development… more

Digital media among six new CAPE subjects for 2013/2014

Jamaica – The 2013-2014 academic year will see the introduction of six additional Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) subjects — digital media, performing arts, tourism, agricultural science, entrepreneurship, and physical education & sport… more

CARICOM stands firmly with Antigua and Barbuda in gaming dispute

Regional – Antigua and Barbuda has been reassured of the Region’s full support in its fight to obtain the USA’s compliance with the ruling of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body on internet gaming services… more

TelEm Group reports 3G network frequency interference to Bureau of Telecommunications, SXM

St. Maarten – TelEm Group is busy working with the Bureau of Telecommunications on St. Maarten to identify a source of interference that is affecting the company’s 3G mobile customers… more

Friday, 3 May 2013

World Press Freedom Day observance…Radio licences are welcome, but issuing process must be fair and transparent – US Ambassador

Guyana – As Guyana joins the world in celebrating World Press Freedom Day today, United States Ambassador to Guyana D. Brent Hardt said that while new radio broadcasting licences are welcome, the process by which such licences are issued must be fair and transparent… more

LIME prepares to cut call rates

Jamaica – Telecommunications firm LIME is ready to cut rates further in light of expectations, that the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) will make a determination to reduce the interconnection rates later this month… more

Digicel launches 4G network in St Kitts and Nevis

St. Kitts & Nevis – Digicel has launched its 4G network in St Kitts and Nevis. Based on HSPA+ technology, Digicel’s 4G network provides mobile internet speeds of up to 21 Mbps… more

New player in T&T’s smartphone market

Trinidad & Tobago – Nokia and Microsoft yesterday announced the new portfolio of Nokia Lumia phones: Nokia Lumia 920, Nokia Lumia 820 and the Nokia Lumia 620, the first Nokia devices with Windows Phone 8 available in T&T… more

Saturday, 4 May 2013

Galaxy S4 the new rave in GB

Bahamas – The launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4, yesterday, was the rave in Grand Bahama and proved to be in such demand that inventory was depleted by midday… more

Schools see major productivity boost from Cable Bahamas’ REVON Internet speed increases

Bahamas – Nearly 150 public and private school students in Nassau were given an opportunity to experience the major speed increases that Cable Bahamas introduced to over 45,000 REVON Internet subscribers on April 22… more

Govt. not interested in retailing telecommunication services – Alexei Ramotar

Guyana – Government has no interest in becoming a retail provider of telecommunication services even though its US$32M investment in an e-governance project could facilitate large scale commercial operations… more

Single mothers in St Lucia start employment training

St Lucia – Regional Communications Ltd, the company that produces made-in-St Lucia Cellestial-branded tablets, laptops and cell phones for export and domestic consumption, has started another round of training for single mothers from the SMILES programme, this time in a brand new setting… more

Samsung Galaxy S4 – ‘new type of life companion’

Trinidad & Tobago – The new Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone, the fourth generation Galaxy S, has been designed to get you closer to what matters in life, and bring your world together given its exceptional features that were developed, based on the insights and needs we found from our consumers, all around the world… more

Sunday, 5 May 2013

Cable services fully restored after equipment failure in Eleuthera

Bahamas – Cable Bahamas advised today, May 4th, 2013, that a portion of their subscribers were without cable TV and Internet services on Thursday and Friday last week when critical equipment failed… more

‘TSTT to help Govt bridge digital divide’

Trinidad & Tobago – Majority-State owned Telecommunications Services of T&T (TSTT) is committed to helping the Government achieve its mandate to bridge the digital divide that exist locally says Ronald Walcott, acting executive vice-president bMobile services and operations… more

 

Image credits:  Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net;  Wikipedia;  Wikipedia;  Wikipedia

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