A roundup of ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 13 April to 19 April 2015.
Monday, 13 April 2015
ATM card-skimming devices alleged
Cayman Islands – Visitor charged with attempting to steal credit and debit card data… more
GT&T rejects PUC’s denial of domestic phone rates
Guyana – Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) Radha Krishna Sharma is disappointed by issued the Public Utility Commission’s (PUC) rejection of the company’s recent request for an increase in domestic rates for the first time in 10 years, saying the country has lost an opportunity for lower international rates and improved quality of service… more
Gtech and Cotton Tree strengthen collaboration
Trinidad and Tobago – Gtech Corporation’s After School Advantage Programme is again teaming up with one of the country’s leading training and education NGOs to enhance its capacity to deliver quality instruction making use of state-of-the-art IT tools… more
Tuesday, 14 April 2015
Bahamas must boost investment in ICT and broadband, Sumner says
Bahamas – A 10 percent increase in broadband Internet penetration in Latin America and the Caribbean could boost GDP by an average of 3.2 percent and increase productivity by 2.6 percent, according to a report released during the second CEO Summit of the Americas held in Panama last week… more
Biggest Dominican bank, PayPal pact account services
Dominican Republic – Banco Popular, Dominican Republic’s biggest bank and online payment leader PayPal on Monday announced an agreement aimed at promoting competitiveness among Dominican SMEs, which can now withdraw payments received in their PayPal account… more
Landlines, mobiles and ‘Free Talk’
Guyana – Dear Editor, This election seems to attract a lot of attention, especially with the coalition, and many agree this might be like nothing they have ever witnessed before. There’s also a rush to get votes with promises by the ruling party… more
PUC erred in rejecting rate hike application – says GT&T
Guyana – Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) Radha Krishna “RK” Sharma has expressed disappointment over the regulator’s rejection of the application to modify rates… more
Wednesday, 15 April 2015
Intern graduates with top honours in latest GATE ICT Cadet programme
Antigua and Barbuda – OBSERVER media’s intern Jake Wong has topped the Government Assisted Technology Endeavour (GATE) ICT cadet programme, after an intensive six-month training… more
Cable Breaks B$ Record Despite Being $7m Short
Bahamas – Despite missing its combined target by $7 million, Cable Bahamas’ preference share issue was yesterday described as the “largest amount” of new Bahamian dollars ever raised from this nation’s capital markets by a private sector entity… more
Digicel joins St Lucia’s Internet Exchange: Barbados to set their Deadline Next Month
Barbados – Saint Lucia’s Internet users can look forward to better connectivity and faster speeds between local Internet service providers (ISP’s)… more
LIME, post office take heat
British Virgin Islands – I have two bleats this week: one about a private utility service, the other about a government one… more
Telecom Altice to invest US$133.2M in Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic – Grupo Altice, which owns the telecoms Orange and Tricom, aims to grow in the Dominican Republic by bringing new technologies to help narrow the digital gap and plans to invest RD$6.0 billion (US$133.2 million) this year… more
Rehabilitation of fibre optic cable begins
Guyana – Rehabilitation of Guyana’s state-owned fibre-optic cable, which was first laid improperly, has begun and should be completed before year-end, according to a senior official of the company that has been contracted to do the job… more
50 Per Cent Of Jamaica’s Schools Boasting Internet Access – Report
Jamaica – The new information technology report has revealed that Internet access is widespread in just over 50 per cent of Jamaica’s schools… more
Digicel Group Selects Stream Technologies IoT
Regional – Stream Technologies, a global leader in connectivity solutions for the Internet of Things, today announced it has been selected by Digicel Group, a leading global communications provider with operations in 33 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific, to drive its Internet of Things (IoT) growth strategy… more
TelEm Group networks affected by network failure
Sint Maarten – TelEm Group Wednesday apologized to customers for an interruption in service in landline, internet and mobile service following a network failure earlier in the afternoon… more
China’s Huawei unveils smartphone
Trinidad and Tobago – HUAWEI, the China-based global networking and telecommunications equipment and services company with operations in Trinidad and Tobago, yesterday unveiled its latest smartphone, the P8… more
Thursday, 16 April 2015
Making Internet Bandwidth More Affordable
Barbados – Did you know that even when you are sending an email to your neighbor right across the street – it has to first be routed through Miami? It’s nothing sinister, that’s just how the bandwidth traffic is routed… more
Offshore Services – Directors’ Indemnities Foolproof
Belize – In Arnold v Belize Telemedia Ltd the Belize Court of Appeal confirmed that indemnities given by a Belizean company to its directors deprived the company of a cause of action to pursue a claim against former directors for decisions taken during their term as company directors… more
The Telecommunications Blackout of 05
Belize – So, this week we are observing the ten-year anniversary of the Troubles of 2005… more
Digicel Names New CEO for Grenada Subsidiary
Grenada – Digicel Grenada has announced the appointment of Ciar n Burke as its Chief Executive Officer. Outgoing CEO, Patricia Maher, is leaving the business to pursue other ventures… more
Can’t get GT&T to install internet service
Guyana – Dear Editor, I wish to register my disgust to Mr R K Sharma, CEO of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T), about the unsatisfactory service being provided by this utility company under his stewardship… more
DRT Communications Offers Real-Time Caribbean Media Monitoring
Jamaica – DRT Communications Limited has acquired software that will allow it to track media markets across the Caribbean for any mention of clients or their specials interests, even in places that speak variants of English… more
CHTA Forges Strategic Partnership With Cable & Wireless Communications
Regional – THE CARIBBEAN (April 15, 2015) – The Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA) has signed a Strategic Partnership agreement with Cable & Wireless Communications Plc (CWC), a full-service communications provider operating in 16 countries throughout the Caribbean and Latin America… more
Tobago kids take computer programming to a higher level
Trinidad and Tobago – THE cadre of computer programmers in Tobago can now add twenty-one to their numbers. Twenty-one boys (21) and girls between the ages of six and nine were presented with certificates of completion after they attended the blink bmobile sponsored TechnoKids camp in Tobago during their Easter vacation… more
TATT names 3rd mobile provider
Trinidad and Tobago – THE Telecommunications Authority (TATT) has recommended to Cabinet the name of another mobile/internet service provider seeking to operate in the local market, Science and Technology Minister Dr Rupert Griffith confirmed yesterday… more
Friday, 17 April 2015
Fair trading and competition
Barbados – The Fair Trading Commission (FTC) recently held its seventh annual two-day training workshop on competition law and policy. This year’s guest facilitator was Mariana Bruno, deputy director of the United States FTC’s Bureau of Competition, who we feature this week… more
Belize Telemedia Teams with Global Directories for New Telephone Directory
Belize – This past week, Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) unveiled their 2015 installment of the annual telephone directory for Belize. The front cover of this year’s directory features an image of the Big Drop Falls in Southern Belize, taken by Belizean photographer, Tony Wrath… more
GT&T offers rewards for info leading to capture of vandals
Guyana – Reeling from a spike in vandalism especially during this month, the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) on Friday issued a stirring appeal to Guyanese to report anyone seen cutting telephone cables to 0908… more
DevCa winners point the way for Caribbean entrepreneurs
Jamaica – THE top-placed team in the Developing the Caribbean (DevCa) 2015 Code Sprint Competition has developed an application to help potential entrepreneurs access information and resources critical to their development… more
Mobile penetration reaches 141% in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago – Trinidad and Tobago ended 2014 with an overall mobile telephony penetration rate of 141 percent, Telesemana reports… more
Murder-Accused Brit Wants Laptop, Cell Phones In Jail
Saint Kitts and Nevis – Kevin Horstwood, the Brit awaiting trial for murder, is demanding he be allowed to have his laptop and cellphones while on remand at Her Majesty’ Prison… more
T&T moves up the ranks in global ICT
Trinidad and Tobago – T&T ranks 70th in the latest World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Information Technology Report (GITR). The 14th edition of the report, a comprehensive assessment of how prepared an economy is to apply the benefits of ICTs to promote economic growth and well-being, was released locally this week at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business, Mount Hope… more
Saturday, 18 April 2015
Sheehy appointed Barbados managing director following CWC-Flow merger
Barbados – EXPERIENCED TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXECUTIVE Niall Sheehy has been appointed managing director for the Barbados operations following the merger of Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) and Columbus Communications, operators of the Flow and Columbus Solutions brands… more
NonPariel man remanded for cell phone robbery
Guyana – An eighteen year-old man was brought before the court yesterday after he was charged with larceny from the person… more
Digicel Bringing NBA Finals Free-To-Air
Jamaica – Regional sports channel, Digicel SportsMax, announced on Thursday that the National Basketball Association (NBA) in association with Digicel and Digicel SportsMax will bring the 2015 NBA Finals and the Conference Finals to free-to-air television across the region… more
Jamaica And The Internet: Where Are We Now?
Jamaica – On Wednesday, April 15, the World Economic Forum (WEF) published the 2015 edition of the Global Information Technology Report (GITR), which features the latest iteration of the Networked Readiness Index… more
Digicel Business To Deliver HP Helion Managed Private Cloud Services
Regional – Digicel Business revealed a strategic partnership with HP that will see it deliver world class HP Helion Managed Private Cloud services to large enterprise and Government sectors across the region… more
Sunday, 19 April 2015
URCA, Cable Bahamas and BTC to host first ‘International Girls in ICT Day’
Bahamas – The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA), Cable Bahamas and Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) and other sector licensees will facilitate a one-day ‘Girls in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Day’ Forum and Mini-Fair on Thursday, April 23, 2015 at the British Colonial Hilton… more
Telephone company warns of sabotage to its network
Guyana – the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) says there is a deliberate attempt to sabotage its operations after discovering that a 600 pair cable had been vandalized and affecting several hundred customers… more
5th Summit on finance and technology
Haiti – The 5th Summit on Finance and Applied Technology, of Group Croissance SA, will be held for 5 days at the Hotel Karibe from 20 to 24 April… more
Digicel reconnects with 4G customer
Jamaica – Dear Claudienne, I have been a post-paid customer of Digicel’s 4G Internet service since August 2010… more
Sinclair To Head Combined Lime-Flow Jamaican Operations
Jamaica – Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC) has reaffirmed Garfield Sinclair as head of its Jamaican operations, saying he will be responsible for the LIME, Flow and Columbus brands under the merged operations… more
Spectrum Band Sold To LIME
Jamaica – Described as the Rolls Royce of Spectrum, parts of the Frequency Band 1710-2200 MHz have been allocated to Cable and Wireless Jamaica Limited (LIME) to facilitate the roll out of its mobile high-speed broadband network based on long-term evolution (LTE) and HPSA technology… more
Taiwan Finances ICT Project In St Lucia
Saint Lucia – Taiwan is continuing to assist St Lucia with the financing of a major project aimed at expanding access to technology across the country… more
Image credits: Mars Hill Church (flickr); Wikipedia; Wikipedia; Wikipedia; Wikipedia
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