A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 20 May to Sunday 26 May 2019.
Monday, 20 May 2019
Bahama and other islands seeking cryptocurrency regulations
Bahamas – A firm is reportedly preparing to promote solid guidelines for token and crypto sales and ensure making the Bahama a healthier place for decentralized cryptocurrency and blockchain business… more
Guyana gov’t removes legal humbug to call centres recording customer conversations
Guyana– Guyana’s Interception of Communications Act was Wednesday amended to pave the way for call centres to legally record calls with customers, Minister of Public Telecommunications Cathy Hughes told the National Assembly… more
Al Miller Wants Churches To Become Wi-Fi Hotspots
Jamaica – The Reverend Al Miller, pastor of the Fellowship Tabernacle church in St Andrew, yesterday used his sermon to appeal to the Universal Service Fund (USF) to gift churches across Jamaica Internet connectivity… more
Tuesday, 21 May 2019
Bahamas International Securities Exchange Signs Digital Securities Exchange Partnership Agreement
Bahamas – The Bahamas International Securities Exchange (BISX) is pleased to announce the execution of a term sheet for a technology licensing agreement between BISX and BRX Holdings, LLC (BRXH)… more
Web Shop Hold-Outs Told: ‘Don’t Hide Behind Lawyers’
Bahamas – A Cabinet minister yesterday reiterated calls for web shop hold-outs to “stop hiding behind the lawyers” and pay millions in taxes due under the industry’s settlement with the government… more
Flow Grenada awarded 4G licence
Grenada – Flow Grenada, part of Liberty Global’s Liberty Latin America unit, has reached an amicable settlement with the government to avoid a court dispute over the award of a 4G licence to rival Digicel, reports local news portal New Today, citing Flow country manager James Pitt… more
Beware Israeli spying technology, Bunting tells PNP supporters
Jamaica – Manchester Central Member of Parliament Peter Bunting is warning Jamaicans to be vigilant in the face of what he says could be a plan by Government to invade people’s privacy, using high-end Israeli spy technology… more
Digital Transformation Survey now open online
Saint Kitts and Nevis – transformation strategy aimed at making government more efficient when doing business with the public, private sector and the diaspora is expected to be launched in St. Kitts and Nevis shortly… more
Saint Lucia to host DevCa Hackathon event
Saint Lucia – Saint Lucia is one of six countries in the region to host the DevCa 2019 Hackathon event slated for May 30 and 31, at the National ICT Office from 9am -5pm… more
Social Media Dangerous for This Generation, Says Celeb. T&T’s Bunji Garlin Agrees.
Trinidad and Tobago– Selena Gomez has 150 million Instagram followers. 57.6 million people follow her on Twitter. Last week, the actress and singer broke her silence on the effects of social media on today’s generation, saying it is dangerous… more
Wednesday, 22 May 2019
A&B machine-readable passports recalled
Antiguaand Barbuda – Relevant authorities in Antigua & Barbuda have advised citizens of a recall of machine-readable passports which they aim to fully replace with e-passports by January 1st next year… more
Bahamian Provider Sponsors Summit
Bahamas – Bahamas-based Cloud Carib sponsored this month’s three-day Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) conference in Port of Spain to reinforce its emergence as a regional player… more
Poor GPL, GTT service continuing
Guyana– Dear Editor, One cannot help feeling that we are getting a raw deal with part of the Government and the GTT and GPL companies, it is not that these people are unaware of the sufferings of the populace… more
Gov’t will not appeal NIDS ruling — Chuck
Jamaica – Justice Minister, Delroy Chuck, says that the government will no longer be appealing the contentious National Identification and Registration Act (NIDS)… more
AI in finance
Regional – ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) is the emerging technology in the finance function. What are the opportunities… more
Tewarie: Public sector backward in tech
Trinidad and Tobago – Shameful. That was the word used by Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Dr Bhoe Tewarie as he lamented the “backward” state of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) in the Customs and Excise Division and in the public sector generally… more
Thursday, 23 May 2019
PM welcomes news of service improvements by Telecommunications Service Provider
Grenada – Prime Minister, Dr. Keith Mitchell has welcomed news of imminent service improvements by telecommunication service provider, FLOW… more
The DGI launches its Call Center
Haiti – Wednesday, the General Directorate of Taxes (DGI) officially launched its Call Center, known under the label “INFOCENTRE” an old project of the Directorate General to facilitate the dialogue between the tax authorities and the taxpayer, too often abused by malicious people, who provide him with false information in exchange for sums of money… more
Jamdung App A Play On Culture And Charades – Creator Say Games Night Will Never Be The Same Again
Jamaica – Whether you choose to pass or play, there is no escaping the fact that as technology advances, many of the popular means of entertainment will soon cease to exist. As a result, there is a growing market for traditional games recreated for the digitally ruled era… more
St. Kitts-Nevis’ leadership in technology highlighted at Digital Economy Conference in Washington, D.C.
Saint Kitts and Nevis – The Regional Conference titled Digital Economy Moonshot for the Eastern Caribbean opened this morning (Thursday, May 23rd, 2019) at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group headquartered in Washington, D.C… more
St. Kitts-Nevis Moves Closer Towards Digital Transformation As PM Harris’ Administration Strives To Provide Enhanced Service
Saint Kitts and Nevis – The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, the smallest independent country in the Western Hemisphere, has witnessed tremendous advances in information and communication technology (ICT) development under the leadership of Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris… more
St. Kitts-Nevis Rises To Great Heights In The Digital Landscape Under Prime Minister Harris’ Strong, Steady Leadership
Saint Kitts and Nevis – The world took notice in November 2016 when the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, the smallest independent country in the Western Hemisphere, was honoured at the 14th World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Symposium with two awards for outstanding improvements in information and communication technology (ICT) development… more
Friday, 24 May 2019
Local bank ramping up security in wake of alleged breach
Antiguaand Barbuda – Officials of the Antigua Commercial Bank (ACB) have put mechanisms in place to ensure the safety of accounts following several reports of suspicious activity… more
Teacher’s union defends use of e-books
Antigua and Barbuda – The Antigua & Barbuda Union of Teachers (ABUT) has reaffirmed its position of the benefits of the use of e-books in the education sector… more
Bahamian tech firm given green light on NFT offering
Jamaica – PO8, the Bahamian tech company tokenizing archaeological assets through the issuance of non-fungible tokens (NFT), has been given a green light of sorts to engage in its NFT offering after having received a no-action letter from the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB), according to a press release on the matter… more
Govt’s Interception of Communications (Amendment) Bill has watered down vital crime prevention law
Guyana – Dear Editor, When the PPP/C cabinet approved Guyana’s first-ever Interception of Communications Bill in mid-2008 and had me pilot it on October 17, 2008 through its various stages in the National Assembly as Bill No.19 of 2008, this was done with the clear understanding that the bill was aimed at criminalizing the use of telecommunications… more
OAS to Collaborate with ProFuturo on Interactive Education in Guyana and with Telefónica to Reduce the Digital Divide in Women and Rural Areas
Guyana – The Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (CITEL) of the Organization of American States (OAS), Telefónica, and Fundación ProFuturo today signed two agreements to promote digital inclusion and education in the region, as part of the commitments made in the framework of the TIC 2030 Alliance… more
Is e-Commerce undercutting Local Businesses?
Jamaica – If anyone has any doubt that e-Commerce is here to stay, then they should take a look at the number of brick and mortar businesses that have closed their doors in the last five years… more
Jamaica Telecommunications Market Size | Status | Top Players | Trends and Forecast to 2025
Jamaica – MarketResearchNest.com adds “2019 Future of Jamaica Telecommunications Market- Trends, Outlook and Growth Opportunities of Mobile, Fixed Landline and Broadband Markets”new report to its research database. The report spread across in a 65 pages with table and figures in it… more
St Ann’s Bay Hospital phone lines down on Sunday
Jamaica– The North East Regional Health Authority (NERHA) is advising the public that they will experience difficulties reaching the St Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital via the switchboard during the hours of 10:00 am to 2:30 pm on Sunday, May 26, owing to a planned disruption in electricity supply… more
TelEm service in Orange Grove, Cole Bay will be affected today
Sint Maarten – TelEm’s Outside plant technicians will be carrying out maintenance work in the Orange Grove, Cole Bay, area today, Friday… more
Saturday, 25 May 2019
Antigua & Barbuda Telecommunications market by Type, Stage, End-User
Antigua and Barbuda – MarketResearchNest.com adds “2019 Future of Antigua & Barbuda Telecommunications Market- Trends, Outlook and Growth Opportunities of Mobile, Fixed Landline and Broadband Markets” new report to its research database… more
Dominican Republic Telecommunications market | size | analysis | share | outlook to 2025
Dominican Republic – MarketResearchNest.com adds “2019 Future of Dominican Republic Telecommunications Market- Trends, Outlook and Growth Opportunities of Mobile, Fixed Landline and Broadband Markets”new report to its research database. The report spread across in a 65 pages with table and figures in it… more
NCB Blames System Glitches For Late Salaries
Jamaica – Following a system upgrade which triggered disruptions to its online banking platform and mobile application, the National Commercial Bank (NCB) yesterday said it was experiencing delays uploading payroll files affecting salary payments, which were expected yesterday… more
ECCB governor, policy leaders say digital transformation is matter of survival
Regional – The two-day Regional Conference titled Digital Economy Moonshot for the Eastern Caribbean continues on Friday, at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group headquartered in Washington, D.C… more
St. Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister Harris says regional leadership reaches a higher plateau as policy makers map out digital economy moonshot
Regional – The two-day Regional Conference titled Digital Economy Moonshot for the Eastern Caribbean closed yesterday, Friday, May 24th, 2019, with Timothy Antoine, the Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) thanking Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister for attending the ECCB-World Bank meeting in Washington, D.C… more
TelEm Group Simpson Bay Branch moving to new location across the street.
Sint Maarten – TelEm Group’s Simpson Bay Branch will be moving from its old location on the Airport Road in Simpson Bay to a swanky new building across the street, this weekend… more
Sunday, 26 May 2019
Cyberbullying and mental health
Guyana – More and more we have been hearing the word “cyberbullying,” which is basically the bullying of someone online, usually on social media platforms… more
Mom mourns only son – warns parents about dangers of internet
Guyana – “I feel empty, lost, angry, but I have hope,” Natasha Ann Lesprance said, close to tears that never came… more
Conduent Expanding In Jamaica
Jamaica – Call centre operator Conduent Inc will be expanding its Jamaican operations, a plan that is expected to lead to around 2,000 new jobs by early 2020… more
David Jessop | Huawei Sanctions Raise Complex Questions For The Caribbean
Regional – Being a head of government or a foreign minister is a thankless task… more
Image credits: Yukiko Matsuoka (flickr); Wikimedia Commons; Twitter; Wikipedia; Wikipedia; Wikipedia
