A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 6 July to Sunday 12 July 2015.
Monday, 6 July 2015
Wireless company offers “next-generation technologies”
Dominica – You could call them the newest, but independent, kid on the block when it comes to the Internet and communications sector… more
Garth Rattray: Stiffer Cable Theft Penalties Needed
Jamaica – With all the rules, regulations and monitoring going on in the scrap metal industry, there continues to be equipment and property theft… more
LIME Foundation, USF making The Link in St Mary
Jamaica – A partnership between LIME Foundation and Universal Access Fund (USF) to bring Internet to more people, deepened its reach into St Mary recently with the upgrading and refurbishing of the cyber centre – now known as ‘The Link’ which was established in 2007 as the foundation’s sixth of its kind across Jamaica… more
Simple Facts About Jamaican Local Number Portability
Jamaica – As hundreds of Jamaicans take the opportunity to port their telephone numbers since the launch of Local Number Portability on June 22, 2015, telecommunications service providers and the Office of Utilities Regulation are fielding questions from consumers. Below are some of the answers to those burning questions… more
PHOTO: LIME pulls hundreds
Jamaica – TELECOMMUNICATIONS company LIME says hundreds of people responded to its ‘sweet deals’ over the weekend, making the switch from another provider, while others signed up as new customers… more
CNMC hosts regulators from Europe, Latin America
Regional – A number of Latin American communications regulators participated in a joint conference with the EU regulatory body Berec to share experiences and best practices 02-03 July… more
ECTEL: Liberalization of Telcoms Sector has positive impact on OECS
Regional – The liberalization of the telecommunications sector has had a positive impact on the OECS sub-region, according to the official who heads ECTEL – the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority… more
Pre-trial detention of blogger Judith Roumou suspended.
Sint Maarten – The 40-year-old woman, J.R., who is suspected of harassment (stalking), amongst other crimes, is released from her pre-trial detention today, July 6, 2015… more
Tuesday, 7 July 2015
By launching in Jamaica, this international bill-pay service expects lots of business in Brooklyn
Jamaica – Regalii is making it easier for people to pay their family’s bills in real-time back home… more
Huawei’s plan for smart learning
Trinidad and Tobago – Pedro Gomez Miranda, Huawei’s Enterprise Chief Technology Officer for the Northern Latin American region, had set himself an uphill task… more
Wednesday, 8 July 2015
Wireless Internet launched in Cuba
Cuba – When United States President Barack Obama announced in December that the US would resume diplomatic talks with Cuba for the first time in decades, some Caribbean tourism stakeholders worried that an economic relationship between the two countries could take away business from other economies in the region… more
Numerous ‘no good’ OLPF laptops; project to be reviewed- Harmon
Guyana – Government believes that the notebooks provided for nationwide distribution under the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) project were of poor quality and there appears to be no linkage between the mini-computers and Internet access… more
District Constable charged for giving inmate cell phone
Jamaica – The police charged one of their colleagues on Monday with an alleged Breach of the Corrections Act… more
Don’t let hackers get the better of you
Jamaica – DID you know that more than 200 Jamaican websites have been hacked over the past 10 years? … more
Thursday, 9 July 2015
Scheduled Maintenance, FLOW – Thursday, July 9th & Saturday, July 11th
Barbados – “Please be advised that scheduled maintenance to FLOW’s Voice Network will be conducted on Thursday 9th July between the hours of 12:00a.m. – 6:00a.m. and on Saturday 11th July between the hours of 12:00a.m. – 12:00p.m… more
Free data weekend a hit with customers
Cayman Islands – LIME kicked off big last weekend with their “Big Your Life” summer promotion when they offered all prepaid mobile customers’ free data for the whole weekend starting on Friday at midnight and finishing midnight on Sunday… more
Review starts on multi-billion-dollar OLPF project… Govt. inspection unearths large quantity of unserviceable laptops
Guyana – Government has started a review of its One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) project, yesterday, disclosing that an inspection found a large number of unserviceable and defective ones at the Queenstown Office… more
MoBay businessman, co-accused allegedly defraud Digicel
Jamaica – A Montego Bay businessman implicated in defrauding telecoms operator Digicel of over US$70,000 was yesterday remanded in custody, while his co-accused, a computer technician had his bail extended when they appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court… more
Caribbean countries move closer to joint management of radio frequencies
Regional – Countries of the eastern Caribbean are working together to promote more efficient use of their wireless communications frequencies, for greater social good… more
Snapshot: Update Of Actual Internet Download Speeds From Across The Caribbean, June 2015
Regional – An update of actual Internet download speeds in 28 Caribbean countries and a comparison of results recorded in March 2015… more
The need to unlock technology’s potential without the pitfalls
Trinidad and Tobago – DR Cynthia Archer-Gift, Dr Feleta L. Wilson and Dr Umeika Stephens, three Assistant Professors at the College of Nursing, Wayne State University in Michigan, USA were among the presenters at the recent 7th Quadrennial Health Conference held in June 2015 at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre and explored the topic of cyberbullying… more
Friday, 10 July 2015
Cable & Wireless Obtains TV Licence in Anguilla
Anguilla – Cable and Wireless Communications (C&W) which now operates Flow, the Caribbean’s leading communications service provider, today announced that it has secured the broadcast licence to operate TV service in Anguilla… more
Court Green-Lights Contractor To Appeal Judgment Favouring Digicel
Jamaica – The Court of Appeal has refused to strike out a challenge against a Supreme Court judgment in favour of Digicel Jamaica in a claim brought by electrical engineering contractor Thomas Hamilton and Associates against the telecommunications provider… more
Digicel calls the cops over alleged fraud
Jamaica – Denis O’Brien’s Digicel may be gearing up for a near $10 billion flotation to finance its rollout of fibre fixed-line services, but that isn’t preventing it from baring its teeth at what it alleges are illegal threats to its mobile revenues… more
Digicel reports success with LNP
Jamaica – Telecommunications forerunner, Digicel, today announced that more than 3,000 customers have ported to its network since the launch of Local Number Portability on June 22… more
Jamaica: LIME looks to Gov’t as cable theft soars to $80M
Jamaica – Telecommunications giant LIME is seeking more government intervention in the vandalism of its cable infrastructure as damage soars to $80 million since the start of the year… more
JPS mulls providing limited telecom services
Jamaica – Power provider, Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) intends to provide telecom services in some shape or form following its granting of three telecom licences… more
It would seem that creating a meme is pretty easy
Regional – Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll be familiar with the phenomenon that is the Internet meme… more
LIME+Flow Needs More Investigation
Regional – The merger involving Cable and Wireless (C&W)/LIME and Columbus Communications Ltd/FLOW warrants further investigation… more
Rise of the maker movement
Regional – For those who have always had an urge to create, there has never been a more empowering time than the present… more
Rusty Software
Saint Lucia – WE are living in interesting times. It is the rainy season, but we are living in a drought. Despite the rains, the water pipes are dry… more
Saturday, 11 July 2015
Lightning Strikes Twice For Digicel Customer
Saint Kitts and Nevis – Customer Service Representative, Kahlid Browne, was determined to win Digicel’s Text to Win Game for the month of June 2015… more
Sunday, 12 July 2015
Cloud is key to recovery
Barbados – BUSINESSES THAT WANT to remain relevant have to use cloud services and this is especially important when it comes to disaster recovery services that help ensure business continuity… more
From humble Cambridge start to big boy at LIME/Flow
Jamaica – RONNIE Burchell Thompson had the ambition to make it big in life one day, although he might have been pleasantly surprised that he moved so far up the ladder in one of the region’s largest companies… more
JPS plans on offering limited telecoms services
Jamaica – POWER provider, the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS), plans to provide telecom services in some shape or form following its granting of three telecom licences… more
New business channel scheduled to start broadcasting today
Jamaica – Business Access Television (BATV), headed by Garth Walker, CEO of Wealth Magazine is scheduled to start broadcasting via Flow today… more
No Plans To Enter Telecoms Market Yet – Jamaica Public Service
Jamaica – The Jamaica Public Service (JPS) said it has been granted telecommunications licences and has the requisite infrastructure to venture into the sector if it so desires, but has no concrete plans to enter the market at this time… more
Image credits: (Mick Baker)rooster (flickr); Wikipedia; Marketing Magazine; Wikipedia
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