A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 7 March to Sunday 13 March 2022.
Monday, 7 March 2022
GBPA Launch Freeport Business Portal
Bahamas – The Grand Bahama Port Authority Limited (GBPA) is excited to announce the launch of its Freeport Business Portal, a digital platform designed to improve the ease of doing business in the city of Freeport by assisting new licensees through the GBPA business license application process… more
Digitising of Barbados Archives making major progress
Barbados – Since the start of its digitisation project in 2020, the Archives Department has digitised more than 50 000 pages of historical documents dating back as far as 1635… more
ECCB hoping to re-start DCash platform this week
Caribbean – The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) says it is completing the final testing and assurance exercises that will allow for the resumption of its DCash platform to customers in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) this week… more
HUAWEI launches internship programme in Central America and the Caribbean
Caribbean – GLOBAL technology company Huawei Technologies has opened calls for its annual internship programme which forms part of the ICT Talent Development Plan in the Central America and Caribbean region… more
Consultation ends on rules for virtual asset custodians, trading platforms
Cayman Islands – A public consultation by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority on draft rules and guidance for the provision of services by custodians and trading platforms for virtual assets ended on 7 March… more
Free online lessons for 10,000 students as One on One partners with Ministry of Education and Youth
Jamaica – ONLINE educational service provider One on One Educational Services has partnered with the Ministry of Education and Youth (MoEY) to provide some 10,000 high school students with free online extra lessons via its OneX personalised learning platform… more
Stokes says digital transformation of sports a game changer
Jamaica – The digital transformation is here and the sooner one starts riding the waves rather than being caught under the waves, the better it will be for you, says Dr Nelson “Chris” Stokes… more
NTRC Public Notice – Enforcement Mandate
Saint Lucia – The NTRC, under the conferred powers of Telecommunications Act of 2000 informs members of the public and other stakeholders, including operators, current and proposed licensees of their continued enforcement drive… more
Tuesday, 8 March 2022
Cable Bahamas Group of Companies shatters glass ceilings
Bahamas – It’s no secret that women have traditionally faced greater barriers than men when it comes to fully participating in the economy. Across geographies and income levels, disparities between men and women persist in the form of pay gaps, unequal opportunities for advancement in the workplace, and unbalanced representation in corporate organizations… more
Digicel Barbados breaks the bias
Barbados – Celebrating women is not something that Digicel Barbados does once or twice a year in March and May, but with more than 60 per cent of the Digicel Barbados team comprising women, especially in senior positions, it’s a way of life for the digital operator… more
The many questions of governance in the metaverse
Caribbean – It was clear from the start of the conversation about the role of governance and national sovereignty in the metaverse, that there were far more questions than answers… more
The metaverse in the Caribbean, what it is and why it’s important
Caribbean – On January 31, 2022, the Government of Barbados and the Caribbean Telecommunications Union presented a webinar titled, Traversing the Metaverse: A Caribbean Perspective… more
New emergency notification app launched
Cayman Islands – Government has launched its National Emergency Notification System (NENS) mobile app, which is set to undergo its first test run for registered users this Thursday… more
Complaint against GTT
Guyana – Dear Editor, We write in response to M Abraham’s letter to Stabroek News published on March 7, 2022… more
GTT customer service continues to frustrate and infuriate
Guyana – Dear Editor, I am forced to once again publicly voice my utter dissatisfaction with the Customer Service of GTT… more
EU launches digital campaign to empower Jamaican women during International Women’s week
Jamaica – In celebration of International Women’s Day, the European Union Delegation to Jamaica launched a digital campaign to “Break the Bias” via their social media pages on March 8, 2022… more
800 young women to benefit from digital literacy initiative as part of International Women’s Day celebrations.
Trinidad and Tobago – Liberty Latin America Ltd which owns FLOW and Cable & Wireless Communicationshas joined together with the Society of Women Coders to launch an initiative aimed at empowering the next generation of women leaders in technology fields… more
ICT students complete Huawei internship programme
Trinidad and Tobago – NINE students in ICT technology and finance graduated from Huawei’s global six-month ICT internship programme on Friday last week… more
Wednesday, 9 March 2022
FSC recognises digital exchange
British Virgin Islands – The Financial Services Commission has announced that an Asian exchange focusing on digital securities has been admitted to the territory’s list of recognised exchanges… more
Appreciating the value of AI
Caribbean – ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI), a concept that once existed in sci-fi movies, has manifested in the real world and is quickly evolving… more
Fortinet warns region: More cybersecurity attacks coming
Caribbean – “We’re probably the largest company you may not have heard of,” said Marc Asturias, vice-president of marketing and government vertical at Fortinet… more
Liberty Latin America Partners With The Society Of Women Coders To Support Greater Gender Equality In Tech
Caribbean – Liberty Latin America Ltd. (“Liberty Latin America” or “LLA”) has joined together with the Society of Women Coders to launch an initiative aimed at empowering the next generation of women leaders in technology fields… more
SER and Huawei open second phase for the call ‘1,000 Talents’
Caribbean – 1,000 scholarship program aims to strengthen the competitiveness in Information and Communication Technologies in more than 30 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean… more
National Emergency Notification System
Cayman Islands – Earlier this week, the Cayman Islands Government launched a National Emergency Notification System (NENS) mobile app. The NENS app will allow direct communication with all subscribed users in the Cayman Islands in the event of a national emergency or disaster… more
Dominican Republic Cybercrime Ring Shows Extent of Caribbean’s Financial Fraud Crisis
Dominican Republic – The Dominican Republic has dismantled a transnational cybercrime network believed to have defrauded hundreds of US citizens to the tune of more than $200 million, in just the latest example of the growing threat posed by financial crime operations in the Caribbean… more
Digicel commits millions $$$ to bring superfast connectivity countrywide via LTE Networks
Guyana – Digicel Guyana disclosed to members of the media on Tuesday that it is making a significant commitment to building Guyana as a digital hub with a US$22.6M ($4.5B) spend on LTE networks; meaning countless opportunities for the empowerment for Guyanese due to the direct correlation between access to broadband internet and economic growth… more
Finance minister makes first digital currency transaction
Jamaica – Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke conducted the first digital currency transaction on Tuesday using digital wallet, Lynk… more
KPMG Jamaica: Tackling Negative Perceptions and Putting Tech at the Forefront
Jamaica – Countries of the Caribbean have developed a robust global professional services sector in recent years, spurred by growing expertise in Finance and Accounting and general Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) operations… more
Stacey Hines, MADAME PRESIDENT
Jamaica – Stacey Hines, transformation strategist and CEO of Epic Transformation, shared that she was interested in the creative arts growing up. However, at age nine, when she migrated to the United States to live with her father, she became fascinated with the first-generation computers that he used while working as a systems operator… more
The EduFocal Story
Jamaica – A brief introduction last week to get this reporter familiar with the interviewee, Gordon Swaby, was met with rebuke. “Dashan, no need to be formal with me. I’m a fan of your work and now you are planning on interviewing me. I really like the stories you tell,” he said citing some articles done by this reporter… more
Two fined $5,000 each for stealing TSTT cables
Trinidad and Tobago – Two men from central Trinidad have been fined $5,000 each after admitting to stealing Telecommunications Services of T&T (TSTT) cables late last week… more
Thursday, 10 March 2022
Planning application process goes online
Barbados – The Planning and Development Department, formally the Town and Country Development Planning Office, has officially launched its new website and ePortal platform which are aimed at streamlining building and development applications into one easy-to-use process… more
DCash Service Resumes
Caribbean – The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) is pleased to advise that full functionality of the DCash digital payments platform has been restored effective Wednesday, 9 March. DCash is the digital version of the Eastern Caribbean (EC) dollar… more
Grenada’s PM praised by CARICOM heads for efforts on roaming rates
Caribbean – Grenada’s Prime Minister, Dr Keith Mitchell, has been commended by his CARICOM colleagues for leading the effort towards the reduction of roaming rates in the region… more
$2500 Incentive For Jamaicans To Get Digital Wallet
Jamaica – The first 100,000 Jamaicans establishing Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) wallets (accounts) after April 1, will receive a $2,500 deposit from the Government… more
EduFocal expecting growth despite resumption of in-person school
Jamaica – Co-founder and CEO of EduFocal, Gordon Swaby, is expecting the entity’s financial performance to improve, despite the resumption of face-to-face learning… more
Jamaica Offers Free Money to Digital Currency’s First Adopters
Jamaica – Jamaica plans to give $16 of free money to the first 100,000 citizens who use its soon-to-be-launched Jam-Dex digital currency… more
Chastanet Criticises Government Over Sky FM Issue
Saint Lucia – Opposition leader Allen Chastanet has criticised the Government over the SKY FM issue, questioning the administration’s focus on shutting down the station instead of other matters… more
How Paypal works in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago – How to receive money from Paypal? If I told you that this question gets Googled in TT over 30,000 times a month, would you believe me? … more
Friday, 11 March 2022
BTC continues journey to build better future for the country
Bahamas – BTC is ramping up the installations of its fiber-to-the home project as the company aims to have The Bahamas completely “fiberized” by the end of 2023… more
THE FUTURE IS CRYPTO?: FTX to invest $60M in HQ, commercial center and boutique hotel in The Bahamas
Bahamas – The world’s second largest cryptocurrency exchange is looking to invest around $60 million towards the development of a boutique hotel, commercial center and its new headquarters in The Bahamas… more
Digital age contributing to reggae’s downward spiral, says Skatta
Jamaica – While in favour of the technological advances in the production and dissemination of reggae music, producer Cordel ‘Skatta’ Burrell sounded a warning that these advances can be detrimental, if the proper balance is not achieved… more
Flow & SXM DOET partner in annual volunteer effort.
Sint Maarten – Telecom provider Flow pledged its support to the SXM DOET organization in its endeavor to coordinate the 2022 edition of the Kingdom-wide volunteer effort on St. Maarten… more
MoH receives IT equipment from PAHO/WHO
Trinidad and Tobago – The Ministry of Health (MoH) has received 37 Information Technology (IT) devices from the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO)… more
Saturday, 12 March 2022
Be vigilant for cyber attacks – expert
Barbados – Barbados and other regional states are being warned to be on alert since they could become victims of collateral damage should the fears of Russia declaring cyber war on the US become a reality… more
Investigation to determine cause of IT failures at gov’t agencies
Barbados – Six government departments affected by technical problems that resulted in a shutdown of their computer systems earlier this week are now back on stream, and an investigation is underway into the root cause of the problem… more
Schools praise old boys’ association for ICT equipment
Jamaica – STUDENTS OF Anchovy High School in St James are among more than 30, 000 across 25 high and primary schools who benefited from a donation of information communications technology (ICT) equipment to build out and expand their Internet capabilities for greater access to teaching and learning… more
Sunday, 13 March 2022
Cedric Stephens | Digital currencies on the rise, risk assessment lags
Jamaica – The video on social media about Finance and Public Service Minister Dr Nigel Clarke and his barber Paul that was filmed at Gordon House last Tuesday was political theatre. The aim: to provide elected representatives and members of the public with a practical example of how the CBDC or central bank digital currency works… more
Images credit: the blowup (Unsplash); Wikimedia Commons; Guyana Chronicle; Wikimedia Commons; Wikipedia; Wikimedia Commons; Wikipedia; Wikipedia
