A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 4 January to Sunday 10 January 2021.
Monday, 4 January 2021
Bahamian pre-teen launches initiative to teach kids how to code
Bahamas – A pre-teen Bahamian girl has launched a non-profit initiative to empower other children to “unlock” their power by learning how to code… more
Sand Dollar Firms Expanding To Nine
Bahamas – The Central Bank says a total of nine firms will likely be approved to start distributing Bahamian digital dollars, thereby significantly increasing their availability to the public, by early 2021… more
30,000 students still without devices for online classes
Trinidad and Tobago – As the new school term is set to open on Monday, the Ministry of Education (MoE) said there were still nearly 30,000 students without access to devices to undertake schooling… more
Tuesday, 5 January 2021
Website for Sand Dollar digital currency launched
Bahamas – The Central Bank of The Bahamas (CBOB) launched the official website for its Sand Dollar digital currency yesterday… more
OfReg approves Compass, Hurley’s Media merger
Cayman Islands – Compass Media on Tuesday, 5 Jan. officially announced a merger with Hurley’s Media after OfReg approved the sale of the radio broadcasting company at the end of December, according to a press release from Compass Media… more
Dominican Republic proposes 5G tender spectrum for 2021 services
Dominican Republic – The Dominican Republic’s fixed-line teledensity is well below the Latin American average, a legacy of under-investment in network infrastructure over the years… more
Wednesday, 6 January 2021
CBS Bahamas lauds benefits of e-commerce operation
Bahamas – The move to e-commerce for CBS Bahamas helped the company to have a much better holiday season than it expected, the retailer’s Vice President Brent Burrows told Guardian Business yesterday, adding that the company will put even more emphasis on its online operations in 2021… more
EXPERT EXPECTATIONS — Michele Marius
Jamaica – AT a time of increased emphasis on finding technology solutions, it is heartening to learn of the work that many Caribbean experts such as Michele Marius lend to the effort… more
Samsung Galaxy S21 leaked ahead of unpacking
Jamaica – Samsung sent an invitation to Digital Life for the unpacking of their newest Galaxy S21 smartphone, but they have been scooped with a substantial leak showing an optional S pen, a signal that we could be seeing an end to the Note series… more
Tech resolutions worth pursuing
Jamaica – As is customary at the start of a new year, we begin with a series of critical activities intended to make the next 12 months a success… more
Data Privacy: Is your organisation ready?
Regional – Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you must have noticed privacy has become a huge buzzword among companies and professionals worldwide… more
Digicel rejects claims its network was used for Chinese espionage
Regional – Digicel has rejected claims from the outgoing US ambassador to Jamaica that Chinese spies have used its network to eavesdrop on his calls, as well as listening in to calls involving Jamaican citizens… more
Plans To Build Out ICT
Saint Kitts and Nevis – Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris says in 2021 the government will continue its buildout of its ICT sector and enhance existing functions to make them more accessible online… more
Thursday, 7 January 2021
Bahamas to consider viability of third mobile player
Bahamas – The Bahamas’ Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) is assessing the viability of introducing a third operator to the archipelago’s mobile market to compete with ALIV and BTC (Bahamas Telecommunications Company)… more
Govt pushing to get Digital ID cards rolled out
Barbados – Barbadians could be getting their chip-based national identification cards sooner than expected, as the Government seeks out a fresh approach to tackle challenges relating to contact tracing in the fight against the COVID-19 virus… more
Cloud on the horizon
Trinidad and Tobago – As TT moves toward digitisation which will involve official documentation processes being converted to, and maintained as digital data, development manager for APC Latin America based in Miami, Hector Martinez believes cloud storage technology will become increasingly more important when considering digital data management… more
Friday, 8 January 2021
Minister Hails Drones As Crime-Fighting Tool
Bahamas – NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames attended drone testing at the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Coral Harbour Base yesterday, which will be rolled out in law enforcement agencies soon… more
More SMEs opening up to mobile/digital wallet solution, says provider
Bahamas – A digital payment provider said yesterday that while the digital/mobile wallet offering is still in the “ramp-up” phase locally, more small and medium-sized businesses are becoming open to the idea, particularly in the Family Islands… more
Haiti digital program to give broadband access
Haiti – he government of Haiti has embarked on a digital program that has been designed to give broadband access to 2.7 million people across the country over the next five years… more
Haiti Embarks on Massive Programme to Widen Internet Coverage
Haiti – The government of Haiti has embarked on a digital programme that has been designed to give broadband access to 2.7 million people across the country over the next five years… more
Huawei donates 500 tablets to education sector
Jamaica – Global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices, Huawei Technologies Company Limited, has donated 500 tablets in support of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information’s ‘One Laptop or Tablet Per Child’ initiative… more
Jamaica Telecom Market Research by Industry Growth and Forecast 2026
Jamaica – The report on Jamaica Telecom is a comprehensive collection of all the market related information required for analyzing and understanding the Jamaica Telecom market… more
IT expert explains why video footage in prison escape case has wrong date
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Video footage from the prisons purporting to have been filmed before and during the 2019 escape of inmate Veron Primus was admitted into evidence this week, during the trial of the prison officer accused of conspiring with the escapee… more
FLOW builds links in south Trinidad during covid19
Trinidad and Tobago – TELECOMMUNICATIONS company FLOW is playing its part in providing connections between people and communities during the covid19 pandemic… more
Saturday, 9 January 2021
Bahamian digital currency will operate in the country’s financial institutions
Bahamas – The Central Bank of the Bahamas announced that nine companies were chosen to serve as service providers for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), called the sand dollar. Likewise, it reported on the launch of the official website of the digital asset… more
A digital detox
Guyana – I took the decision two days before the new year broke to temporarily deactivate my Facebook and Instagram accounts; a digital detox is what health and wellness gurus call it… more
Sunday, 10 January 2021
Govt pushing to get Digital ID cards rolled out
Regional – On Thursday, Facebook began notifying users of its WhatsApp messaging service of policy changes regarding data-sharing with Facebook’s servers… more
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