A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 27 April to Sunday 3 May 2020.
Monday, 27 April 2020
Truss: Ministry dropped tech ball
Barbados – If the Ministry of Education had embraced technology in a greater way, says philanthropist Aron Truss, then it would have been able to make an easier transition to the digital teaching environments now required because of the coronavirus pandemic… more
Coronavirus highlights need for digital money alternatives
Jamaica – The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has seen merchants and customers alike shy away from cash. Even so, under lockdown conditions, it is much easier to order goods, pay bills and transfer funds online… more
Delroy McLean | Dealing With Cybersecurity
Jamaica – As the world grapples with the impact of the COVID-19 virus, many hackers are exploiting the panic and discomfort brought on by the pandemic. Images, emails, and documents used to spread awareness on COVID-19 have been found with embedded Baby Shark malware, while maps of the pandemic have been found with the AZORult malware… more
Digicel’s customer care staff now work from home
Jamaica – Telecommunications giant Digicel has successfully completed transitioning its more than 300 customer care agents to a work-from-home environment, in response to the coronavirus threat and the need for social distancing… more
Pia Baker: Our woman in ICT
Jamaica – PIA Baker is living proof that women are present in, and leading information and communications technology (ICT), and that they can, and have been working from the ground up on their own merit… more
UWI Mona to distribute over 500 tablets to students in need
Jamaica – A cross-sector partnership to support students at The University of the West Indies (The UWI), Mona Campus with distance learning will provide over 500 devices to students in need… more
Western Union to beef up digital services
Jamaica – GraceKennedy Remittance Services Limited, the exclusive agent of Western Union (WU) financial services in the country, has said that given the restrictions in movement as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, they will be seeking to increase services provided by their digital payment platforms… more
Puerto Rican Kids Struggling with Virtual School
Puerto Rico – It’s been more than a month since the Montañez brothers — Nataniel, 14, and Jariel, 16 — stopped going to class after schools in Puerto Rico shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic… more
Tuesday, 28 April 2020
Tired of lines? Go Digital with Digicel, do social distancing right
Barbados – As Barbados navigates the COVID-19 health crisis, telecoms giant Digicel is responsibly calling on its customers to utilise online payment platforms… more
United Nations Development Programme partners with WiFetch to boost Caribbean’s e-commerce Sector and Economic Recovery amid Covid-19 pandemic
Barbados – One month after launching its contactless delivery service and online marketplace in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, WiFetch has entered into a partnership with The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to promote innovation, economic transformation and quick digital transitions in the midst of the COVID pandemic… more
Belize Telemedia Limited Responds to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Belize – As Belize responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, Digi acknowledges the increasing demands of our customers and remain confident in our ability to support their needs… more
GTT observes Int’l Girls in ICT Day
Jamaica – A number of young girls were on Friday given the opportunity to interact with several of GTT’s women in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) via an online platform, as the company observed International Girls in ICT Day… more
Slow Flow putting my family at risk
Jamaica – Dear Editor, A few weeks ago I saw a news item which carried an ominous warning from Flow that slower broadband speeds are coming… more
Website Crashes As Stranded Jamaicans Offered Return Option
Jamaica – Jamaicans stranded overseas amid the COVID-19 pandemic can now qualify to return home by applying through an online portal under the Government’s programme of controlled re-entry… more
USF To Facilitate Establishment Of 20 New CAPs
Jamaica – The Universal Service Fund (USF) will facilitate the establishment of 20 new Community Access Points (CAPs) and provide access to schools, libraries and post offices, along with faith-based organisations and the disabled community… more
Digicel Extends Expiration Date Of Its Tender Offers And DIFL Consent Solicitation And Increases Consideration For Tender Offer For Existing DL 2023 Notes
Regional – Digicel Group Two Limited (“DGL Two” and, together with its subsidiaries, “Digicel”) today announced that it is extending the expiration date of its previously announced offers to exchange existing debt of Digicel Limited (“DL”), DGL Two and Digicel Group One Limited (“DGL One”) for various new securities and related solicitations of consents and waivers (the “Tender Offers and Solicitations”) pursuant to the two confidential offering memoranda dated April 1, 2020, as amended… more
US court throws out $1.5bn alleged corruption case against Digicel
Regional – Denis O’Brien’s Caribbean telco, Digicel, has succeeded in having a $1.5 billion (€1.4 billion) Haiti-linked political corruption case against it thrown out by a US court… more
A Look Into The Telem Group’s Efforts During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Sint Maarten – Given the impact of this global pandemic the Telem Group has implemented the below strategies to assist St. Marteen at this time… more
Digicel goes Smart
Trinidad and Tobago – IT’S TIME to be smart. About Health. Education. Mobility. And Security… more
Wednesday, 29 April 2020
Bridging Digital Divide In World’s New Reality
Bahamas – In an address to the nation on COVID-19, the Prime Minister said: “Innovation and trying new things are an essential part of what we must do at this time… more
Gov’t now accepting payments through remote processing
British Virgin Islands – With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting regular operational hours in the British Virgin Islands, government is now accepting payments for services via remote processing… more
Laptops for lease | Education Minister unveils plans to facilitate e-learning locally
British Virgin Islands – As the territory’s education sector moves from physical classrooms to an e-learning platform due to the challenges posed by the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), Education Minister Dr Natalio Wheatley said plans are afoot to introduce a loan programme to allow students to access laptops… more
GTT drops broadband prices for corporate customers
Guyana – US-owned Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) has announced that it has lowered its prices for select broadband services for its corporate customers to assist them in managing and optimizing their operations during and after COVID-19… more
Company introducing ‘Internet boxes’ for online learning
Jamaica – PIONEERING e-learning across the Caribbean, One on One Educational Services Limited — a Jamaican-based educational technology company — has found a solution that it says will allow students in remote areas to access educational content without the Internet… more
Digicel Unplugged hits high note
Jamaica – Telecommunications firm Digicel continued its series of online performances on Sunday, serving up another healthy dose of strong reggae acts during this COVID-19 crisis… more
Force Call Centres Under BPO Umbrella – Henry
Jamaica – THE UMBRELLA group for BPOs is appealing to the Government to make it mandatory for all outsourcing firms operating in Jamaica to register with the representative body to ensure good governance in the sector… more
Inspection of BPO facilities to be completed by May 4
Jamaica – Daryl Vaz, Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation says the inspection of all Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) facilities in the island is to be completed by May 4… more
New Kingston BPO Shut Down – Worker Tests Positive For COVID-19
Jamaica – LESS THAN 24 hours after the Government hinted at its hope for a whole-scale reopening of call-centre sites after an outbreak of COVID-19, it has emerged that a business process outsourcing (BPO) firm has been ordered shut by public health authorities in the wake of a positive case… more
COVID-19 is an opportunity to strengthen the Caribbean Internet
Regional – Across the Caribbean, pandemic-related risk-mitigation measures have left millions confined to their homes, relying on their Internet connections for work, school, entertainment and for keeping in touch with family and friends… more
Dissecting Covid-19 online-teaching, distance-learning internet challenge
Trinidad and Tobago – Ensuring the fulfilled needs of tertiary-level students during the Covid-19 lockdown period is an interesting endeavour and challenge, to say the least. I am particularly concerned with their online and Internet needs… more
Thursday, 30 April 2020
Online payment for licences underway as Barbados goes digital
Barbados – By mid-June Barbadians will be able to renew their driver’s licences and make payments online using eZpay… more
App created for residents to stand in virtual queues to access goods and services
British Virgin Islands – Residents of the British Virgin Islands will soon be able to stand in line to receive goods or services without being physically present, thanks to a new mobile application called VI Queue… more
GTT partners with delivery companies to offer online SIM applications
Guyana – GTT says its customers can now apply for new SIM cards or replacements via the company’s online platform and have it delivered to their home or office through Hero Cart or Onecart delivery… more
Professor warns COVID-19 data could inform surveillance system
Jamaica – PROFESSOR Anthony Bogues, Asa Messer Professor of Humanities and Critical Theory at Brown University, has warned that among the perils that could emerge after the COVID-19 pandemic is a “surveillance system” driven by data collected during the health crisis… more
Tony Sewell | Using The Lockdown To Create A New Knowledge Economy
Jamaica – Our history as Jamaicans has been this extraordinary ability to find excellence and positivity in the face of adversity… more
Packages for The Cable customers, Wi-Fi hotspots in Basseterre reopened
Saint Kitts and Nevis – The Cable (a telecommunications company in St. Kitts), has announced internet packages for its customers, in response to the CoVID-19 Pandemic… more
Caribbean Digital Transformation Project conducted its first Virtual Mission for St. Lucia
Saint Lucia – The Government of St. Lucia has continued its collaboration with the World Bank in the implementation of the Caribbean Digital Transformation Project… more
Fintech – enabling TT’s economy post-covid19
Trinidad and Tobago – As our society and the wider world continue to feel the far-reaching effects of covid19, and the exacerbated knock-on shocks, such as reduced demand for oil and gas, grounded airlift and decimated tourism, the necessity to grow our economy has never been more urgent… more
How TSTT responded to covid19
Trinidad and Tobago – “I SAID to one of my teams, we should not let this opportunity go to waste,” said TSTT’s CEO, Dr Ronald Walcott… more
US upset over 4 TV networks
Trinidad and Tobago – Trinidad and Tobago has been put back on to a watch list by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) for the failure by the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) to take enforcement actions against local cable operators broadcasting US free-to-air networks locally… more
Friday, 1 May 2020
Digicel provides free access for Barbados’ eLearning platforms
Barbados – In keeping with its pledge to keep everyone connected during Barbados’ response to COVID-19, Digicel and the Ministry of Education, Technological & Vocational Training announced today the launch of free access to the Government’s suite of eLearning platforms over Digicel’s mobile network… more
Online payment, renewal of driver’s licences soon
Barbados – Barbadians will be able to renew and pay for their driver’s licences online by the end of June this year… more
Online learning out of reach for Jawalla’s students
Guyana – Although many persons living in the indigenous community of Jawalla, in Region Seven, are slowly adapting to the restrictions that have been put in place by the Ministry of Public Health to slow the spread of COVID-19, some who need internet access for their education have been unable to properly attend their online classes due to lack of cellular service and poor Wi-Fi connectivity… more
Parents Urged To Protect Children In Cyberspace
Jamaica – Kerrian Barrett beamed with pride as she watched her two-year-old daughter, Keijhaine Thompson, manoeuvre her way through the YouTube tabs on her tablet, easily selecting her favourite shows on her own… more
Prime Minister Wants Expansion Of Internet Access
Jamaica – Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, said the Government will be taking steps to expand broadband Internet access to Jamaicans… more
Digicel TT cuts staff salaries
Trinidad and Tobago – Staff on a basic annual salary of US$10,000 or less will not be affected and similar changes are being made across the entire Digicel Group to share the burden equally… more
Saturday, 2 May 2020
Digicel says more than 2,000 medical professionals have received free data for three months
Guyana – Digicel today said that more than 2,000 medical professionals engaged on the COVID-19 frontlines have received free 4G data bundles for three months… more
Scammer pretended to be calling from GTT
Guyana – Dear Editor, I got a landline phone call purporting to come from GTT. A cell number 617 2789 came up on my caller ID… more
Sunday, 3 May 2020
NCB kicks digital transformation into high gear
Jamaica – Given the contraction in some of its business and the challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, Jamaica’s largest commercial bank, National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited (NCB), is accelerating its digital transformation initiative… more
P
eart reacquires majority ownership of Bluedot
Jamaica – Larren Peart, founder and CEO of Bluedot Data Intelligence Limited, has reacquired SSL Venture Capital (SSLVC) Limited’s 50 per cent shareholdings in the company. SSLVC originally entered the equity agreement with the data insights company in 2018… more
‘Face-to-face’ tech here to stay
Trinidad and Tobago – Virtual face-to-face communication may very well remain common place even after the COVID-19 global pandemic, says IT specialist Richard Ottley… more
Image credits: journalismthatmatters (flickr); Wikipedia; Wikipedia; Wikipedia; Guyana Chronicle; Wikipedia; Facebook
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