A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 7 January to Sunday 13 January 2019.
Monday, 7 January 2019
QC: Web Shop Tax Hikes Breach EU’s Demands
Bahamas – Island Luck’s attorney yesterday warned that the web shop tax hikes place The Bahamas “in clear and present danger” of violating the European Union’s (EU) anti-tax evasion offensive… more
Digicel rival files Caribbean lawsuit in bid to get licence revoked
Grenada – A Caribbean mobile operator controlled by John Malone’s Liberty Latin America is suing a regional regulator in an attempt to get a 4G-style licence revoked from Denis O’Brien’s Digicel in Grenada and surrounding areas… more
Flow files legal action to have LTE license revoked from Digicel
Grenada – Minister of Infrastructure Development, Public Utilities and Energy, Gregory Bowen has broken his silence on a looming battle between the two major telecommunications companies on the island, FLOW Liberty Global and its competitor, Digicel over the granting of Long Term Evolution (LTE) license… more
e-Learning upgrading, monitoring and evaluation of services, says chair
Jamaica – E-LEARNING Jamaica, the government agency promoting the integration of technology into the education system has appointed a new CEO as part of plans in improving the monitoring and evaluation of its services… more
FLOW Channel Cut Breach Of Contract
Jamaica – THE EDITOR, Sir: FLOW has started the new year in the same way it ended the last one – abusing its customers. They have removed a new range of channels from their cable line-up, including several from what was originally the Watch Sports Package… more
Tuesday, 8 January 2019
QC: Web Shops Must Publicise Patron Bans
Bahamas – A well-known QC yesterday said predicted that the proposed five per cent stamp tax on web shop patrons will push them to gamble illegally and have the opposite effect to the Government’s intention… more
Cabinet Approves Full Roll-Out of Tablets in Schools Programme
Jamaica – Cabinet has approved the full roll-out of the Tablets in Schools Programme in 1,106 educational institutions and a pilot ‘Bring Your Own Device’ initiative in 25 schools… more
bmobile provides educational support to the Plum Mitan community
Trinidad and Tobago – The bmobile Foundation has donated free internet service to the newly established Computer Lab at the Plum Mitan Community Centre… more
Buyer beware of cryptocurrencies
Trinidad and Tobago – The 609,574 customers of the Unit Trust Corporation (UTC) are no safer than cryptocurrency holders, when it comes to having a third-party authority intervening on their behalf, officials said last week… more
Wednesday, 9 January 2019
Technology In Focus | New Apps, Not New Tech Development, Will Be Biggest Trend For 2019
Jamaica – Dr Wayde Marr, president of the Vector Technology Institute, is noting that in recent times, trends in information technology have primarily been in the form of new applications rather than emerging technological development or discoveries… more
TelEm Group issuing 9-digit Customer account numbers and new Bank payment Account numbers for Cable TV customers.
Sint Maarten – TelEm Group Cable TV customers now have new Customer Account Numbers they can refer to when carrying out transactions, making enquiries or making payments – especially online… more
Social media in finance
Jamaica – SOCIAL media is having an impact on our business lives. The immediacy of response, once an expectation, is now a given. How do finance functions address this… more
Thursday, 10 January 2019
Harmonizing digital and traditional investment through blockchain
Cayman Islands – With the Securities and Exchange Commission moving to crack down on fraudulent crypto-schemes, the allure of crowdfunding capital through initial coin offerings on blockchain platforms appears to be fading… more
Social media scammer pretends to be governor
Cayman Islands – Governor Martyn Roper alerted the public on Thursday that a scammer has set up a fake LinkedIn social media account purporting to be his… more
Digicel Group Limited Announces Final Results of Exchange Offers and Consent Solicitations
Regional – Digicel Group Limited (“Digicel”), along with Digicel Group One Limited, an indirect subsidiary of Digicel (“DGL1”), and Digicel Group Two Limited, a direct subsidiary of Digicel and the parent of DGL1 (“DGL2” and, together with Digicel and DGL1, the “DGL Companies”), announced today the results of their previously announced offers (the “Exchange Offers”), subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the confidential offering memorandum dated August 31, 2018, as supplemented by Supplement No. 1 dated September 7, 2018… more
Friday, 11 January 2019
BUSINESS BYTE: Digicel LTE is just days away for Dominica
Dominica – As total telecommunications and entertainment provider Digicel makes leaps with its upgrades, by introducing its LTE network to the country, Dominicans can look forward to a significantly improved network in short order…more
Caricel still active, despite legal challenges
Jamaica – Caricel Jamaica says it has continued to provide world-class service to its more than 15,000 clients, despite the significant legal challenges being faced by the company… more
Digicel secures 98% bondholder acceptance on swap deal
Jamaica – Digicel is reporting that nearly 98 per cent of creditors holding US$3 billion of its bonds have taken up an offer to postpone getting their money back… more
PM says BPO sector must shift to higher-value services
Jamaica – PRIME Minister Andrew Holness is calling on players in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry to start shifting from call centre operations to higher-value services… more
US$68m for implementation of NIDS
Jamaica – THE total budget for implementation of the National Identification System (NIDS) is US$68 million, Prime Minister Andrew Holness told Parliament this week… more
Digicel Fibre: A World Class, High Tech Future For Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia – With the recent announcement that Digicel is ready to roll out its new fibre optic infrastructure, Saint Lucia is set to enter a new era of global competitiveness and economic development… more
The Cable Customers To See Increased Internet Speeds
Saint Kitts and Nevis – The Cable St. Kitts says its customers will now be seeing increased internet speeds to their homes and businesses after the telecommunication company completed an upgrade to its network… more
Saturday, 12 January 2019
The accelerator of Haitian companies Banj seeks 6 startups
Haiti– The Haitian firm Banj officially enters the acceleration of full-time companies and seeks 6 startups (local or international) focused on Haiti, using technology to develop and at the stage of minimum viable product, for a 4-months intensive program… more
Saint Lucia Adds More Wi-Fi Zones
Saint Lucia – Saint Lucia has expanded an initiative to add free Wi-Fi zones across the island… more
Union reps skip meeting with PM when told to surrender cell phones
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Representatives of local public sector unions chose not to attend a meeting today at the Prime Minister’s Office when they were told that they had to surrender their cellular phones or leave them outside… more
Sunday, 13 January 2019
Numerous problems with FLOW
Jamaica – Dear Claudienne, I have made 35 visits to the FLOW Telephone (Liguanea) Office since September 9, 2017 to report that my two telephones were out of order and that while I cannot make any calls, one line still had my live internet up to Monday, October 8, 2018… more
Sex, lies and the Internet …the Gen Z Edition
Jamaica – Adolescence has been described as the time of incredible physical, social and emotional growth, and peer relationships, especially romantic ones, are a major social focus of many teens… more
Image credits: Bernard Goldbach (flickr); Wikipedia; Wikipedia; Wikimedia Commons; Wikipedia
