A roundup of ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region during the period Monday 4 November to Sunday 10 November 2013.
Monday, 4 November 2013
Bahamas police picks Motorola Solutions radio network
Bahamas – Motorola Solutions announced that the Ministry of National Security of the Bahamas has made available to the Royal Police Force a radio communication system that will provide national coverage and an emergency management system… more
BTC: Anti-Competitive Allegations ‘Misplaced’
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) last night branded a regulatory probe into its alleged anti-competitive behaviour as “misplaced”, saying it had invested more than $2 million in preparing for number portability… more
BTC’s Facebook site engages ninety thousand fans
Bahamas – In 2008, long before the majority of corporate Bahamas dipped a proverbial toe into the Social Media Marketing (SMM) pool, The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) had a busy Facebook page and was among the first of the larger local companies to engage a full time… more
EE primary school to get IT curriculum
British Virgin Islands – After a recent donation of 20 computers, the Francis Lettsome Primary School will be the first public primary school to get a full information technology curriculum and a full-time IT teacher, according to Government Information Services… more
Bush: Give judges oversight over wiretapping
Cayman Islands – A democratic system of government operates in a manner which is different from totalitarian and dictatorial systems… more
Altice to acquire Dominican Republic operator Tricom
Dominican Republic – Cable group Altice’s subsidiary Altice Caribbean has agreed to acquire Tricom and Global Interlink (together ‘Tricom’), a triple-play and mobile operator in the Dominican Republic, from its current owner Hispaniola Telecom, a company controlled by Amzak Capital Management and Inversiones Bahia… more
Atlantic Tele-Network, Inc. Reports Third Quarter and Nine Month 2013 Results
Guyana – Atlantic Tele-Network, Inc. Reports Third Quarter and Nine Month 2013 Results… more
UWI ready to help Guyana combat piracy
Guyana – The University of the West Indies (UWI- Trinidad campus) is willing to help Guyana combat piracy by using low-cost mobile smart-phone tracking technology that can link up fisherfolk with Guyanese police and defence force, according to a senior official… more
Caribbean governments may be at risk from donated computers
Regional – In recent years, a number of Caribbean governments have been the recipients of personal computers supplied by foreign governments, but now reports are emerging that clandestine hardware modifications could represent a potential security threat… more
Tuesday, 5 November 2013
Gate Program Attracts Papua New Guinea Officials
Antigua and Barbuda – On Monday, a delegation from Papua New Guinea visited Antigua to gather information on the Government Assisted Technology Endeavour (GATE) programme… more
BTC denies ‘anti-competitive’ motives
Bahamas – Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) denied any suggestion of anti-competitive behavior yesterday, arguing that any suggestion of the same is “misplaced at best”… more
Data protection chairman echos securing internet information
Bahamas – Echoing the inevitable for securing requisite boundaries on the information highway, the Ministry of Finance Data Protection Unit is advocating training law enforcement officers on ways to detect viral information theft to protect the personal information of Bahamians online… more
URCA to address rules on pricing for Cable Bahamas and BTC
Bahamas – Cable Bahamas (CBL) has urged the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) to take a “proactive approach” to “tariff rebalancing” by Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) and to introduce a single consistent “calling party pays” (CPP) pricing regime… more
150 Mbps Internet Speeds For Flow Customers
Barbados – Barbados will once again lead the Caribbean in technology innovation as Columbus brings 150 mbps internet speeds to the home… more
Phone ban demand
Barbados – Hundreds of Barbadians have signed a petition demanding the banning of cellphones in schools, in light of the posting of two new pornographic video tapes on Facebook, showing students on the compound of two schools engaging in sexual acts… more
Case of S.S.B. versus Sunshine Holdings Limited begin hearing before the CJ
Belize – Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin this morning began hearing arguments on the case of Social Security Board (S.S.B.) versus Sunshine Holdings Limited, one of the many former shareholders of Belize Telemedia Limited (B.T.L.) – in its case, twenty-two point three-nine percent of all shares in trust for B.T.L. employees… more
Dunkeld Freed To Seek Arbitration Over BTL Nationalization
Belize – Four years after the Government’s appropriation of Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL), the legal disputes over the nationalization continue unresolved, and on Friday, the Court of Appeal lifted an injunction which previously blocked Dunkeld International Investment Limited from pursing overseas arbitration against the Government of Belize… more
Travers on wiretapping: Let the courts decide
Cayman Islands – Local finance attorney Anthony Travers says it should be up to the courts to decide whose phones should be tapped… more
Digicel leads bidders for Orange Dominicana – report
Dominican Republic – Digicel Group has submitted a EUR 1 billion bid for Orange Dominicana and could reach an agreement on the acquisition by the of 2013, according to Dominican daily Listin Diario… more
Paulwell calls for reduction in broadband internet rates
Jamaica – Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining the Honourable Phillip Paulwell has called on telecommunications operators to bring the price of broadband internet service down, a move he says will result in a widening of access to broadband by a greater portion of the population… more
Doing the fluid Web
Trinidad and Tobago – If there’s a single buzz word that’s been consistently a part of discussions about web design over the last six months or so, it’s responsive design… more
Wednesday, 6 November 2013
Judgment in case of Social Security Board vs. Sunshine Holdings Limited expected on December 13
Belize – Arguments wrapped up Wednesday afternoon in the case of Social Security Board vs. Sunshine Holdings Limited. Sunshine Holdings is just one entity among the alliance challenging the nationalizations of Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL)… more
On wiretapping: Why no judges?
(You be the judge)
Cayman Islands – If the police were empowered to eavesdrop on Caymanian Compass telephone calls, we can presume that our reporters would have more listeners than Rooster Radio on an “Ezzard/Arden” Tuesday morning… more
Guyana and Suriname lose Internet, overseas calls
Guyana – The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Co. says damage to an undersea fiber-optic cable has caused a phone and Internet outage that affected much of the country along with neighboring Suriname… more
Internet working again after cut in Suriname submarine cable
Guyana – The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company around midday resumed internet operations following a complete loss of service earlier this morning… more
Thursday, 7 November 2013
Aruba’s first LTE network will be one of the fastest anywhere
Aruba – Alcatel-Lucent has deployed a 4G LTE network for Setar, the leading telecommunications service provider on the Caribbean island of Aruba… more
URCA Boosts BTC With Promotion ‘Cool-Off’ Slash
Bahamas – Regulators have reduced the time span between when communications providers can launch ‘similar promotions’ from 120 to 90 days, after the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) complained existing restrictions were harming consumer welfare and its ability to fight competitors… more
ICTA hiring process questioned
Cayman Islands – There has been no word yet from government concerning the status of a probe into hiring practices at the Information Communication and Technology Authority (ICTA). Infrastructure Minister Hon. Kurt Tibbetts demanded a full enquiry from the ICTA board… more
UK not budging on wiretap plan
Cayman Islands – The United Kingdom’s representative in the Cayman Islands will be responsible for the issuance of telecommunications interception warrants, Overseas Territories Minister Mark Simmonds emphasized Tuesday evening… more
UWI launches telemedicine pilot
Jamaica – THE University of the West Indies (UWI) yesterday launched its Single Virtual University Space (SVUS) with a telemedicine pilot at the Hugh Wynter Fertility Management Unit (HWFMU), University Hospital of the West Indies, Mona… more
A mobile app that could save your life in a hurricane
Regional – “When my family home in Diego Martin was damaged by flash flooding, we realized how unprepared we were for this kind of emergency. Rescue efforts took a long to arrive, while emergency communications were slow and deficient.” … more
Cable & Wireless Communications plc Half Yearly Report for the Six Months Ended 30 September 2013
Regional – Mobile revenue growth across all regions… more
Regional Public Utility Regulators Meet in Belize
Regional – Representatives of public utilities regulating organizations from across the region are in Belize for the 11th Annual Meeting of the Organization of Caribbean Utility Regulators (OOCUR). The three day event which opened on Wednesday, November 6th, is being held under the theme “Challenges to Regulatory Power in Borderless Societies”… more
Blink making rural become the new urban
Trinidad and Tobago – THE Internet continues to revolutionise the way societies, communities and businesses are evolving to meet the needs of their stakeholders… more
Friday, 8 November 2013
BTC Maintains Revenues Despite 30% Price Cuts
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has “critically” maintained top-line revenues despite slashing mobile and broadband Internet prices by 20-30 per cent post-privatisation, its majority shareholder said yesterday… more
ICTA report submitted to Cabinet
Cayman Islands – Government confirms a report looking into hiring practices at the Information, Communication and Technology Authority (ICTA) has been completed… more
Online poll: Wiretap only with court approval
Cayman Islands – The poll consensus is that the courts must decide whose telephones and emails can be tapped, but the caveat, simply stated, is “if you can trust them.” … more
TechLink to launch in Grenada this month
Grenada – Grenada will be the first Caribbean country to benefit from a technology training initiative designed to train communities to take advantage of Internet, mobile and computer technologies… more
Competition law vs intellectual property in the ICT Arena
Jamaica – I was recently invited to present at the annual conference of a highly regarded European-based information and communications technology (ICT) think tank. Among the presenters were Microsoft’s general counsel, Barclays Bank’s data & privacy senior counsel, and Hewlett Packard’s European projects director… more
Digicel celebrates Caribbean migrants with Christmas promotion
Regional – Telecoms company Digicel on Monday launched a Christmas promotion targeting Jamaicans in the diaspora who send credit to their relatives and friends in Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean… more
Saturday, 9 November 2013
Should Caribbean Politicians Tweet?
Regional – THE QUESTION keeps coming back – social media and Jamaican politicians; do they know how to use these communication tools to their advantage? … more
Sunday, 10 November 2013
Digicel, LIMe Parent Said To Be Eyeing Orange In DomRep Market
Dominican Republic – An opportunity to break into the mobile market in the Dominican Republic (DR) and to win 3.3 million new customers is available with the pending sale of Orange Dominicana, for which Digicel and Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) are reported to be among five prospective buyers… more
Haiti – Justice : Dismantling of a network of phone fraud
Haiti – Thursday, Me Alexi Oriol, Justice of the Peace of Carrefour announced that the anti-fraud unit of the National Council of Telecommunications (CONATEL) together with the National Police of Haiti (PNH) had dismantled Tuesday at Mon Repos 48, a network of criminals specialized in “by passing”, fraud that consists of diverting international phone calls to local networks… more
BlackBerry’s powerful Z30 to hit Caribbean by Christmas
Jamaica — Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry (BB) will before Christmas launch its biggest and most powerful phone — the Z30 — in Jamaica and other Caribbean markets as it seeks to maintain its toehold in the region… more
Internet upgrades for Flow customers
Trinidad and Tobago – Customers will now experience faster broadband download speeds at no additional cost as Columbus Communications, operators of Flow and Columbus Business Solutions, has announced a significant upgrade to three of its major residential packages… more
Image credits: NS Newsflash / flickr; Bahamas Weekly; Wikipedia; The Eleutheran; Wikipedia
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