A roundup of ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region during the period Monday 11 August to Sunday 17 August 2014.
Monday, 11 August 2014
BTC, CANTO leaders look forward to a conference of ‘firsts’
Bahamas – In an address to media on Sunday, a panel consisting of members of the leadership of CANTO expressed high hopes for their 30th annual regional telecommunications conference and trade exhibition being held at the Atlantis Resort… more
Cable Bahamas appoints Franklyn Butler II as new Vice Chairman
Bahamas – The Board of Directors of Cable Bahamas Limited (BISX: CAB) today announced the appointment of Franklyn Butler II to the new position of Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors… more
Cable Bahamas undeterred by ‘national coverage’ demand
Bahamas – A leading telecoms company is undeterred by recent remarks made by the prime minister in which he suggested that all future cellular service providers would be required to cover all of The Bahamas… more
Christie Affirms Commitment To More Mobile Licences
Bahamas – AFFIRMING that his government is committed to the liberalisation of the Bahamas’ mobile phone sector Prime Minister Perry Christie said that a liberalisation task force was in the “final stages” of competing a Request for Proposal (RFP) that will invite potential bidders for the second cellular licence… more
PM delivers address at CANTO 30th Annual Conference & Trade Show
Bahamas – Prime Minister of The Bahamas Rt. Honourable Perry Gladstone Christie, MP Keynote Speaker CANTO 30th Annual Conference & Trade Show Atlantis; Paradise Island Sunday, 10th August, 2014… more
ICTA queries downed 911 line
Cayman Islands – An investigation is launched by the Information, Communication and Technology Authority (ICTA) after calls to Emergency Communications were affected for just over six hours last week… more
GT&T responds to frustrated customer
Guyana – Dear Editor, Let me say at the outset that GT&T would have preferred to have received a copy of the letter captioned “Dissatisfied with service received from GT&T,” which was carried in the Tuesday, August 05, 2014 edition of Kaieteur News, so that the customer’s complaint and GT&T’s response could have been carried in the same publication… more
Radio Jamaica Limited seeks earnings boost, using advanced technology
Jamaica – Radio Jamaica Limited says it is working to boost earnings from overseas, after recently embarking on what it says is the country’s most ambitious audio-visual diversification project… more
Fourth Telecommunication License Issued
Sint Maarten – St. Maarten now has four telecommunication providers, the latest was issued in a Landsbesluit signed by Governor Holiday and published in the August 2014 National Gazette… more
Telem Selects Centina To Improve Operational Efficiency
Sint Maarten – CENTINA Systems, a leading provider in service assurance analytics and network performance management solutions for communications service providers (CSPs) worldwide, announced yesterday that Telem Group is set to deploy its NetOmnia suite of solutions for the network and improved troubleshooting and problem resolution… more
Tuesday, 12 August 2014
URCA: Auction best way to ‘get full value’ for second cell license
Bahamas – The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) has thrown its support behind the prime minister’s suggestion that the government will hold a spectrum auction to award the next mobile license, calling this “the most efficient way” to realize the true value of this “national resource”… more
CANTO Launches 30th Annual Conference in The Bahamas
Regional – The 30th annual CANTO Conference for information and communication technology (ICT) operators throughout the Caribbean region got off to an exciting start… more
TCI Government Support Services Ministerial Delegation off to Nassau, Bahamas
Turks and Caicos Islands – Hon. George Lightbourne, Minister of Government Support Services, left the jurisdiction accompanied by the Director General of TCI Telecommunications Commission… more
Wednesday, 13 August 2014
BTC CEO: National coverage demands ‘level playing field’
Bahamas – The CEO of Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has supported the prime minister’s demand for all future cellular service providers to service the entire Bahamas, claiming that the requirement would help avoid “cherry picking” of lucrative markets at the expense of less populated regions in the country… more
BTC, URCA plan ahead for regulation of VoIP providers
Bahamas – BTC and telecoms regulator URCA have both declared that they are keeping their eyes on Voice over IP (VoIP) providers as broadband develops in the country… more
Digicel Business announced as proud communications partner of Health City state of the art tertiary care hospital
Cayman Islands – Health City Cayman Islands (HCCI) is the first Caribbean venture of the Narayana Health Group, a network of 26 hospitals across India overseen by the renowned cardiologist, Dr. Devi Shetty… more
Medina signs anti-spam legislation into law
Dominican Republic – President Danilo Medina signed the regulation against sending unsolicited commercial emails (spam) into law, which adheres to the current legislation on commercial advertising and consumer protection… more
Cable Blackout A ‘Scandal’
Jamaica – THE EDITOR, Sir: I have noted a worrying trend regarding our local television stations buying the rights to several cable broadcast series, for example, Suits and Scandal, and thereby blocking paying cable subscribers from viewing these on the cable provider network… more
CBS Offers It Solution For Logistics Hub Entrepreneurs
Jamaica – The CBS Hosted PBX is a state-of-the-art, Internet-based solution aimed at reducing start-up and operational costs, especially for small business owners. “The service is designed with entrepreneurs in mind” said Craig Fisher, CBS sales manager, responsible for small and medium enterprises… more
BTC and CANTO highlight Bahamian culture at conference launch extravaganza
Regional – The 30th annual CANTO Conference for information and communication technology (ICT) operators throughout the Caribbean region got off to an exciting start… more
No decision as Caribbean ministers, service providers discuss VoIP
Regional – Caribbean telecommunication ministers and service providers Tuesday failed to agree on how best to deal with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) platforms such as Viber, with the providers complaining that they were losing a significant amount of revenue due to illegal practices… more
Prime Minister speaks to CANTO 30th Annual Conference & Trade Show about new direction for BTC
Regional – In his keynote address of the CANTO 30th Annual Conference & Trade Show at Atlantis on Sunday, Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie told the telecommunications delegates that the commitment of Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC)… more
4 companies vie to become third mobile provider
Trinidad and Tobago – Applications from four companies—including a multinational shareholder in State controlled Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) and a cable TV operator—to become the country’s third mobile phone service provider are being reviewed by the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT)… more
Emailgate: AG admits hiring foreign law firm to sue Google
Trinidad and Tobago – Attorney General Anand Ramlogan yesterday disclosed he hired a foreign law firm—Computer Law Group LLP—last year to sue Google… more
Thursday, 14 August 2014
PM: Bahamas is economic majority owner of BTC
Bahamas – The Bahamas is once again the majority owner of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company. Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie made the announcement… more
Cable Bahamas Hopes To Leverage Revoice Success Into Cellular Triumph
Bahamas – Cable Bahamas executives said yesterday that they hope to leverage the success of the company’s land-line offering and multi-million network investment to become the first quadruple play provider in the Bahamas… more
Cable Bahamas invests $3 million in major REVOICE phone network upgrade
Bahamas – Cable Bahamas has invested more than $3 million over the last year in a new Metaswitch phone switch and software that will enable new features for the more than 26,000 REVOICE subscribers and pave the way for cellular services… more
Disruptions expected as Cable Bahamas upgrades
Bahamas – Disruptions to Cable Bahamas’ service are anticipated in the early hours of Sunday as the company switches customers over to a new Metaswitch phone switch and software system in which it has invested more than $3 million over the last year… more
Skype, WhatsApp raise concern among regional telecoms operators
Bahamas – BTC has joined other regional telecoms operators in expressing concern that the interests of operators in the region are being undermined by voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) providers such as Skype, WhatsApp and others, which offer voice and multimedia delivery for customers at low or no cost… more
URGENT: CCT introduces improved prepaid platform
British Virgin Islands – Through its continued commitment to bring customers faster and more reliable mobile communications. CCT today announced that it will be performing a prepaid service migration, giving customers access to a new service platform… more
LIME responds to WestStar, Logic deal
Cayman Islands – Cayman Islands telco Cable & Wireless, which operates under the LIME banner, has responded to the proposed transfer of the ownership of domestic telecoms operator WestStar from Botcat Holdings to WestTel Limited (trading in the country as Logic)… more
Our Internet is only 8% of the speed of that in the US
Guyana – Dear Editor, Is GT&T having a joke with the people of Guyana? I’m talking about internet services here. I’ve just come back from the US where the following prevails:.. more
Revenue hike for LIME in April – June quarter
Jamaica – Telecommunications provider, LIME says it has cut its losses to J$712 million in the April to June quarter as revenues jumped on higher mobile and broadband business… more
LIME Urges Greater Broadband Penetration In The Caribbean
Regional – THE telecommunications provider that first connected the Caribbean to the rest of the world, LIME, has called on regional government ministers and fellow providers to push for greater broadband penetration in the region… more
Call for more local software gets support
Trinidad and Tobago – RECENTLY the country was made aware of the global recognition of a local software development company, which had produced work that was deemed good enough to be honoured with a global award from IT giant Microsoft… more
Google must authenticate e-mails
Trinidad and Tobago – Google has to answer and authenticate the alleged e-mails that were sent and received from the e-mail accounts of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Attorney General Anand Ramlogan… more
Number Portability
Trinidad and Tobago – JAMES Wild is the Director and Principal Consultant of Laurasia Associates, – a specialist number portability and regulatory consultancy firm based in the UK but operating and supporting telecoms operators and regulators in Europe, Africa and the Caribbean… more
T&T Integrity Commission goes after Google
Trinidad and Tobago – The Integrity Commission has retained the services of a top United States attorney who has filed a subpoena in the US Federal Court ordering Google to provide information to aid in the “Emailgate” investigations… more
Friday, 15 August 2014
BTC CEO told: ‘Focus on areas of competency
Bahamas – Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) CEO Leon Williams has been advised by a former BTC executive to “focus on his areas of competency” and not “rip up the script” at the telecoms company… more
CWC completes controversial ‘2% deal’
Bahamas – The Bahamas Weekly writes that the Bahamian Government and Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) have completed the controversial ‘2% deal’… more
Secret Nygard Tapes Could Be Revealed By Court Proceedings
Bahamas – HEDGE Fund manager Louis Bacon filed papers in a Manhattan Federal Court on Wednesday, requesting access to video footage he alleges will prove his neighbour, Lyford Cay billionaire and fashion designer Peter Nygard, ran a “smear campaign” against him in the Bahamas… more
Police Found Cell Phones Inside Prison
Belize – Early this morning, a team of police and prison officers conducted a pre-dawn search of the entire Kolbe Foundation Prison facility. They were looking for any illegal items from cell phones to blade instruments… more
ICTA board seeks greater role in hiring
Cayman Islands – The Information and Communications Technology Authority board has demanded a greater role in the hiring and firing of employees at the regulatory authority… more
Inspiring girls to love computer science
Cayman Islands – Recently we spoke about some launched science and engineering toys made for young girls namely Lego and Goldie Blox… more
Digicel proposes the new Samsung Galaxy S5 to its customers
Haiti – Digicel and Samsung Electronics announced the fifth generation of the Galaxy S series… more
itel-BPO lands new US-based client
Jamaica – LOCAL outsourcing company, itel-BPO Solutions, has landed a new US-based client… more
LIME Caribbean CEO calls for technology innovation
Regional – The region’s leading telecoms provider that first connected the Caribbean to the rest of the world, LIME, called on regional government ministers and fellow telecoms providers to push for greater broadband penetration… more.
FIM Launches Innovative Smartphone Video Competition
Saint Kitts and Nevis – ECCB’s Financial Information Month has launched one of its most innovative competitions to date, utilizing students’ smartphones… more
Telcell to restore full service by midnight Friday.
Sint Maarten – Telcell has performed a network upgrade which is causing some congestion problems in the Philipsburg area such as busy calls, slow data and calls not being received, resulting in voicemail… more
LIME sponsors Technical Institutions
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Two technical institutions here are the latest to benefit from the generosity of Telecommunication Company LIME… more
AG waits for Google info
Trinidad and Tobago – Attorney General Anand Ramlogan filed a suit in the US courts against Google in June 2013 to ascertain the truth behind the May 2013 E-mailgate scandal which the People’s National Movement (PNM) raised… more
AG will be vindicated
Trinidad and Tobago – The California lawyers for Attorney General Anand Ramlogan have advised they feel he would be “vindicated” in allegations of an email conspiracy by him and Government officials, including Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, over the early proclamation of Section 34 in 2012… more
Saturday, 16 August 2014
The “Website Defacement” cyber threat to the Caribbean
Regional – In the last year there has been a significant increase in the number of cyber related criminal activity in the Caribbean. In recent days the unauthorized changes made to a key regional tourism website represents yet another troubling component of the growing cyber threat we face called “website defacements”… more
Following is the full statement from the Central Bank:
Trinidad and Tobago – The Governor and the Central Bank unreservedly respect and value the principles of freedom of the press, as enshrined in our Constitution… more
Jwala blocks story
Trinidad and Tobago – The Central Bank was granted an injunction against the Newsday newspaper on Friday night to prevent the publication of a story.… more
Sunday, 17 August 2014
215 Applications For Start-Up Jamaica
Jamaica – Some 215 applications have been received by Start-Up Jamaica (SUJ), the government-sponsored accelerator programme for entrepreneurs with mainly technology-based businesses ideas, according to state minister for technology Julian Robinson… more
LIME, Digicel Can’t Block Forever
Regional – At the 30th annual conference of the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunications Organization (CANTO) held in Nassau, one of the main agenda items being discussed by regional telecommunications ministers is how to deal with the threat of Over the Top (OTT) applications… more
E-mailgate probe shrouded in secrecy
Trinidad and Tobago – Steps taken by the Integrity Commission to sue search engine and e-mail provider Google for information on Attorney General Anand Ramlogan’s e-mails remain shrouded in secrecy, but it appears that the commission’s move has usurped the role and function of the Central Authority… more
Image credit: filipe ferreira (flickr); Wikipedia; Wikipedia; Bahamas Local; Wikimedia; Wikipedia
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