A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 24 July to Sunday 30 July 2023.
Monday, 24 July 2023
Artificial intelligence is ‘great benefit’ despite risk of abuse
Bahamas – Bahamian technology executives yesterday hailed the evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as “a great benefit for society” even though there is a risk of abuse by bad actors… more
FOCOL brings mobile payments to Shell stations
Bahamas – FOCOL has launched its Smartpass app, that allows for petrol purchases at Shell stations on New Providence without using cash or a credit card, the company’s Chief Executive Officer Dexter Adderley said at the app’s launch event… more
FTX Trading suing SBF, other former FTX execs
Bahamas – FTX Trading Ltd. is suing former FTX Chief Executive Officer Sam Bankman-Fried, and former FTX executives Zixiao “Gary” Wang, Nishad Singh and Caroline Ellison for more than $1 billion in the US Bankruptcy Court of the District of Delaware, leveling 48 collective counts dealing with the misappropriation of FTX and Alameda funds against the quartet, according to the complaint filed on Thursday… more
IT for Dominica Foundation Summer Institute concludes 22nd session of teaching and learning with technology
Dominica – The Ministry of Education, Human Resource Planning, Vocational Training and National Excellence, in partnership with the IT for Dominica Foundation Summer Institute, concluded its 22nd session of teaching and learning with technology Friday, July 21, 2023… more
Nadine Maitland | Culture change needed for adoption of digital currency
Jamaica – Digital currencies can revolutionise the economy and foster growth through improved e-commerce, they provide safer and more convenient ways to conduct business transactions… more
Digicel tops Ookla Q2 speedtest
Trinidad and Tobago – Digicel has emerged as the fastest mobille and fixed internet operator in Trinidad and Tobago for the second quarter in 2023… more
Journalism needs commitment more than it needs AI
Trinidad and Tobago – Last month, Media InSite hosted a seminar on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in communications… more
Tuesday, 25 July 2023
OKX Bahamas announces listing of coin founded by ChatGPT chief
Bahamas – From its hub in The Bahamas, cryptocurrency exchange OKX revealed in a statement yesterday that it has listed Worldcoin (WLD) on its exchange… more
Tech tourism push after govt experiences Saudi Arabia’s model
Bahamas – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation Chester Cooper said the government hopes to sign another memorandum of understanding with Saudi Arabia to expand cooperation on matters like tech tourism… more
Public Utilities Minister Weighs in on B.E.L. Cyber Attack
Belize – Belize Electricity Limited is the victim of a cyber attack that took place recently when its fileservers were hacked and data from those machines was leaked to the dark web… more
ICT Experts: Closing Gender Gap in ICT Critical to Caribbean Cybersecurity
Caribbean – The regional telecommunications sector is being challenged to increase gender diversity, especially as it relates to cyber security and cyber threats… more
Jamaica, Guyana call for digitalisation of health care
Caribbean – Jamaica and Guyana have called for the digitalisation of the health sector in the Americas as the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IBD) celebrated five years of collaboration in information systems and digital health… more
Why Jamaica, Silicon Island of the Caribbean, is the hot new tech hub to watch
Jamaica – A rising tide, they say, lifts all boats. And in tech, the fastest-rising industry on the planet, it’s a good time to get on board with Jamaica… more
‘An agent of digital transformation in T&T’
Trinidad and Tobago – BARBADOS-BASED telecoms provider, Neptune Communications, is aiming to be an “agent of digital transformation” in this country, its chief executive officer Julian Jordan has said… more
TTBizLink improving trade facilitation for T&T
Trinidad and Tobago – PRESIDENT of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce Kiran Maharaj was invited by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to give remarks at the Launch of the Single Electronic Window – TTBizLink – Enhanced Application Software on July 18… more
Wednesday, 26 July 2023
Mastercard to host fintech summit in Bahamas next month
Bahamas – Mastercard will host a financial technology (fintech) summit at Rosewood at Baha Mar next month, to expose trends in the Caribbean’s fintech ecosystem, the company said in a statement released yesterday… more
CWC pushes for increased Internet connectivity in region
Caribbean – TELECOMS giant Liberty Latin America — parent company of C&W Communications — has set its sights on increasing Internet connectivity across the region over the next year… more
GTT says over 110,000 Guyanese using mmg
Guyana – General Manager of Mobile Money Guyana (MMG), Bobita Ram on Monday announced that more than 110,000 Guyanese are using mmg to pay bills and conduct other transactions as public confidence in the innovative solution continues to grow… more
Huawei interested in establishing ICT Academy in Guyana
Guyana – Technology giant, Huawei says it will work towards establishing an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Academy in Guyana in addition to sending a team of technical engineers to provide support and assess the needs of the country’s private sector… more
CreaTech promotes formalisation of creative businesses
Jamaica – THE thought of using a Silicon Valley model of development for the creative industries in Jamaica led Andrea Dempster Chung and her team at Kingston Creative to establish an ecosystem for entrepreneurs in that sector… more
K-Ban expands with ‘click and mortar’ hardware in St Andrew
Jamaica – K-BAN Hardware recently launched its new store in Village Plaza on Constant Spring Road in St Andrew, and it’s allowing e-commerce to meet storefront… more
Bmobile introduces eSIM technology
Trinidad and Tobago – BMOBILE has announced the introduction of eSIM support across its prepaid and postpaid packages… more
Digicel TT donates US$750k to Digicel Foundation
Trinidad and Tobago – The Digicel Foundation – a non-profit independent company of the Digicel Group – shared its financial statements for the first financial quarter of 2023 during its annual general meeting at the Digicel headquarters at Ansa Centre, Port of Spain on Wednesday… more
Tackling the cybercrime threat
Trinidad and Tobago – A WORKSHOP was convened in Port of Spain earlier this month at the Radisson Hotel hosted by the Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA)’s International Peace and Security Programme. The programme was focused on engaging Caribbean parliamentarians in the implementation of the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime… more
Thursday, 27 July 2023
Tech exec lauds Bahamas’ decision to join EU-LAC Digital Alliance
Bahamas – Keith Roye, the chief operations officer of 100 percent Bahamian-owned software company Plato Alpha Design, has applauded the Bahamian government’s decision to join in the establishment of the European Union – Latin America and Caribbean (EU-LAC) Digital Alliance, calling it a great move for the country, a statement from the company explained… more
Case dismissed against man over cyber `humiliation’ of Home Affairs PS
Guyana – On Tuesday July 25, 2023 a case against Joseph Rankin of causing cyber humiliation and embarrassment of the Home Affairs Ministry Permanent Secretary was dismissed by Magistrate Marissa Mittelholzer, according to a press release from Dexter Todd and Associates Law Firm… more
Bahamian tech firm Cloud Carib cops 6th spot for global managed service providers
Jamaica – In a groundbreaking achievement, Cloud Carib, a tech company from The Bahamas, has claimed the top spot as the first-ever managed service provider (MSP) from the Caribbean to be ranked in the top 10 of the prestigious Channel Futures’ 2023 MSP 501 list… more
DOTS to boost tourism, creative sectors
Trinidad and Tobago – The Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and the Arts has announced the launch of an exciting initiative that aims to drive innovation and enhance digital capabilities within the vibrant tourism and creative industries of TT… more
SmartTerm, changing the way schools handle business
Trinidad and Tobago – The education system of each country has the arduous task of ensuring that each public school is run to its optimum, with proper metrics to track the progress of each of the hundreds of students enrolled in each school, management of syllabi and other logistical issues… more
Friday, 28 July 2023
SBF charges dropped on Bahamas objection
Bahamas – US prosecutors will drop charges of illegal election campaign contributions against embattled FTX co-founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, after The Bahamas objected to their inclusion in his indictment following extradition… more
GTT announces support for Sophia Village Day and Job Fair, Reinforcing Commitment to Community Strengthening
Guyana – GTT has announced its sponsorship of the upcoming Sophia Village Day and Job Fair, scheduled to take place on the 29th and 30th of July 2023 at the Sophia Community Center Ground on C Field Road… more
Neptune Communications: Fast, secure satellite broadband at enterprise scale
Trinidad and Tobago – Neptune Communications, a telecommunications provider based in Barbados with operations in Jamaica has been granted a license to operate in Trinidad and Tobago by the Telecommunications Authority… more
TSTT earns US$14m profit, plans to remove underground copper
Trinidad and Tobago – The Telecommunications Service of TT (TSTT) has earned US$14 million after tax and US$17 million before tax making this financial year – which ended in March – the first profitable one in five years. This is compared to $2.04 billion in 2021… more
Saturday, 29 July 2023
Starlink a low risk to TSTT
Trinidad and Tobago – THE introduction of Elon Musk’s Starlink into the Trinidad and Tobago market poses a low risk to the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago’s business, chief executive officer Lisa Agard has said… more
TSTT declares $95.2M profit
Trinidad and Tobago – Majority state-owned telecommunications company, TSTT, yesterday reported after-tax profit of $95.2 million (US$14 million) for its financial year ending March 31, 2023… more
TSTT records US$24m profit in 15 months
Trinidad and Tobago – FOLLOWING its restructuring exercise last year, the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) has now recorded a profit for the first time since 2017… more
Sunday, 30 July 2023
Health + Tech | The importance of ease of use for healthcare IT
Caribbean – Many types of health technology software have become available over the last decade and the world is moving swiftly towards digitising healthcare systems. The rapid changes that we have experienced in technology over the last decades have not matched user acceptance… more
Cybercrime victim still awaiting justice two years after making report
Guyana – Two years after a 29-year-old mother of three was allegedly cyber-bullied by multiple persons on Facebook, police are yet to conclude the case… more
Online transactions triggering new consumer complaints
Jamaica – Online sales which hit a high during the COVID-19 pandemic, and other innovations including digital transactions, are throwing up more challenges for the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC)… more
‘Cellphone jammers not enough to block calls from prisoners’
Trinidad and Tobago – Cellphone jammers inside the country’s prisons are not enough to stop criminals behind bars from sending messages to others on the outside… more
Images credit: Nicolas Alejandro (flickr); Wikipedia; Wikimedia Commons; Wikimedia Commons; Cloud Carib (Facebook); Guyana Chronicle; Wikipedia
