A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 23 December to Sunday 29 December 2019.
Monday, 23 December 2019
Flow working to restore service after fire at Brown’s Town Exchange
Jamaica – Telecommunications provider, Flow says its technical team has been “working around the clock” to restore services to residential and business customers in sections of St Ann following a fire at its Brown’s Town Exchange on Friday… more
GeoTechVision sues e-learning Jamaica
Jamaica – The ICT company, GeoTechVision, has carried out its plan to take legal action against state-run entity e-learning Jamaica… more
OUR issues directive to Flow
Jamaica – The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has briefed Flow regarding the conduct of a comprehensive investigative analysis of the incident which resulted in significant service interruptions to thousands of its customers on December 14 and 15… more
ECCB to go live with DXCD pilot in 2020
Regional – The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has announced plans to go live with its Digital Eastern Caribbean Currency (DXCD) pilot in the second quarter of 2020… more
AG open to new talks with MATT on cyber bill
Trinidad and Tobago – ATTORNEY General Faris Al Rawi says he is willing to discuss again with the Media Association (MATT) their concerns about the Cybercrime Bill… more
Tuesday, 24 December 2019
HBO Must Compete
Bahamas – EDITOR, The Tribune, The Bahamas government is in no position to carry out the unreasonable demands of HBO Latin America, even in the face of the threat of having the Trump administration withdrawing its trade preferences… more
Airbnb to pay hotel tax in VI
British Virgin Islands – Government has signed an agreement with Airbnb allowing the online booking agent to submit hotel accommodation tax directly to the government, according to a press release issued last Thursday… more
Flow restores service to St Ann mobile customers
Jamaica – TELECOMMUNICATIONS firm, Flow, says its technical teams have restored mobile service to hundreds of customers who were impacted by the fire which extensively damaged equipment and infrastructure at the company’s exchange in Brown’s Town, St Ann on Friday… more
Mastercard commits to data privacy
Trinidad and Tobago – The word “data” has become a buzzword worldwide, even more so in Trinidad and Tobago since Cambridge Analytica, which stands accused of data mining, became a household name… more
Ronald Walcott: Job cuts essential to TSTT’s survival
Trinidad and Tobago – AROUND this time last year the future of majority state-owned telecoms provider, TSTT hung in a balance… more
Wednesday, 25 December 2019
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Thursday, 26 December 2019
2019 Future Of Belize Telecommunications Market- Trends, Outlook and Growth Opportunities of Mobile, Fixed Landline and Broadband Markets
Belize – The future value proposition for telecommunications market in Belize to 2025 is detailed in the report… more
Friday, 27 December 2019
Central Bank set to launch digital version of Bahamian dollar
Bahamas – The Central Bank of The Bahamas is now set to launch a digital version of the Bahamian dollar with a pilot phase in Exuma running from December and extending in the first half of 2020 into Abaco… more
Central Bank Unveils Digital B$ Restrictions
Bahamas – The Central Bank has unveiled the limits it will impose on Bahamian digital currency holdings to protect financial stability and prevent “runs on bank deposits”… more
Exuma 56% ‘Willing’ On Mobile Payments
Bahamas – More than half of Exuma residents are “likely” to use their mobile phones for financial transactions, making the island a fertile testing ground for the Central Bank’s digital Bahamian currency pilot… more
More computer programmers in Barbados . . . 19 complete coding workshop
Barbados – Nineteen Barbadian students have recently completed the Fall 2019 session of Level 1 of the CSF Computer Coding Workshop offered by the Caribbean Science Foundation (CSF)… more
Customer Service Touch Terminals installed at two local ports of entry
British Virgin Islands – Customer Service Touch Terminals are now present in two of the territory’s ports of entry, which will now allow visitors to provide real-time feedback about their customer service experience in the British Virgin Islands… more
The way of the future . . . Regional businesses must embrace digital innovation – CDB
Regional – The Caribbean Tech Entrepreneurship Programme (CTEP) is a virtual hub for Caribbean start-ups and entrepreneurs, helping small businesses to unlock economic transformation through digital innovation platforms… more
Saturday, 28 December 2019
Digicel bonds down by one-third since January
Regional – Investors can buy telecommunications company Digicel bonds at roughly 30 per cent cheaper than in January this year as downgrades put pressure on prices… more
Sunday, 29 December 2019
Guyana only country in region that lacks digital signature
Guyana – Guyana is the only country in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region in which services do not offer to their customers the option of digital signatures… more
FLOW Browse and Talk complaint
Jamaica – Dear Claudienne, I currently reside in Maryland, USA. I applied for Browse and Talk service on April 18, 2019… more
Paypal and Paymaster
Jamaica – Paypal through their Xoom international money transfer services has said that in collaboration with local bill payment provider, Paymaster, they have launched a fast, secure and easier bill payment option for Jamaicans living in the Diaspora to provide financial support to their loved ones back home… more
Why Jamaica Urgently Needs A Minister Of Artificial Intelligence
Jamaica – In 2016, in a face-to-face talk, I had advised The University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona’s artificial intelligence lecturer to introduce artificial neural networks, also known as modern artificial intelligence (AI), as an independent course to the computer science degree… more
Image credits: NS Newsflash (flickr); Wikimedia Commons; Wikipedia; Wikipedia
