A roundup of ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region during the period Monday 5 May to Sunday 11 May 2014.
Monday, 5 May 2014
Cable ‘Excluded’ From 55% Of Market
Bahamas – Cable Bahamas is currently excluded from 55 per cent of the Bahamian communications market, a senior executive arguing it should be “in top spot” to gain the second cellular licence… more
GT&T concerns with Telecoms Bill gain attention of Select Committee
Guyana – Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T), Radha Krishna Sharma, has dispelled allegations that his company is opposed to the liberalisation of the telecommunication sector… more
Tuesday, 6 May 2014
BTC blames prison for ‘severe’ outages
Bahamas – Amid a spate of dropped calls, data issues and call quality problems over the last few days, particularly in eastern New Providence, the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) yesterday blamed Her Majesty’s Prisons (HMP) for the network disruptions… more
Prison cell phone jamming equipment disrupts service
Bahamas – BTC was able to get onto the grounds of the Prison Monday and – with the assistance of the Prison Authorities and its vendor – correct the issues affecting cellular voice and data services on the Eastern portions of New Providence… more
Big win for Digicel BVI
British Virgin Islands – Digicel BVI has won the Market Of The Year Award for the Caribbean and Central America at the Digicel Awards Ceremony held on April 28 at Sofitel Hotel in Los Angeles, California… more
Digicel Outlines Comprehensive ICT Offering To Local Clientele
Grenada – After successfully positioning itself as the number one mobile provider in Grenada during the last ten years, Digicel officially launched the Digicel Business brand in Grenada, Carriacou & Petit Martinique… more
OUR Writes to LIME on Call Issues
Jamaica – The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) is seeking more clarification from Cable & Wireless Jamaica t/a LIME, following on frequent customer complaints about quality of service issues relating to mobile calls and access to its Call Centre… more
blink | bmobile Foundation encourages reading as it donates e-Readers to Schools
Trinidad and Tobago – ”The future is interactive.” This is what blink | bmobile’s CEO George Hill thought when he decided to launch the new, potentially far-reaching programme of assistance, “Tomorrow starts today”… more
Wednesday, 7 May 2014
Cable Bahamas share offering ‘over-subscribed’ on first day
Bahamas – As anticipated, Cable Bahamas’ $100 million capital raising effort was met with an enthusiastic response on the first day of its launch, with high-net-worth and institutional investors putting up over $100 million in subscriptions for the company… more
PM says lawyers settling BTC deal
Bahamas – Prime Minister Perry Christie admitted yesterday that the new Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) deal he announced back in January is not yet finalized and he could not give a specific date for when it will be tabled in Parliament… more
Judge sides with Digicel over regulator
British Virgin Islands – A High Court judge quashed a regulator’s finding Tuesday that the mobile phone provider Digicel engaged in anti-competitive behaviour against its smaller competitor… more
FAC Payment Gateway And CTEX Data Centers Join Forces In The Latin American Caribbean Region To Deliver Advanced Services
Curaçao – First Atlantic Commerce (FAC), a global online payment solutions provider, and CTEX, an operator of the most advanced Uptime institute certified Tier-IV data centers, have joined together to leverage their strengths in the Latin American Caribbean Region to deliver world class IT and ecommerce services… more
Fond Cole men fined for stealing phones
Dominica – Two Fond Cole men, who were charged for stealing mobile phones in two separate incidents, have been fined by Chief Magistrate Candia Carette-George… more
Indotel consults on adoption of ATSC standard for DTT, ahead of planned frequency tender
Dominican Republic – Telecoms watchdog Instituto Dominicano de las Telecomunicaciones (Indotel) has launched a public consultation seeking approval to adopt the US standard ATSC (advanced television standards committee) for digital terrestrial television (DTT)… more
Digicel/Jamaica Observer partner to stage World Telecom Day blogging competition
Jamaica – Telecoms company Digicel and the Jamaica Observer have teamed to launch the World Telecommunication Day Blogging Competition on May 17… more
LIME addressing issue of dropped calls
Jamaica – Telecommunications company, LIME says, it has started work to correct the problem of dropped calls on its network… more
Observer/Flow staging free CSEC workshops for over 800 students
Jamaica – STUDENTS at Herbert Morrison Technical High School will this Saturday receive exam preparation tips during the third of several islandwide CSEC workshops hosted by the Jamaica Observer in collaboration with Flow… more
Young entrepreneurs to launch ‘smart taxi’ franchise
Jamaica – A start-up logistics software development company will in a few months launch an app-based ‘smart taxi’ franchise in Jamaica, allowing commuters to book taxis from the convenience of their smartphones or tablets…more
Thursday, 8 May 2014
BCPOU wants details on BTC agreement
Bahamas – Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union (BCPOU) President Bernard Evans expressed disappointed yesterday that the government’s new Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) deal has not yet been made public… more
Calling all bloggers
Jamaica – JAMAICAN bloggers are in for a treat with the recent launch of Digicel and the Jamaica Observer’s World Telecommunications Day Blogging Competition… more
Fed Up With LIME
Jamaica – THE EDITOR, Sir: I understand that the Office of Utilities Regulation has written to LIME about the many complaints against the mobile telecommunications company, regarding dropped calls people have been experiencing. I have been suffering from this very poor service for quite some time now, and from the many complaints I see on social media it seems many subscribers are having similar experiences… more
Mother’s Day Gift from TelephoneJamaica.com: 10% Voice Credit Bonus
Jamaica – They care, they help, they encourage, they bring comfort and smiles, without asking nothing in return. To say “Thank you, mom!” for all these little things and a million others, TelephoneJamaica.com offers 10% Voice Credit bonus on Mother’s Day… more
Old Modems Causing Headaches For Upgrades, LIME To Replace Free Of Cost
Saint Kitts and Nevis – LIME internet upgrades should be finished by next week, but most customers should already be seeing their speeds returning to normal… more
Friday, 9 May 2014
Changes at the top at television center
Cayman Islands – CEO Bob Taylor has parted company with WestStar in the midst of its expansion into high-speed Internet services… more
Marpin pay cut finalized
Dominica – It is now official that the majority of staff at telecommunications Company Marpin 2K4 Ltd will be taking a 10 percent pay cut… more
Vibes Radio and LIME strengthens partnership
Dominica – Vibes Radio and telecommunications company LIME Dominica has strengthened a partnership which began in 2011… more
Columbus Hailed As Good Corporate Citizen
Jamaica – Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Anthony Hylton says he is moved by the changing spirit of members of the business sector who are now increasingly taking corporate social responsibilities seriously… more
Digicel exec urges young marketers to ‘challenge the norm’
Jamaica – MARKETING director of telecoms company Digicel, Peter Lloyd, has urged young marketers to be dynamic, challenge the norm and to be dedicated in every marketing activation and plan that they do… more
STATIN Improves Productivity After Switch To Electronic System
Jamaica – T HAS been just over one year since the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) has replaced paper in one of its major business process with an electronic solution, and the state-owned data collection and processing agency is boasting of increased efficiencies and improved productivity owing to the switch… more
LIME Upgrades its Voicemail Platform
Saint Kitts and Nevis – In an effort to provide a more secure and customizable Voicemail experience for its mobile customers LIME has rolled out a new Voicemail platform… more
St. Maarten signals interest in taking control of UTS
Sint Maarteen – THE Government of St. Maarten has signalled its interest in taking control of United Telecommunication Services (UTS) Eastern Caribbean Operations, according to information coming out of Curacao… more
Minister: 25% of TSTT income pays wages
Trinidad and Tobago – ONE out of every four dollars made by the telecoms provider Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) goes toward paying wages… more
More cell towers needed, Joint Select Committee told
Trinidad and Tobago – MORE cellphone towers need to be erected in the country, executive vice president of Mobile Services at telecoms provider TSTT, Ronald Walcott, has said… more
Security technology needs to deliver
Trinidad and Tobago – Investigations relating to the Dana Seetahal murder seem set to draw unusual attention to the operation of surveillance cameras first installed amid much ballyhoo about five years ago… more
Saturday, 10 May 2014
3 postgraduate scholarships in ICT available
Jamaica – Three scholarships, valued at $1.5 million, are up for grabs for students desirous of pursuing postgraduate studies in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the new academic year… more
Sunday, 11 May 2014
Deafening silence on radio applications
Guyana – One day after the country’s High Court deemed a $2.5M TV broadcast fee illegal, the Opposition has vowed to establish a special Parliamentary committee that will review the operations of the airwaves… more
Five young men involved in illegal activity say they will not stop
Jamaica – DESPITE the clampdown by Jamaica’s law enforcement agents, supported by their colleagues in the United States, lottery scammers have vowed to continue with their illegal activity, arguing that it is the only route to quick wealth… more
Internet Subscribers Headed To One-Million Mark
Jamaica – There are more than 920,000 Internet subscribers in Jamaica, according to the newly released Economic and Social Survey Jamaica, published annually by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ)… more
CWC confirms bid for third mobile licence
Trinidad and Tobago – Cable & Wireless Communication’s (CWC) new chief executive Phil Bentley has confirmed that the company—which is a 49 per cent shareholder in majority state-owned TSTT—did put in a bid for a third mobile operator licence… more
Image credits: Mick Baker rooster (flickr); Bahamas Local; Wikipedia; Wikipedia;
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