A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 1 March to Sunday 7 March 2021.
Monday, 1 March 2021
BTC Offering 21% Niche ISP Discount
Bahamas – THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) is offering niche Internet Service Providers (ISP) a 21 percent discount to what it charges its own retail customers for using its network infrastructure… more
Digital Provider Eyes ‘Exponential’ Growth On Sand Dollar Move
Bahamas – A Bahamian digital payments provider yesterday said it expects its near-20,000 client base to “increase exponentially” after enabling them to transact in Sand Dollars without any restrictions… more
Digital entrepreneurship takes centre stage at Vincent HoSang UWI Venture Competition
Jamaica – The eight teams of budding student entrepreneurs, who emerged from the 22 teams participating in the 2020 Vincent HoSang UWI Venture Competition (UWIVC), demonstrated an apt response to the ‘new normal’ business environment by showcasing digital solutions to current problems and gaps in the market… more
National Identification System Secure
Jamaica – Jamaica is set to join several countries in creating a secure national identification system, with the proposed National Identification and Registration Act, 2020… more
CWI announces new broadcast rights deal with Sky New Zealand
Regional – Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced the signing of another major long-term broadcast rights agreement, this time with Sky New Zealand for the exclusive live coverage to all West Indies home matches played in the Caribbean… more
Barbadian appointed head of Caribbean Telecommunications Union
Regional – Barbadian technology expert Rodney Taylor has been appointed Secretary-General of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) after a public, Caribbean-wide recruitment process, the organization said on Monday… more
LIBERTY LATIN AMERICA LTD. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (form 10-K)
Regional – The following discussion and analysis, which should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements, is intended to assist in providing an understanding of our results of operations and financial condition and is organized as follows… more
Liberty Latin America FY sales down 3%, up in Q4 on Puerto Rico surge
Regional – Liberty Latin America (LLA) reported revenues of USD 3.77 billion in 2020 as a whole, down 3 percent year on year and strongly impacted by the effects on its business of the Covid-19 pandemic… more
Tuesday, 2 March 2021
Gov’t revenue boost expected with launch of digital payment solution for charter fees
Bahamas – The Ministry of Finance concluded an agreement with the OMNI Financial Group and the Association of Bahamas Marinas (OMNI/ABM) to launch a digital payment solution for the collection of charter fees from mega yachts and other charter operators in The Bahamas… more
Growth & Jobs | Small businesses to benefit from Flow ICT solutions
Jamaica – Communications and entertainment provider, Flow, has launched a new business segment to deliver dedicated, customised and smart ICT solutions to small businesses… more
9 Caribbean Diaspora members making their mark in global tech
Regional – Representation and inclusion have become more than buzzwords in the tech space as companies make a concerted effort to diversify their talent pools… more
St Lucia launches “758 Care Alert” app to trace nearby COVID-19 patients
Saint Lucia – St Lucia’s government has launched a mobile application that would trace the nearby coronavirus patients and notify the user about the proximity… more
Wednesday, 3 March 2021
$50m Tax Plug To Be ‘Data Treasure Chest’
Bahamas – The Bahamas will “capture a treasure chest of data” to help expand its boating market and plug up to $50m in annual revenue leaks via an online portal developed by a private sector joint venture… more
BTC CEO eyeing two to three percent growth after decline
Bahamas – Bahamas’ Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) newly appointed Bahamian Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Andre Foster is eyeing two to three percent growth of the company over the next few years after consecutive years of shrinking revenue… more
BTC: We’ll Connect 20,000 Extra Homes If Parent Ups Spend
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) can more than double the annual number of new homes using the latest network technology if its owner is enticed to increase investment… more
NCSA DELIVERING MESSAGE THROUGH TECHNOLOGY
Barbados – The National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) is moving full speed ahead to deliver all Drug Education programmes through the use of technology… more
Director of STEMGuyana impacts many students
Guyana – Guyanese-born, Karen Abrams, the MBA executive director of STEMGuyana, said women make up close to 50 percent of the population, yet they are woefully underrepresented in STEM careers as the world has moved aggressively to technology oriented businesses and economies… more
Caribbean Assurance Brokers goes digital
Jamaica – Caribbean Assurance Brokers has gone digital, as it seeks to offer more products online while growing the business seamlessly in this pandemic-struck business environment… more
JOEL DEAN, SOFTWARE INNOVATOR
Jamaica – In this issue of Digital Life, we continue the Jamaica Computer Society’s Youth Innovators in Tech series with Joel Dean. He’s senior software engineer at Automattic which owns the popular WordPress blogging platform that has more than 135 million active websites around the world and powers 40 per cent of the Internet… more
NCB invests in digital training for employees
Jamaica – As the National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited (NCB) seeks to become a fully digital organisation by 2024, the entity, through recent investments, is also seeking to facilitate the digital development of its employees… more
Own Your Own Device programme to be rolled out next week
Jamaica – Minister of Education, Fayval Williams, says the rollout of the Government’s Own Your Own Device programme will commence next week… more
That data vulnerability
Jamaica – In this publication we have encouraged the highest protection of data usage in every sphere of life, whether at the workplace or in our daily use of phones and computers… more
‘Andrea Bharatt CCTV System’
Trinidad and Tobago – Government has “found” $25 million to repair CCTV cameras in this country following the brutal murder of 23-year-old law clerk Andrea Bharatt, therefore the camera system should be named after Bharatt… more
Thursday, 4 March 2021
Remote learning through the eyes of educators
Antigua and Barbuda – Tuesday evening was just another busy night for one prolific and enthusiastic educator, who was still up way past 11pm, clicking away at her computer as she searched for and compiled information for the next day’s lesson for her grade three class at Villa Primary School… more
BTC Facing ‘Day By Day’ Fight On Mobile Rebound
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) faces “a real day-by-day fight” to reclaim mobile market share lost to Aliv, its newly-appointed chief executive has admitted… more
Cable Pushing Towards Customised TV Content
Bahamas – A Cable Bahamas executive yesterday said a “recommendation engine” will eventually replace its standard TV guide to give consumers more customised options on what they watch… more
Central Bank confirms three additional authorized financial institutions for Bahamian digital currency
Bahamas – The Central Bank has confirmed that three additional financial institutions have been authorized to distribute the Sand Dollar and have earned the designation of authorized financial institution (AFI)… more
‘Mass’ Required For Tailored TV Content
Bahamas – Cable networks “need mass” to continue to produce quality content “a-la-carte” because the associated costs are extremely expensive, industry executives said yesterday… more
Ask the experts: Selling Caribbean ‘workations’ for digital nomads
Regional – Embrace the trend for long-stay packages that let your clients work from the beaches of Barbados, Antigua and beyond, writes Laura French… more
Is the Caribbean ready to create a regulatory regime for regional data protection?
Regional – The Caribbean isn’t alone in facing a slow adoption of laws supporting wider protections and formal legal structures for data transfer and protection… more
Ex-ambassador: Small businesses must go digital to survive
Trinidad and Tobago – The local firm Genesis International Ltd is reaching out to small businesses to help them use technology to survive the economic downturn, deepened by the effects of the covid19 pandemic… more
Friday, 5 March 2021
APUA upgrades tipped to resolve poor internet service
Antigua and Barbuda – Residents fed up with slow internet may soon get to breathe a sigh of relief as APUA is set to embark on major upgrades to address inadequate service across the country… more
Commission Chief Wary Over Digital ‘Sandboxes’
Bahamas – THE Securities Commission’s top executive yesterday said “serious” digital assets providers wanted to operate in a well-regulated jurisdiction and did not need “sandboxes” to facilitate their innovation… more
FINTECH MILESTONE: Kanoo becomes first AFI with Sand Dollar digital currency interoperability
Bahamas – Five months after the Central Bank of The Bahamas officially launched the Sand Dollar, local authorized financial institution (AFI) Kanoo has become the first financial institution in the world to have it completely integrated into its system, allowing for interoperability… more
Govt revenue boost expected with launch of digital payment solution for charter fees
Bahamas – The Ministry of Finance concluded an agreement with the OMNI Financial Group and the Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) to launch a digital payment solution for the collection of charter fees from mega yachts and other charter operators in The Bahamas… more
New BTC Chief Tackles ‘Rocky’ Union Relations
Bahamas – THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) new chief executive has pledged to rebuild labour relations that have been “on a rocky road for the last several years”… more
Regulators: Digital Assets Still Volatile
Bahamas – BAHAMIAN regulators yesterday warned that digital assets remain “volatile” despite having significant potential to transform this nation’s financial services industry… more
Clear justification for new ID needed
Barbados – At least one Rastafarian group has joined the call for Government to put a pause to the roll out of its planned national digital ID scheduled for later this month… more
EDITORIAL: THE NEW MEDIA
Barbados – Traditional media still hold a strong position due to its reliability and general accuracy… more
Fake social accounts of politicians used to scam residents for $$
British Virgin Islands – Persons have been creating fake social media pages of elected officials and using them to run scamming operations in the territory… more
Tablets donated to 54 East Coast students
Guyana – Fifty-four students between Dochfour and Greenfield on the East Coast of Demerara recently received tablet computers from a US-based group… more
Guardsman utilises wireless technology for its new security product
Jamaica – Security company Guardsman Group is incorporating wireless digital technology in its new smart security product, iProtect… more
Republic launches mobile wallet-social media hybrid Endcash
Trinidad and Tobago – Republic Bank on Thursday announced the launch of Endcash, a new digital payment and social hub that it says transforms your smartphone into a highly secure money management tool… more
Saturday, 6 March 2021
Flow delivers devices, connections for students
Barbados – Much-need connectivity valued at $25,000 has been donated to fifty Barbadian students who are facing challenges accessing their virtual classes… more
Support for digital upgrade at the Bridgetown Port
Barbados – A transition to paperless operations has started at the Port of Bridgetown, Barbados with the commencement of a European Union (EU) funded project… more
J’can digital agency joins exclusive international Wix Partner Program
Jamaica – ESIROM continues the charge of encouraging social influence by redefining online marketing with more great news… more
Sunday, 7 March 2021
Government willing to help digital businesses
Barbados – Government is willing to provide the enabling environment to help the plethora of digital businesses across the island, including those owned by women, to take off… more
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