A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 15 February to Sunday 21 February 2016.
Monday, 15 February 2016
Bahamas Gets Hacked!
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) is bringing together bright technology minds, both local and international, to display, discuss, and develop the innovations that enhance modern technology-users’ lives… more
BTC Business/Technology Expo and Hackathon showcases the best of technology and Bahamian talent
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) is bringing together bright technology minds, both local and international, to display, discuss, and develop the innovations that enhance modern technology-users’ lives… more
Plus Television’s On-Air License Will Be Renewed
Belize – On February fourth, Managing Director of Plus Television Louis Wade was informed by the Belize Broadcasting Authority that his payment for the renewal of his on-air license would not be accepted – meaning his license to broadcast would not be renewed… more
Regulators get tough on Internet speeds
Cayman Islands – Internet companies that fail to provide customers with the speed of service they are paying for could be investigated by regulators… more
Digicel Play surprises its 10,000th customer
Jamaica – Digicel Play surprised its 10,000th customer, Lucet Montgomery, at her home with free service for 90 days, a 55-inch LED LG smart TV and two Samsung Galaxy tablets, among other goodies… more
PNP Defends Record In Technology
Jamaica – State minister in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Julian Robinson has charged that foreigners are seeing more opportunities in Jamaica than locals despite the fact that the same incentives for starting businesses in the island are offered to everyone… more
CWC reports US$595 million revenue for 3 months, to December 31.
Regional – Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) is reporting consolidated revenue of US$595 million for the three months ended December 31… more
Tuesday, 16 February 2016
Major telecom outage hits Cayman
Cayman Islands – Telecom and internet users across the Cayman Islands were hit with service outages this afternoon and evening (Tuesday 15 February.) … more
Telecoms industry under pressure to shape up
Cayman Islands – The Information & Communications Technology Authority has announced that it will be prioritizing quality of service standards in the local telecoms sector, specifically ensuring that broadband customers get what they pay for, as well as improving access and competition for everyone living in the Cayman Islands, regardless of the district… more
Computer centre of great benefit to Kalinago Territory
Dominica – A computer Centre, established in the Salybia Constituency in October 2015, is reportedly of great benefit to the people of that constituency… more
Telecommunication liberalization key to Guyana’s development – US Ambassador
Guyana – United States Ambassador to Guyana, Perry Holloway, has said that the Government of Guyana will do well to move swiftly towards liberalizing the telecommunications sector. Such liberalization, he feels, is crucial to the country’s development… more
Social Media Being Poorly Used In Political Campaign
Jamaica – While there are no official studies that track the use of social media in political campaigns in Jamaica, consultant psychologist Dr Leahcim Semaj is less than impressed with how it is being used in the ongoing election campaign… more
CANTO/IDB BIIPAC Workshop Climaxes with Establishment of Public Policy Recommendations
Regional – CANTO’s 32nd Annual General Meeting climaxed with a two (2) day workshop on the IDB financed Broadband Infrastructure Inventory and Public Awareness in the Caribbean (BIIPAC) Project Workshop Component 4… more
Wednesday, 17 February 2016
Bahamas public and private sector collaborate to draft a National Policy Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation
Bahamas – Earlier this month, The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology hosted a workshop where members from both the public and private sector began discussions on the planning of a national policy paper on science, technology and innovation… more
ICTA to tackle network weaknesses
Cayman Islands – he managing director of the telecoms regulator has revealed that his agency will be forming a working group to tackle weaknesses in the local telecommunications network after a lightning strike in Miami on Tuesday had a serious impact on local phones and internet… more
Lightning knocks out Internet
Cayman Islands – A lightning strike along one of the submarine cables that connects Cayman’s Internet to the rest of the world knocked out Internet service for many on Grand Cayman Tuesday evening… more
Lightning strike in US disrupts local telecoms
Cayman Islands – A telecommunications outage on Tuesday evening impacted a number of different communication firms as operator services struggled to connect to other providers… more
Private sector disappointed over lack of telecoms reform legislation
Guyana – The Private Sector Commission (PSC) today said that it is disappointed that the APNU+AFC government’s proposed legislation to liberalise the telecommunications sector is yet to be laid in parliament… more
#DecisionJa2016: JLP outlines 10-point plan for ICT sector
Jamaica – Jamaica Labour Party spokesman on Science, ICT & Digital Society Development, Dr Andrew Wheatley, today outlined the party’s10-point plan for the development of the information and communications technology (ICT) sector… more
C&W Business Awarded 2015 Mid-Market Partner of the Year by Avaya
Regional – C&W Business, part of Cable & Wireless Communications, Plc (LSE: CWC), today announces it has been recognized by Avaya, a global leader in business communications software, systems and services, as the 2015 Mid-Market Partner of the Year Americas International… more
Cable and Wireless Lands More Broadcasting Rights
Regional – Cable and Wireless Communications Plc (C&W) continues to demonstrate its commitment to give more to Caribbean sports fans as its consumer brand Flow announced today that it has been awarded the exclusive broadcast rights for two upcoming global cricket tournaments… more
Open letter to the CEO of Cable and Wireless / LIME
Regional – Dear Sir: Cable and Wireless / LIME has been the major telecommunications provider in the Caribbean for decades… more
Trinidad to host high-level Caribbean technology forum
Regional – Senior Caribbean government officials will meet here on Thursday to explore new mechanisms for facilitating comprehensive regional approaches for the planning and execution of information and communications technology (ICT) projects to foster development in the region… more
Flow offers debt forgiveness to customers
Saint Lucia – Flow has introduced a Debt Forgiveness Initiative that allows customers with unpaid bills to get up to 80% of their debt wiped clean! … more
TATT implementing number portability
Trinidad and Tobago – THE Telecommunications Authority (TATT) is moving to implement number portability for mobile phones from March 31, and from the end of September for landlines… more
Trinidad & Tobago to launch mobile and fixed line porting
Trinidad and Tobago – Trinidad & Tobago telecoms regulator TATT has announced an agreement with Dutch firm PortingXS to implement mobile and fixed number portability in the twin island country by 31 March… more
Thursday, 18 February 2016
GATE out … ABCDE in
Antigua and Barbuda – Recently, the government’s Chief of Staff, Lionel “Max” Hurst disclosed that the government will be introducing the first phase of an electronic textbook system within the next school year… more
Cable Bahamas aiming for 42% share of mobile market
Bahamas – Cable Bahamas Limited (CBL), the company that last year won the tender for the Bahamas’ second mobile licence, is targeting a 42 percent market share within three years, according to a document seen by local daily Tribune… more
Union Asks For Cellular Licence To Be Reconsidered
Bahamas – THE executive board of the National Congress of Trade Unions of the Bahamas has asked the government to “look for a viable alternative” to Cable Bahamas Limited with respect to the country’s second cellular licence… more
Barbados Digicel invests US $ 42 million in FTTH deployment
Barbados – Digicel Barbados (Digicel Group) invested 84 million Barbados dollars (42 million dollars) in the deployment of a fiber optic network to the home (FTTH, for its acronym in English) of 1,000 kilometers… more
Digicel comes out to Play
Barbados – COMMUNICATIONS company Digicel is giving thousands of Barbadian households access to a range of primary communications services with investment in an $84 million fibre optic network being installed across the island… more
Social media attacks ‘spiralling out of control’
Barbados – Government Senator David Durant wants legislation introduced to protect citizens from defamation on social media… more
Are B.T.L. Employees Dissatisfied with Executive Chairman Anwar Barrow?
Belize – There is trouble brewing at the government owned Belize Telemedia Limited… more
Consultant training teachers to use Interactive board
British Virgin Islands – More than twenty teachers and education officers are undergoing a springboard Promethean Master Educator Training as the Ministry of Education and Culture works to implement information and communication technology throughout the education system… more
ICTA to update 911 system
Cayman Islands – The Information & Communications Technology Authority (ICTA) announced the Cayman Islands’ outdated 911 system will be getting a twenty-first century upgrade. A Request For Proposals (RFP) on the project is expected to go out soon… more
Lightning strike cuts Cayman’s communication
Cayman Islands – Telecom and internet users across the Cayman Islands were hit with extensive service outages on Tuesday, 15 February lasting several hours… more
Phone and Internet outage worries telecoms regulator
Cayman Islands – Tuesday’s phone and Internet outage, caused by a lightning strike that affected an underwater cable connecting Cayman to the digital world, has regulators with the Information and Communications Technology Authority worried about the country’s telecom infrastructure… more
JLP presents 10-point plan for ICT sector
Jamaica – JAMAICA Labour Party spokesman on science, ICT & digital society development, Dr Andrew Wheatley, yesterday outlined the party’s 10-point plan for the development of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector and Jamaica’s transformation into a “truly digital society”… more
Silicon Valley, Google execs coming for Mona Computing Society launch
Jamaica – TECH students of the Mona Computing Society (MCS) at the University of the West Indies (UWI) are getting ready to stage a coup by bringing executives of Silicon Valley and Google to the highly anticipated launch of their version of Google’s international ‘Summer of Code’ programme here… more
E-Government portal launched, all SKN information can be found online
Saint Kitts and Nevis – A new public-private sector partnership has seen the launch of the Unity administration’s E-Governance project, which allows persons worldwide to access government information, forms and other data online… more
Government Upbeat About The Launch ICT Governance Board And Official Website of St. Kitts And Nevis
Saint Kitts and Nevis – Attorney General and Minister of Communications, Honourable Vincent Byron Jr, says he is very excited about the launch of the ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) Governance Board, and the Official Website of St. Kitts and Nevis, which promises to be one of the best models of e-Government not only in the Caribbean but in the world… more
Laptop program on course as new shipment arrives in St. Lucia
Saint Lucia – Over the past four years, the Government of Saint Lucia has made a concerted effort to enable universal access to computers… more
Digicel begins implementation of ‘Play’
Trinidad and Tobago – A DECADE ago telecommunications company Digicel entered the Trinidad and Tobago mobile phone market, bringing competition and breaking up a pre-existing monopoly… more
Prepare your business for generation Z
Trinidad and Tobago – The following is part two of an article on preparing your business for the next generation – so called Generation Z. The first part was published on February 4, 2016… more
Friday, 19 February 2016
BTC CEO suggests action looms on WhatsApp
Bahamas – In the face of projected revenue losses of $10 million this year due to the popular messaging platform WhatsApp, Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) CEO Leon Williams said yesterday the company has to explore ways to boost its mobile earnings, including possibly taking “disruptive” measures… more
Cable Gains 16,600 Us Clients Post-Deal
Bahamas – Cable Bahamas’ US business has added 16,600 new residential customers in the two years post-acquisition, and will provide the BISX-listed provider with combined revenue growth of more than 20 per cent over the next five years… more
C&W offices plan
Barbados – MORE THAN A YEAR after being put up for sale, the BET building is still without a buyer and its value has fallen by a “substantial” $7.3 million… more
Growing shift towards digital
Barbados – Businesses that ignore the explosion of digital media do so at their peril… more
CARICOM Secretary General hands over computer equipment for use by visually impaired persons
Belize – he Secretary General of the Caribbean Community Secretariat Ambassador Irwin LaRocque visited the Belize National Library Service on Thursday, February 11th, 2016 to officially unveil software, donated by the CARICOM Secretariat, for the visually-impaired… more
EDITORIAL – The utility of Cayman’s new utilities commission
Cayman Islands – Pound for pound, it could become the busiest public office in the Cayman Islands… more
ICTA concerned about telecommunications resilience
Cayman Islands – The Information & Communications Technology Authority (ICTA) expressed its concerns about the resilience of Cayman’s telecommunications infrastructure on Wednesday, 17 February… more
Dominican Republic plans cyber security strategy
Dominican Republic – The Dominican Telecommunications Institute (Indotel) and the Organization of American States (OAS) have signed an agreement for the creation of a national cyber security strategy in the Dominican Republic and a Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT)… more
Dominican Telecomm readies response to cyber attacks
Dominican Republic – Dominican Telecomm Institute (Indotel) president Gideon Santos on Thursday said the Dominican Republic will implement a National Cybersecurity Strategy, with technical support from the Organization of American States (OAS)… more
Digicel Is Out Of Order
Jamaica – Digicel had managed to go as far (how much further?) as to make me wonder if I can still contact those people I need to contact when I need to contact them by phone… more
Euronews strengthens Caribbean presence through Digicel Play
Regional – Increasing its presence across the Caribbean region, Euronews has reached an agreement with Digicel Play to launch in Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago… more
E-Government Portal Officially Launched
Saint Kitts and Nevis – On Thursday morning, the Government of St. Kitts-Nevis officially launched the Information and Communication Technologies Governance Board, and the official website of St. Kitts and Nevis… more
FLOW St. Kitts & Nevis Service Interruption
Saint Kitts and Nevis – FLOW is upgrading its Broadband network in the Half Moon Heights area on Sunday February 21st, 2016… more
New ICT Governance Board Members Pleased With Public-Private Partnership
Saint Kitts and Nevis – During the launch of the Information and Communication Technologies Governance Board, government officials and the members of the new ICT Governance Board addressed and explained the process of this new policy… more
SKN launches e-Gov website and announces new ICT Board
Saint Kitts and Nevis – The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis (SKN) launched its e-Gov website on Thursday, 18 of February 2016, introducing the Unity Government’s first phase of a nation building platform that is “…a way in which we can deliver on the promises we made,” asserts the Attorney General (AG) Vincent Byron of SKN (in a recent interview)… more
Postpaid customers enjoy free talk on Sundays with Digicel
Saint Lucia – Digicel continues to deliver the best service, best network and best value to customers with another innovative offer to Postpaid customers… more
Number portability comes to T&T
Trinidad and Tobago – Mobile and fixed line telephone operators in T&T have signed an agreement Porting XS for provision of service provider number portability. This means customers to change their service providers without having to change their telephone numbers… more
Saturday, 20 February 2016
Digicel deploys NFV technology to the core network
Regional – Caribbean telecom network operator Digicel has deployed a network functions virtualization (NFV) solution to the core network… more
Cable TV competition heats up
Trinidad and Tobago – The economy is in turmoil because of its relationship with the energy sector… more
Sunday, 21 February 2016
GTT’s monopoly has crippled Guyana’s economic development – Digicel CEO
Guyana – It has been widely acknowledged that Guyana’s ICT sector holds great potential for becoming a strong economic driver. But top players in the sector contend that in order for this to be realized, certain key things must be done… more
Image credits: filipe ferreira (flickr); Wikipedia; Wikipedia; Wikipedia; Wikipedia; Wikipedia
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