A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 2 October to Sunday 8 October 2017.
Monday, 2 October 2017
BTVI top in regional IT certification exams
Bahamas – The Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institution (BTVI) was recently recognized as the single largest consumer of Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) exams in the Caribbean and Latin America, in addition to obtaining the highest results of over 40 testing centres… more
Bitt partners with United Caribbean Trust to help hurricane ravaged islands & kickstarts effort with $60K USD donation
Regional – Bitt Inc and the United Caribbean Trust (UCT) are making it possible for donations to be made in bitcoin, as part of a global effort to bring additional relief to Caribbean islands ravaged during the 2017 hurricane season… more
Flow launches 4G service in Saint Kitts & Nevis
Regional – Flow Saint Kitts & Nevis, a subsidiary of Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), has officially launched its 4G LTE service in the Caribbean territory… more
Online platforms launched to promote regional trade
Regional – Four new online platforms aimed at promoting trade and improving the ease of doing business have been launched, giving a boost to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) development of a Single Market and Economy… more
OVERSTOCK CEO: BE THE FIRST MOVERS IN BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY
Regional – “IF we in the Caribbean are to be competitive, relevant and even revolutionary, we must embrace Blockchain technology… more
ICT Summit opens in Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago – THE Tobago Information Communication Technology Summit (ICT) provided an opportunity for attendees to meet and engage key stakeholders within the ICT sector… more
UNC condemns TSTT job cuts
Trinidad and Tobago – The United National Congress (UNC) has condemned a decision by the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) to immediately dismiss 100 workers by October… more
Tuesday, 3 October 2017
OfReg rules for video broadcast, WiFi licensing proposed
Cayman Islands – Draft proposals to regulate information, communications and technology services in Cayman seek to exempt certain uses of wireless internet signals and internet streaming services from licensing requirements… more
CANTO supports CDEMA in Hurricane Irma-ravaged countries
Regional– Statement from the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organization… more
Why Bitcoin Will Not Solve the Caribbean’s Financial Inclusion Woes
Regional – There’s a deluge of hype around Bitcoin and blockchain technologies right now, and policymakers and regulators in the Caribbean are doing their best to wrap their heads around the advantages and disadvantages of this virtual currency… more
St. Kitts launches new website
Saint Kitts and Nevis – St. Kitts announced the launch of its brand new official website… more
Businesses Without Digital Marketing Losing out on Growing Opportunities
Saint Lucia – Thousands of businesses are losing out on growth opportunities due to the absence of a vital marketing tool needed for added visibility and sales – digital marketing… more
Grow Your Business with SM Management
Saint Lucia – The Saint Lucia Youth Business Trust, in conjunction with the Saint Lucia Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture is offering micro, small and medium sized enterprises a social media management course, another initiative of the ‘Mind Your Business’ Development Series… more
Business Ministry looks to create electronic window for trade
Trinidad and Tobago – Many foreign companies with oil and gas experience are showing an interest in doing business in Guyana and are making moves to strengthen their presence, said Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin… more
Wednesday, 4 October 2017
DESTINATION EXPERIENCE VISIONARIES SUMMIT LAUNCHES THIS WEEK
Barbados – The Destination Experience Visionaries Summit launches in Barbados this Thursday… more
Digicel makes back-to-school easier for some
Barbados – With the new school term already into the fourth week, a number of students, who had difficulties starting their classes, are getting much-needed assistance thanks to Digicel Barbados… more
Digicel brings connectivity to Anegada
British Virgin Islands – Digicel customers in the Anegada community can now connect to the people and things they love with a satellite internet solution that has been installed at the Anegada Health Clinic… more
Following Hurricane Maria Destruction, Dominica BPO Starts Getting Back to Business
Dominica – Never before have Caribbean BPO companies and their people been threatened by such relentless destruction… more
Flow Takes OUR To Court
Jamaica – Cable & Wireless Jamaica Limited, which trades as Flow, has filed an application in the Supreme Court seeking to bar the Office of Utilities Regulation, the OUR, from implementing cuts to termination rates for fixed line calls… more
Jamaica Breaks Ground on 58HWT Technology Park
Jamaica – Jamaica has broken ground on the 58HWT technology park, further accommodating the expansion of its business process outsourcing (BPO) industry… more
Thursday, 5 October 2017
No charge for service not used during hurricane disruption
British Virgin Islands – Telecom company CCT has announced that it will not charge customers for the period they were without service as a result of Hurricane Irma, adding that the relief credits will be reflected on the September bills… more
NO MORE BILLS – Cable company formally signs off
British Virgin Islands – Knocked out of operation by relatively powerful winds associated with Hurricane Irma on September 6, BVI Cable TV today gave the clearest indication of continued losses when it announced the suspension of all bills… more
No payout for workers laid off – Cable TV
British Virgin Islands – Amid a number of job cuts in light of hurricanes Irma and Maria, BVI Cable TV said none of the workers who were laid off received payouts… more
International experts to gather in Guyana for Internet Week 2017
Guyana – Internet and ICT experts from around the world will gather in Georgetown next week to participate in the annual high-level Technology Conference to mark International Internet Week 2017… more
Internet Week Guyana to kick off with ICT Awareness Day
Guyana – In the Caribbean, our growing inventory of web-connected gadgets is constantly changing the way that we do routine business transactions and access critical services. It is also raising interesting questions about how we can get more from information and communications technology, or ICT, while staying safe online… more
Digitally Transforming Cadastre in Jamaica
Jamaica – Prior to the year 2000, less than half of the parcels in Jamaica were formally registered, and even the simplest of land transactions took weeks to complete… more
October is Cyber Security Awareness Month
Jamaica – Jamaica will join the international community in observing Cyber Security Awareness Month in October… more
OAS partners with Amazon to improve Caribbean digital security
Regional – The Organisation of American States (OAS) says it will collaborate with Amazon Web Services, a subsidiary of the US company Amazon, to support the countries of the Americas, including the Caribbean, strengthen their cyber response capacity and improve their regulatory frameworks on issues related to digital security… more
Boards need digital upskilling: Fast
Trinidad and Tobago – Cybersecurity is an issue of mounting importance. More and more companies find themselves at the mercy of unscrupulous individuals and organisations that use digital wizardry to wreak havoc on businesses ill-equipped to cope… more
Cybercrime prevalent in TT
Trinidad and Tobago – Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) ‘skimming’, business e-mail compromise, financial phishing scams, ransom ware attacks and online character assassinations are the most prevalent forms of cybercrime in TT… more
Friday, 6 October 2017
PM wants cheaper and better ICT service
Antigua and Barbuda – Prime Minister Gaston Brown has urged the telecommunication heads of the region to find new ways to meet the demands of modern ICT consumers… more
BTC To Further Grow Franchise Network
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) will continue to expand and strengthening its franchise store network, a senior executive yesterday saying this demonstrated its commitment to small businesses… more
Cable Bahamas launches REVGO PLAY powered by Anevia solutions
Bahamas – Anevia, an OTT and IPTV software vendor providing solutions for TV and Video delivery including live, near live, on demand and multiscreen had accompanied Cable Bahamas in its migration to OTT… more
Chamber Chief: ICT Can Be Next Economic Pillar ‘Without Fail’
Bahamas – A private sector executive yesterday said information and communications technologies (ICT) can become the next pillar of the Bahamian economy “without fail”… more
PM Minnis Officially Commissions West End Community Clinic
Bahamas – Tele-health technology will enable patients to be seen in any clinic or hospital in The Bahamas and doctors will be able to have access to their records, Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Dr. the Hon. Hubert A. Minnis, said during the Commissioning Ceremony for the West End Community Clinic on Friday, October 6, 2017… more
Webshops Insist ‘We Pay Our Fair Share’
Bahamas – Web shops yesterday slammed the Minister of Tourism’s “reckless” attack on the sector’s taxes and regulation, charging he was “out of touch with the industry he supervises”… more
Explore Curaçao With Google Street View
Curaçao – The first island in the Caribbean that can be explored with Google Street View. Yes, that is Curaçao… more
Jamaica’s Flow takes regulator to court over rate cuts
Jamaica – Flow Jamaica, the local brand of Cable & Wireless Communications, has lodged an application before the country’s Supreme Court seeking to bar the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) from implementing major reductions in termination rates for fixed line calls, reports the Jamaica Gleaner… more
Technology minister tables Data Protection Bill
Jamaica – MINISTER of Science, Energy and Technology Dr Andrew Wheatley on Tuesday tabled the Data Protection Act (DPA) in the House of Representatives… more
ALPHABET CLOSER TO USING BALLOONS FOR TELECOM IN PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico – LAST FRIDAY, ENGINEERS on Google parent Alphabet’s internet-by-balloon Project Loon tweeted that they hoped to bring emergency connectivity to Puerto Rico after Hurricanes Irma and Maria left more than 90 percent of the island without cellphone coverage… more
Crowdfunding touted to bolster economic growth
Regional – According to the report Crowdfunding’s Potential in the Caribbean: A Preliminary Assessment, crowdfunding in the Caribbean could bolster early stage capital markets, entrepreneurship, creativity, economic growth, and employment – provided that policymakers create the right environment… more
Deep Blue Cable appoints APTelecom as international sales partner
Regional – Denis O’Brien-backed Deep Blue Cable has taken the next step in its plan for a Caribbean subsea network by appointing its international sales partner… more
Hispasat, Cisco, Digicel partner to restore Caribbean connectivity
Regional – Aiming to provide critical communication links in the Caribbean islands devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Hispasat, Cisco and Digicel, among other industry leaders, have reached an agreement… more
Liberty Global Provides Update on the Impact of Hurricanes in the Caribbean
Regional – Liberty Global plc (“Liberty Global”), today provided an update on the impact of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria on its operations in the Caribbean… more
YELLO Wants St Lucia to Win with Digital
Saint Lucia – The “Win With Digital” Seminar hosted by YELLO on October 4th 2017, at Sandals Grande Resort and Spa was yet another business-boosting initiative by the company, which continues to give its customers and users a wealth of current information about the rapidly evolving digital marketing industry… more
Prime says video circulating on social media misleading
Sint Maarten – Prime Distributors has dismissed as “misleading” and “incorrect” a video that has been circulating on social media, alleging that the company is selling relief goods… more
Ex-TSTT chairman Elias goes after Imbert: I WANT MY $55M
Trinidad and Tobago – Contractor Emile Elias, who recently resigned as chairman of State-owned TSTT, is going after Finance Minister Colm Imbert via the courts, seeking a $55 million payment ordered in a judgment against a company owned by Imbert, for work done on the Grenada National Stadium project back in 1997… more
Literacy competence for the digital age
Trinidad and Tobago – THE EDITOR: We celebrated International Literacy Day as declared by UNESCO on September 8… more
Saturday, 7 October 2017
Barbados’ public service going digital
Barbados – Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has expressed Government’s commitment to using digital technology to transform the Public Service… more
Key Telecoms Agency established as liberalization hits critical phase
Guyana – A key state agency that will pave the way for new phone companies to enter the local market has been green-lighted for operations… more
Digicel Entrepreneur of the Year signs partnership with CIF and IDB
Haiti – This week, a tripartite memorandum of understanding was signed between Digicel Entrepreneur, the Investment Facilitation Center (CFI) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)… more
Not enough qualified applicants for BPO jobs
Jamaica – Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the labour force needs to keep pace with the growing business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, noting that there are not enough qualified persons to fill jobs… more
Cybercrime on the rise fast in TT
Trinidad and Tobago – THE EDITOR: Computer based crime is escalating at an alarming rate in Trinidad and Tobago and much more must be done in an attempt to defeat it… more
Sunday, 8 October 2017
Everyone is broadcasting
Barbados – In exasperation, someone wrote a letter a few days ago to an advice columnist titled “Cellphone causing me headache and grief with family… more
PAD ‘MOVES INTO DIGITAL AGE’
Barbados – THE Personnel Administration Division (PAD) is taking a big step as it moves from a system of paper to a digital system called the Correspondence Management System (CMS)… more
Telecoms ministry hosting Internet Week to raise ICT awareness
Guyana – In a bid to foster the development of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector and raise awareness of its development and policies among Guyanese, the Ministry of Public Tele-communications (MoPT) will be hosting a five-day event, dubbed Internet Week, from tomorrow… more
Carolyn Cooper | FLOW And NCB – From Bad To Worse
Jamaica – In July, I decided I’d had enough of FLOW’s off-the-air cable channels. So I did radical surgery and cut back cable, Internet and phone service… more
Hinduja To Double BPO Operations
Jamaica – Hinduja Global Solutions plans to double its Jamaican workforce in the medium term, but is hedging full execution of the expansion plan against market conditions… more
Price pitches customer service excellence at FLOW
Jamaica – Managing Director of FLOW Jamaica Stephen Price has pledged continued transformation in the customer experience at the country’s leading provider of integrated telecommunications services that he leads… more
theidiotchef and Courts cook app
Saint Lucia – My name is Ackim Sidonie, creator and founder of theidiotchef tm YouTube channel and its subsidiaries on Instagram and the Facebook page which is currently in development… more
Image credits: (NS Newsflash, flickr); Wikipedia; Wikipedia; Wikipedia; Wikimedia; Wikipedia
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