A roundup of ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region during the period Monday 10 February to Sunday 16 February 2014.
Monday, 10 February 2014
BTC 2014 Phone Book – Celebrating Tourism’s Golden Jubilee
Bahamas – The new phone books are here and The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has dedicated both White and Yellow pages’ directory front covers on all editions, to Tourism’s Golden Jubilee… more
BTC In ‘Substantial’ $1m Vat Systems Bill
Bahamas – Thousands of Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) pre-paid cellular customers will see their calling costs increase 15 per cent under Value-Added Tax (VAT), with the carrier itself set to incur a “substantial” $1 million bill just to make its systems compliant… more
CTEX And Partners To Host Thinkbeyond, The Second Annual Regional Technology Conference
Curaçao – Curaçao Technology Exchange (CTEX) and various global technology partners are hosting a one-day technology conference at the Santa Barbara resort on March 7, 2014… more
LIME To Celebrate Safer Internet Day
Jamaica – Jamaica’s sole provider of advanced wired and wireless Internet service, LIME, will tomorrow turn its focus toward safe and responsible use of the technology as part of the global observation of Safer Internet Day (SID)… more
Columbus Business Solutions Expands Recovery as a Service (RaaS) Presence in the Caribbean and Latin America
Regional – Columbus Business Solutions (CBS), the business brand of Columbus International Inc. (Columbus), and a provider of premium telecommunications services to businesses in the greater Caribbean, Andean and Central American regions, is proud to announce its expanded presence in the Recovery as a Service (RaaS) market, under its portfolio of Cloud Continuity Services… more
Directorate change
Regional – Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) today announces that Tim Pennington, Chief Financial Officer, will be leaving the Company, and it has commenced a global search for his successor… more
OAS Strategic Dialogue on Telecommunications Emphasizes Taking Advantage of Technologies to Reduce Inequality
Regional – The Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) of the Organization of American States (OAS) today opened its High Level Strategic Dialogue in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with a call to take advantage of the new Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) and the advantages offered by public-private partnerships to encourage development in the entire region and to reduce social inequality… more
LIME Regional CEO pays visit to St. Kitts
Saint Kitts and Nevis – As part of his regional tour of LIME’s operations, Regional CEO, LIME Mr. Martin Roos made his 1st visit to the Federation for 2014; paying a courtesy call on the Minister of Information Technology & Telecommunications, Hon. Glenn Phillip… more
St Lucia leads off Caribbean innovation workshops
Saint Lucia – Caribbean history is the picture of a region lacking in physical and financial resources, but constantly finding ways to confront those realities through human resourcefulness and ingenuity… more
New direction for mobile bill paying
Trinidad and Tobago – Following a successful, award-winning year, gaining new clients via excellent service and innovative products, Resonance Trinidad has launched a revolutionary way to pay bills… more
Tuesday, 11 February 2014
B.T.L. says they are working together to find an agreeable outcome
Belize – To address their fears, a meeting was held with various distributors in Belize City this afternoon. B.T.L. called a late evening press briefing saying that they are working together to find an agreeable outcome. The discussion, says Miranda, was productive… more
Cable & Wireless Communications Plc Interim Management Statement
Regional – This interim management statement provides an update on the performance and financial position of the Group since the six months ended 30 September 2013 … more
Ericsson Application Awards competition supports local innovation in Latin America and Caribbean
Regional – Ericsson Application Awards competition supports local innovation in Latin America and Caribbean … more
ICT centre launched in Penal
Trinidad and Tobago – PRIME Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday launched information and communications programme Star.tt, aimed at providing rural communities with lifestyle-changing technology, available at their community centres… more
Wednesday, 12 February 2014
CWC: BTC Will Be ‘Second To None’
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) controlling shareholder yesterday said it was moving rapidly to ensure the carrier’s network “is second to none”, revealing its multi-million dollar investments were already producing returns… more
Digicel expanding into ICT
Barbados – MORE STAFF, a wider 4G network and venturing into information and communications technology (ICT) are all part of Digicel plans as it prepares to invest millions more in the Barbados market… more
Digital currency gaining interest in the VI
British Virgin Islands – It sounds like science fiction: You can now pay for a ride to space with the first decentralised digital currency — money that exists only on the Internet… more
Digicel Makes Net Loss Of US$198M In 2013
Regional – Digicel Group made a net loss of US$198 million last year, as disclosed by Fitch ratings agency in its most recent report on the telecom… more
Cybersecurity in T&T needs boost
Trinidad and Tobago – Vice president of Icons Company Ltd Tarquin Joseph says more needs to be done in T&T to improve the standards of cybersecurity… more
Talks in T&T on new Internet protocol
Trinidad and Tobago – Next Monday, representatives of the Internet Address Registry for Latin America and the Caribbean (LACNIC) will begin a series of visits and meetings with T&T officials and operators to report on the impending exhaustion of the regional IPv4 address stock and discuss actions that should be taken to ensure normal Internet growth… more
Thursday, 13 February 2014
4G Internet in the Caribbean? You’ll Find It Here
Antigua and Barbuda – Here being Jumby Bay, a Rosewood resort that is its own private island just a short boat ride away from Antigua… more
BTC Discloses 400% Internet Sales Rise
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) yesterday said product bundling and competitive pricing had increased its broadband Internet sales by 400 per cent over the previous year… more
CTEX And Core Establish Strategic Alliance
Curaçao – Curaçao Technology Exchange (CTEX) and CORE N.V. announced today that they have formalized a strategic alliance agreement… more
State must invest more in broadband, Internet: Experts
Dominican Republic – A group of 200 experts from 34 countries on Wednesday urged the private sector, as the motor of the economy, to join the government by investing in broadband infrastructure projects in countries of the Americas… more
C&W Jamaica revenue drops 19% in Q3
Jamaica – Cable & Wireless Jamaica saw its quarterly revenues reach JMD 4.93 billion in the third quarter ended 31 December 2013, down 13 percent from JMD 6.06 billion in the same quarter of 2012… more
Digicel launches DATAFLEX recharge card & electronic top up for data users
Jamaica – Telecommunications leader, Digicel has introduced another first to the market for its customers across Jamaica – DATAFLEX – a recharge card and electronic top up that allows Digicel customers to top up their data account in order to access the internet… more
Managers of e-learning project tout positive results
Jamaica – WHEN the e-Learning Jamaica project formally ends at the end of this fiscal year, it would have expended US$52 million, or just about J$4.3 billion, and distributed close to 100 desktop computers, over 50 laptops and a range of instructional and teacher training materials, computer and audiovisual equipment and networks, and diagnostic tests to each of the 203 educational institutions on its list… more
Opposition wants update on Tablets in Schools plan
Jamaica – The Opposition wants an update on the initiative to incorporate the use of computer tables in public schools… more
The Best Programming On HBO And Max In 2014
Regional – HBO Latin America announced its programming for 2014, which includes big screen hits, award-winning original TV series and other highly acclaimed productions… more
Technology – Part WOW. Part liberator
Trinidad and Tobago – ON January 29th, Blink in collaboration with CALIX, a leading global provider of broadband communications access systems and software, officially unveiled a Gigabit Community in a housing development within Lange Park Chaguanas… more
Friday, 14 February 2014
Bahamas upgrades to 4G LTE mobile data
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), part of Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), has completed the full commercial launch of the country’s only Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile data services… more
BTC: $5-6 million LTE launch aids competitiveness
Bahamas – Launching its latest technological innovation in the form of 4G Long Term Evolution, BTC said the new standard for wireless data communications technology is something its mobile data users and business customers in particular have been demanding, adding that it should help position the company for competition… more
BTC’s LTE Roll-Out Extends Into 2015
Bahamas – The BAHAMAS Telecommunications Company (BTC) plans to extend its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology footprint throughout the this nation over the remainder of this year and into 2015, telling Tribune Business it will place the Bahamas on par with countries such as the US… more
Cable Sounds Out Markets On Capital Raising
Bahamas – Cable Bahamas has been sounding out the Bahamian capital markets to gauge investor appetite for a proposed preference share offering, which sources said is likely to be launched in April/May this year… more
Full Speed Ahead For BTC 4G LTE Service
Bahamas – THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company launched its 4G LTE service for New Providence, Grand Bahama, Abaco and Eleuthera last night during a celebratory event in Pompey Square… more
British Virgin Islands urged to include public-interest exception in cybercrime bill
British Virgin Islands – A bill unveiled last week in the British Virgin Islands that would punish the publishing of sensitive computer data with 20 years in prison should be amended to include a public-interest exception in order to avoid a chilling effect on legitimate journalistic activity, the International Press Institute (IPI) said on Wednesday… more
BUSINESS BYTE: LIME introduces debt amnesty
Dominica – LIME is welcoming customers back to the leading landline, Internet and mobile network in Dominica over the coming weeks… more
FDI in Dominican telecom sector tops USD 5 billion
Dominican Republic – Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the telecommunications sector of the Dominican Republic reached over USD 5 billion in the last decade, according to data from the Dominican Institute of Telecommunications (Indotel)… more
J$43 million in profits for RJR Communications Group
Jamaica – The RJR Communications Group made J$43 million dollars in profits from October to December 2013, an out turn that helped to boost profits from April to December to J$58 million… more
LIME sees 25% rise in mobile subscriber base
Jamaica – TELECOMMUNICATIONS company LIME added 35,000 mobile subscribers to its network during the third quarter last year, pushing its operating profit up by 25 per cent… more
Buying into Bitcoin
Regional – The Internet currency Bitcoin is surrounded by uncertainty. Is it a speculative bubble? Is it really as anonymous as its proponents claim? Can one actually use it to purchase the legendary White Widow strain of marijuana, or to hire a hit man? … more
OAS Assembly Telecommunications Concludes with an Appeal to Countries in the Region to Incorporate Sectors with Fewer Resources to Digital Revolution
Regional – The Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) of the Organization of American States (OAS) concluded Thursday its Sixth Assembly in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, with a call to strengthen cooperation on the formulation of strategies for the development and deployment of broadband, in order to improve connectivity and social, economic and cultural development of the countries of the Hemisphere… more
Saturday, 15 February 2014
Promised BTC probe on hold
Bahamas – Bamboo Town MP Renward Wells said yesterday it is unclear when the government will move to establish a select committee in the House of Assembly to investigate the 2011 sale of the majority stake in the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC)… more
OAS and Microsoft sign cyber security agreement
Regional – The Organization of American States (OAS) and Microsoft have signed a cooperation agreement to strengthen efforts made by the OAS cyber security program over the last ten years. The signing of the agreement took place at Microsoft’s headquarters in Washington State… more
US group warns of phone scam from the Caribbean
Regional – The United States Better Business Bureau (BBB) is warning cell phone users about a “one ring” phone scam from the Caribbean… more
Sunday, 16 February 2014
Computer recycling project starts
British Virgin Islands – An initiative to “recycle, repair and repurpose” broken and unwanted computer equipment has been launched in an effort to improve access to computers and technology for students across the British Virgin Islands… more
Image credits: Belize Web; Wikipedia; The Eleutheran; Wikipedia
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