A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 4 April to Sunday 10 April 2022.
Monday, 4 April 2022
Cable Bahamas Group offers a closer look at their women in leadership
Bahamas – The Cable Bahamas Group is celebrating its Women in Leadership Campaign, an initiative designed by the Cable Bahamas Group to celebrate 10 of its most senior female executives and expand the conversation about gender parity at every level in the workplace… more
Michel Chebat on E-Governance: “A Ministry on the move”
Belize – It is the youngest, but could become one of the most important Government portfolios… more
Fintech course gets under way
British Virgin Islands – Twenty-five students have begun a new financial technology training programme at the Robert Mathavious Institute for Financial Services at H. Lavity Stoutt Community College… more
PARAMOUNT+ reaches Caribbean audiences through C&W communications
Caribbean – Paramount+, the global digital subscription video streaming service from Paramount, announced an alliance with C&W Communications, the leading communications and entertainment provider in the Caribbean, to bring its premium content exclusively to subscribers of Flow and BTC video services in more than 15 new markets including Anguilla, The Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks, and Caicos Islands. Additional markets may be announced in the future… more
When a production computer dies
Caribbean – As businesses become increasingly digital, the architecture of the computing systems that underpin them becomes increasingly important… more
GTT and Fire Service team up to fight prank calls
Guyana – Local telecommunications company, GTT is teaming up with the Guyana Fire Service to clamp down prank calls to the Fire Service’s emergency lines… more
More seniors find online shopping the way to go but…
Jamaica – DESPITE eased restrictions on movement and longer opening hours for businesses, online shopping has become a way of life for more people, including seniors… more
bmobile partners with BCRC – Caribbean to tackle the challenge of e-Waste in T&T sustainably
Trinidad and Tobago – Electronic Waste (e-waste) is a growing concern worldwide. The first issue is that many electronic devices contain hazardous materials that can leach into the environment as their casings degrade in landfills, where a lot of consumer electronic waste currently ends up… more
Tuesday, 5 April 2022
Samsung announces availability of Galaxy S22 series starting April 8 at BTC
Bahamas – Samsung Electronics announces the availability of its category-redefining Galaxy S22 series in The Bahamas… more
Digitisation of public service moving ahead
Barbados – The public service must use the transformative potential of digital technology to change the way it does business, or be at the “double disadvantage” of being big and slow… more
Chamber of Commerce renews call for telecoms shakeup
Belize – Chamber of Commerce officials are seeking an explanation behind the long delay in passing the Telecommunications Bill which is aimed at regulating the sector… more
CXC launches Digital Intelligence Gateway – improvements to CXC’s Digital Services
Caribbean – Students and educational institutions in St. Kitts and Nevis along with CXC stakeholder countries will soon benefit from improvements of CXC’s Digital Services which make up their E-Transition Network… more
Cyber attacks in the region on the rise
Caribbean – With the world’s swift adaptation to digital during the Covid-19 pandemic, the issue of cybersecurity has become pressing… more
A digital version of the Guyana dollar would have far-reaching implications for Guyana
Guyana – Dear Editor, S/N editorial of Friday April 1st, 2020 was instructive in many respects. In a sense, the editorial was not only timely, it sounded alarm bells on a matter, although somewhat futuristic, should be of interest to all Guyanese… more
Ed. Ministry embraces technology to simplify access to its services
Guyana – In order to simplify the services that it offers, the Ministry of Education has announced that all documents, which would normally be ‘hand-delivered’ to its 21 Brickdam, Georgetown Human Resources Department, pertaining to upgrade in status, transfer, secondment, etc., should be emailed to the following address: hr@moe.gov.gy… more
450 graduate from Flow Foundation’s Skills for the Future Programme
Jamaica – The Flow Foundation recently graduated 450 students from its second cohort of the Skills for the Future Programme, delivering on its vision of providing more Jamaicans with the skills needed to thrive in a digital economy… more
TechCon 2022 to zoom in on digital readiness
Jamaica – The future of work and the digital readiness of Caribbean businesses is to take centre stage at this year’s staging of tTech’s tech conference scheduled to run April 12-13… more
Wednesday, 6 April 2022
Cable Bahamas Group VP speaks at 3rd Sustainable Grand Bahama Conference
Bahamas – Charnette Thompson, Vice President of B2B Innovations within the Cable Bahamas Group of Companies, is set to speak at the 3rd Sustainable Grand Bahama Conference under the theme “Diversifying and Expanding our Economy”… more
First Smart classroom launched in Region Ten
Guyana – Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand on Friday commissioned a smart classroom at the Christianburg Secondary School… more
Govt asks PUC to tighten regulations because of “numerous reports” of poor Internet quality
Guyana – Citing several complaints about the quality of Internet service, Prime Minister Mark Phillips on Wednesday asked the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to set Quality of Service benchmarks for providers to abide by… more
Haiti – Digicel : Users of «Mon cash» can now receive international transfers on their phone
Haiti – In a note the Digicel informs that users of the Mon cash service can now receive international transfers on their phone in complete safety from countries such as : the United States, Chile, Brazil, Canada, France, among others… more
Ready for Jam-Dex
Jamaica – MORE than 50,000 users have been enrolled to receive the Bank of Jamaica’s (BOJ’s) central bank digital currency (CBDC), Jam-Dex, following the April 1 timeline announced by the Minister of Finance Nigel Clarke… more
The iCreate story
Jamaica – My interest is very deep as it relates to the digital creative economy and its development in Jamaica.” — a simple start line from Tyrone Wilson, founder and CEO of iCreate, as we prepped for the interview about his sojourn into business, fresh out of university… more
16 local companies taking part in virtual trade
Trinidad and Tobago – Sixteen local companies are gearing up to participate in a metaverse virtual trade mission, which will be held in Illinois, USA, on April 13… more
TSTT farce
Trinidad and Tobago – THAT the Court of Appeal could soon ponder the purported legal question of whether the Telecommunications Services of TT (TSTT) is a public authority is not a cause for celebration. It is a cause for concern… more
Thursday, 7 April 2022
UPGRADE: BTC connects 10,000 homes with fiber-to-the-home services in Q1
Bahamas – BTC has completed upgrades in more than twenty communities in New Providence and Grand Bahama, connecting 10,000 homes with fiber-to-the-home services during the first quarter of 2022, a record-breaking feat for the leading telecoms company… more
Online shopping and delivery here to stay
Barbados – Even after the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, Barbadians will largely still want to do their local shopping online and they will require the options of delivery or curbside pick-up… more
PwC’s 2022 CBDC Global Index places The Bahamas, Eastern Caribbean, and Jamaica among the top ten central banks for retail payments
Caribbean – The future of money is digital, according to a new global CBDC index from PwC… more
Dawgen expands cybersecurity practice
Jamaica – DAWGEN Global, which offers cybersecurity services throughout the Caribbean through member firm Dawgen USA Inc, is introducing a new “plug and play” product powered by Ostra which is described as a data protection source for small and mid-market businesses…more
More than 85 per cent encrypted, blocked GEBE data said secured
Sint Maarten – Over 85 per cent of the encrypted and blocked data of utilities company GEBE, which was hit by the BlackByte ransomware virus on March 17, has been “safeguarded” and “secured”… more
Cyber security too important to ignore
Trinidad and Tobago – Sixty per cent of small companies go out of business within six months of falling victim to a data breach or cyber attack, international cyber expert Danyetta Fleming Magana has warned… more
iQor takes the lead in BPO services
Trinidad and Tobago – It happens all the time in TT – you pick up your phone to call a private or public sector organisation for a simple query or update and you have one of the worst experiences as a customer… more
Friday, 8 April 2022
Chamber chair calls for greater automation, optimization in doing business
Bahamas – Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation Chairperson Khrystle Rutherford-Ferguson said yesterday that while there has been great movement toward improving the ease of doing business as it relates to automation and optimization, more can be done within the public and private sectors… more
MedRegis partners with global firm
Barbados – Young entrepreneur Dale Trotman is one step closer to making telemedicine mainstream in the Caribbean… more
Information and communications technology — a regional priorit
Caribbean – Caribbean leaders are collaborating to improve the region’s digital landscape amid claims that the Caribbean is lagging behind the rest of the world where Information and communications technology (ICT) is concerned… more
Interest association for online gaming sector organized
Curaçao – The online gaming sector has recently established an interest group. The Curaçao Online Gaming Association (Coga) wants to represent the interests of everyone in this sector… more
Saturday, 9 April 2022
Spotlight Initiative Donates ICT Equipment to Strengthen FAMCare
Belize – On Tuesday, April 5th, 2022, Hon. Elvia Vega-Samos, Minister of State in the Ministry of Human Development, Families and Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs (MHDFIPA), received a donation of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) equipment to improve the infrastructure to strengthen data collection, management, harmonization and analysis of gender-based violence (GBV) in Belize from Mr. Ian King, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP… more
Photographer accused of being ‘Mudwata’ in hot water for cyber offence
Guyana – The photographer who is accused of being disguised under the cartoon character “Mudwata” and cyber bullying citizens – was on Friday placed on $100,000 bail for the alleged cyber bullying of a journalist… more
Photographer faces cybercrime charge
Guyana – Photographer Keron Bruce was yesterday charged with a cybercrime based on the accusation that he spread false information about reporter Leroy Smith… more
Time for big businesses to stop Googling and buy from local businesses- GCCI, GTT
Guyana – The President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Timothy Tucker on Friday night singled out the need not only for major lobbying efforts for small business financing but also for big businesses to buy from their smaller counterparts to allow them to grow… more
Waiting on GTT’s Fibre Optic Service
Guyana – Dear Editor, I made two online applications, and one in person, at Mahaica in February 2022 for GTT Fibre Optic and I am waiting for it to be connected… more
Black River to go digital for tourism, says MP Green
Jamaica – Member of Parliament for St Elizabeth South Western Floyd Green says the rebirth of this historically rich south-central town and its potential of greater heritage tourism is expected to include vast digital transformation… more
Sunday, 10 April 2022
Digicel CEO: Foreign content producers must help offset digital costs
Caribbean – Chances are you are scrolling your favourite app on your mobile device, tablet or laptop absorbing gigabytes of foreign content at little to no cost… more
Easy steps to ensure smooth online shopping
Caribbean – LAST week, Digicel’s digital lifestyle empowerment team shared some simple steps in introducing seniors to the vast world of online shopping. In case you missed it, find it with a quick search on the Jamaica Observer website… more
Digital nomads on the rise
Caribbean – The novel coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the pace for people wanting to have more freedom and flexibility and the privilege to work on their own time — propelling the rise of digital nomads globally… more
Healthcare providers can collaborate better with technology
Caribbean – What if all of your healthcare providers could view your complete electronic medical record (EMR) before recommending treatment for the individual issue that they may be dealing with… more
Why you might need a cybersecurity strategy
Jamaica – As more Jamaican entrepreneurs turn to the Internet to maximise sales and grow their business, the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) is encouraging businesses to also beef up their cybersecurity framework… more
Images credit: Susan Sermoneta (flickr); Guyana Chronicle; CXC: Bank of Jamaica; Wikipedia; Wikipedia; Wikipedia; Wikimedia Commons;
