A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 4 July to Sunday 10 July 2016.
Monday, 4 July 2016
SERVICES MUST BE ACCESSIBLE ONLINE
Barbados – Delivering the recent lunchtime lecture at the Democratic Labour Party’s headquarters, Senator Andre Worrell stated that e-technology must be embraced to increase efficiency in several public sector departments… more
COLA Remains on the B.T.L./S.S.B. Offensive
Belize – Last Wednesday, Prime Minister Barrow held a press conference to explain the Belize Telemedia Limited arbitration award, as well as government’s interest in selling its shares of B.T.L. and Belize Electricity Limited to the Social Security Board… more
Patrick Rogers Says Nationalization of B.T.L. was Grossly Mishandled
Belize – According to Rogers, the final cost of acquiring B.T.L. is considerably more than what the previous government had agreed to when it signed on to an accommodation agreement with the company’s previous owners… more
Dominican launches new online booking website
Dominica – Dominican, Clive Stewart has launched a new booking website. This site, Dominica Housing, will serve as the central online portal for accommodation service providers to market their product and travellers to find comfort when searching for vacation homes in Dominica… more
Digicel, Facebook launch “Free Basics” in Jamaica
Regional – Digicel Jamaica has partnered with Facebook to launch the “Free Basics” platform on the island with a view to reducing the country’s digital divide… more
Digicel Play inks deal with Flow Sports
Regional – Sports fans are in for a treat with the news that Flow Sports will be joining Digicel Play’s awesome line-up of content from 1st August… more
Marketing Strategies Today: Pay attention to Quora to brand yourself
Regional – Have you ever thought about using Quora for marketing purposes? … more
Massive Nude Photo Leak Raises Issue Of Online Protection Laws In Trinidad And Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago – Trinidad and Tobago has found itself in embroiled in a scandal involving hundreds of nude photos of young Trinidadian women and girls being circulated online and through mobile apps… more
Tuesday, 5 July 2016
EDITORIAL: SET BETTER SOCIAL MEDIA EXAMPLES
Barbados – Social media, like any instrument, has its advantages and disadvantages… more
KNOWLEDGE SHARING IS IMPORTANT
Barbados – THE E-Government Master Plan currently being formulated for this country is nearing completion… more
ATN closes acquisition of Caribbean telecom assets
British Virgin Islands – Atlantic Tele-Network (ATN) has completed the acquisition of Caribbean Asset Holdings, the holding company for the Innovative group, which provides cable TV, broadband and wireline services primarily in the US Virgin Islands (USVI)… more
Digicel connects customers with prepaid plans
Jamaica – Digicel is kicking off the summer in a big way by making it possible for customers in the US, UK and Canada to send International prepaid plans to their families in Jamaica who are also Digicel customers… more
Technology Minister Reaffirms Commitment to Cybersecurity
Jamaica – Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Dr. the Hon. Andrew Wheatley, has reaffirmed Government’s commitment to strengthen its cybersecurity capacity to protect sensitive information held on public-sector information technology (IT) platforms… more
Digicel selects Agama for Video Service Assurance in Jamaica
Regional – Jamaican operator Digicel has selected Agama to provide its end-to-end DTV monitoring solution… more
Wednesday, 6 July 2016
Digital world clouding judgement
Barbados – OVER THE LAST FEW WEEK of quitet reflection, I have listened, I have observed and I have mulled over the chnging face of our society… more
BTL Could Benefit From Smart’s CCJ Case
Belize – So, while that brings some kind of end to the current round of BTL litigation, we also asked him about ongoing case over the other telecoms provider, Speednet… more
Eamon Courtenay Chides G.O.B. Over B.T.L. Settlement
Belize – On July twelfth, ten working days after the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration was handed down, G.O.B. will need to make a payment of about one hundred and ninety-five million dollars to the Ashcroft Group… more
From the Publisher
Belize – As we view the wreckage of the Belizean economy in the wake of the recent, devastating Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) financial judgments, our major party politicians have been pointing fingers at each other. Belize just held general elections eight months ago, and our voters returned the United Democratic Party (UDP) to office for a third consecutive term… more
PM Settled with Ashcroft Instead of Waiting for the CCJ to Rule
Belize – As you may or may not know, Prime Minister Dean Barrow did not wait for the final ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice when it comes to the Belize Telemedia Arbitration Award matter… more
Smart Awaits CCJ Decision on B.T.L. Case
Belize – Eamon Courtenay is also the attorney for Smart, currently waiting for a judgment in a case against the Public Utilities Commission at the Caribbean Court of Justice. It involves the payment of fees for what is called a point to point link… more
New copyright rules outlaw bootleg DVDs
Cayman Islands – Bootleg DVDs are a common business in Cayman, with entire stores dedicated to copying and selling movies… more
Digicel Addressing Customer Complaints
Jamaica – THE EDITOR, Sir: I write in response to the letters titled ‘Digicel not delivering on cable, Internet deals’ and ‘Digicel: all work and no Play’, which were published in the People’s Report of The Gleaner on Saturday, July 2, 2016… more
Jamaica Stock Exchange Launches Mobile App, Aims To Triple Market Investors
Jamaica – The Jamaica Stock Exchange’s (JSE) mobile application is now up and running… more
Q&A: QualityWorks CEO Envisions Jamaica as “The New Silicon Island”
Jamaica – Jamaica is well-known for its capabilities in BPO, with around 17,000 people on the island currently employed in the industry… more
Letter: The Cyber Crime Bill
Regional – Dear Sir: This letter is the kind of thing they want to gag with this legislation… more
Thursday, 7 July 2016
Cable Bahamas warns of e-mail scam targeting CoralWave users
Bahamas – Cable Bahamas advised today that it has been informed of an e-mail that is currently being distributed that falsely appears to be originating from the company and is targeting users of the company’s CoralWave e-mail service… more
CWC Veteran to Speak at BTC Business Expo
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company Limited, (BTC) will host a Business Expo on July 14th at British Colonial Hilton… more
BTL’s LTE system on track to finish in December
Belize – The new fiber-optic LTE system which Belize Telemedia’s (BTL) mobile service is getting connected to is on track to finish in December; while the first of its fiber-optic cable system is set to be introduced by the end of August… more
Dancing with the devil
Belize – The People’s United Party took over the reins of Belizean Government administration in 1998… more
CYBER SECURITY TALKS TODAY
Saint Lucia – THE Saint Lucia Coalition of Service Industries (SLCSI), in collaboration with the Saint Lucia Information Communication Technology (ICT) Association, will be hosting a capacity building exercise on Cyber Security for ICT professionals and users of ICT… more
VG promised better service as FLOW signs deal with BVIEC
British Virgin Islands – FLOW said its customers in Virgin Gorda and the other sister islands can look forward to improved services in the coming months, with the inking of an ‘important agreement’ between itself and the BVI Electricity Corporation (BVIEC)… more
Friday, 8 July 2016
Special needs children to benefit from tablets
Barbados – THE CHILDREN’S Charity was presented with six Samsung Glaxy Tab 4 tablets today, thanks to The Toni Thorne Show and C&W Business… more
The Story Behind the Trust in the BTL Arbitration
Belize – Last week at a press conference hosted by the Prime Minister, Dean Barrow, he spoke of the final payments required to wrap up the nationalization saga of Belize Telemedia Limited… more
Will S.S.B. Be Used to Finance B.T.L. Arbitration Award Payout?
Belize – Tonight, there are indications that government is scurrying to come up with the first payment to the Ashcroft Group of Companies, due Tuesday… more
Cayman Takes Major Step In IP Reform With New Copyright Law Now In Force
Cayman Islands – The copyright laws in the Cayman Islands, until very recently, have stemmed from the Copyright (Cayman Islands) Order 1965 (the 1965 Order). The 1965 Order extended certain provisions of the UK Copyright Act 1956 to the Cayman Islands… more
Largest Dominican telecom reports network outage
Dominican Republic – Dominican Republic’s largest telecom Claro on Friday reported a network outage during several hours, preventing customers from making or receiving calls… more
Digicel Play announces agreement with ESPN to add ESPN Play to its offerings
Regional – Digicel Play announced today, an agreement with ESPN, which will see its customers enjoying seamless and even greater access to all their favourite sporting games on their mobile devices… more
Small Receives E-Pan From Flow
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Local pannist Rodney Small has upped his game, becoming the first pan man here, with the help of telecommunications provider FLOW, to procure one of the latest inventions, the electric steel pan or ‘e-pan’… more
Saturday, 9 July 2016
URCA grants Cellular licenses to NewCo 2015 Limited
Bahamas – In early June 2016, the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) received notification from the Minister that it should proceed with the licensing of a new cellular mobile network operator and service provider, NewCo2015 Limited (NewCo)… more
In a strange twist, Ashcroft attorney blasts Barrow for BTL settlement
Belize – he half-a-billion-dollar tab which Belizeans will have to pick up after an arbitration award handed down last week against the Government of Belize, and in favor of a group of companies controlled by British billionaire Michael Ashcroft, has sparked much public discourse and debate and this morning, one of Ashcroft’s leading attorneys in Belize—Eamon Courtenay, SC—unexpectedly added his voice to those who have castigated the Government for, as he put it, giving Ashcroft exactly what he had asked for… more
SSB reportedly not buying BTL shares
Belize – The Social Security Board (SSB) is reportedly not going to purchase $55 million in Belize Telemedia Ltd. (BTL) shares as had been previously decided… more
Guyana, GTT provide Free Basic 4G with Sandvine
Guyana – Sandvine has announced that it is enabling an initiative by the Government of Guyana and GTT to provide Guyanese subscribers with access to essential websites at no cost… more
Guyana tech company set to unveil the world’s newest antivirus software
Guyana – In less than a week, a Guyana-based software development company will be officially launching the world’s newest antivirus software, in addition to a professional PC cleaning tool, and a spyware removal tool… more
NICIL should probe Jagdeo’s sale of lucrative GTT shares
Guyana – Which investor in the world would make an investment and not receive a return on that investment for 17 years? Where is the Guyana Revenue Authority on this? … more
Digicel IPTV goes with Flow in Caribbean
Regional – From 1 August, sports fans will get access to the Olympics network in the region and a channel that hold rights on the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Bundesliga… more
Digicel Rewards Schools In Website Contest
Saint Lucia – DIGICEL continues to partner with national agencies and organizations in the promotion and development of ICT initiatives across the island… more
T&T improves in technology readiness
Trinidad and Tobago – This country has moved up three notches from 70 to 67 in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2016 Global Information and Technology Report… more
Sunday, 10 July 2016
JPS to pilot smart homes in MoBay
Jamaica – As part of its ongoing thrust to revolutionise energy savings with the use of technology, the Jamaica Public Service Company Ltd (JPS) will be introducing smart homes to its customers and Montego Bay has been chosen to accommodate the pilot project towards the end of this year… more
Scotiabank recognized for Best Digital Strategy
Regional – Scotiabank has been recognized by Retail Banker International as the Global Bank with the Best Digital Strategy for 2016. This is the first time Scotiabank has received this recognition… more
Image credits: Wikipedia; NS Newsflash (flickr); Belize Web; Wikipedia; Wikipedia
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