{"id":71197,"date":"2014-12-22T07:38:28","date_gmt":"2014-12-22T12:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=71197"},"modified":"2017-04-07T15:36:23","modified_gmt":"2017-04-07T20:36:23","slug":"roundup-week-21-december-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2014\/12\/roundup-week-21-december-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Roundup: for the week ending 21 December 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

A roundup of ICT\/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 15 December to 21 December 2014.<\/em><\/p>\n

\nMonday, 15 December 2014<\/h3>\n

Cable Bahamas Opens Doors On Its New Store At Mall<\/h4>\n

Bahamas<\/em> \u2013 CABLE Bahamas\u2019 new flagship Customer Service and Experience Centre in the Mall at Marathon opens its doors to the public this morning with the company offering its REV brand and core product categories \u201cin one unified space\u201d\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

New director to help CIG become more e-friendly<\/h4>\n

Cayman Islands <\/em>\u2013 Mr Ian Tibbetts has been appointed as the Cabinet Office\u2019s new Director of e-Government\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

BUSINESS BYTE: Digicel Play welcomes new general manager<\/h4>\n

Dominica <\/em>\u2013 Dominica\u2019s fastest broadband and TV company, Digicel Play, recently welcomed Michael Loiser as its newly appointed General Manager\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018Butch’ Stewart launches third call centre in Grenada<\/h4>\n

Grenada <\/em>\u2013 Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart last week launched his third Caribbean call centre – after Jamaica and St Lucia – in this Grenadian capital, promising technological sophistication and high-quality customer service\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Qualfon Expands Operations in Georgetown, Guyana, South America to Serve One of the Largest Telecom Companies in the U.S.<\/h4>\n

Guyana <\/em>\u2013 Qualfon, a people-driven business process outsourcing (BPO) company and global provider of call center services, has expanded its operations in Georgetown, Guyana in South America to serve one of the largest telecommunications companies in the U.S\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

New company to be formed from CWC\/Columbus merger will transform customer service experience<\/h4>\n

Regional<\/em> \u2013 \u00a0\u201cWe are forming a new company, with a new leadership team, and a new culture, putting our customers at the heart of the business\u201d \u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

CWU against takeover of Columbus<\/h4>\n

Trinidad and Tobago <\/em>\u2013 Cable & Wireless and Columbus Communications are engaging in \u201ccorporate prostitution\u201d that would lead to massive layoffs if allowed to continue, according to Communication Workers\u2019 Union (CWU) secretary general Joseph Remy\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Tuesday, 16 December 2014<\/h3>\n

CCJ to hand down judgment on BTL nationalisation in January<\/h4>\n

Belize <\/em>\u2013 The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is expected to hand down its final decision on the nationalisation of incumbent telecoms operator Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) on 23 January 2014, following three days of arguments, the Reporter writes\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

E-government chief starts work<\/h4>\n

Cayman Islands <\/em>\u2013 Former Cable & Wireless\/LIME executive Ian Tibbetts begins work this month as the Cayman Islands director of e-government under the Cabinet office\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Guyana\"Govt. now considering alternative bandwidth for E-governance<\/h4>\n

Guyana <\/em>\u2013 With several hundred million dollars already expended to land a fiber optic cable in Guyana from Brazil, there is now uncertainty about when and where the internet connectivity will be coming from now that the project is in deep trouble\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Gov’t beefs up cyber-security after website attacks<\/h4>\n

Jamaica<\/em> \u2013 The Government of Jamaica (GOJ) says it is implementing a raft of measures to address the issue of cyber-security, following an attack on more than 10 government websites three weeks ago\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Big Investment, New Jobs \u2013 CWC\/Columbus Merger Promises To Transform Customer Experience<\/h4>\n

Regional<\/em> \u2013 CABLE and Wireless Communications (CWC) and Columbus International Inc. (Columbus) have announced a ground-breaking customer charter that will guide how the new company would operate following the approval and closing of their merger\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Regulators consider merger<\/h4>\n

Regional <\/em>\u2013 Over the course of two days, specifically last Wednesday and Thursday, regional telecommunications regulators met at the Cascadia Hotel to consider the proposed buyout of Columbus Communications by Cable and Wireless (CWC)\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

CWU: List TSTT on the TTSE<\/h4>\n

Trinidad and Tobago<\/em> \u2013 Secretary general of the Communications Workers\u2019 Union (CWU) Joseph Remy is calling for TSTT to be listed on the T&T Stock Exchange\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Union wants regional governments involved in CWC-Columbus International merger<\/h4>\n

Trinidad and Tobago <\/em>\u2013 The Communication Workers Union (CWU) is appealing to Caribbean Community (CARICOM) governments to intervene in order to stop a merger between the British telecommunications giant, Cable and Wireless (CWC) and Columbus International\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Wednesday, 17 December 2014<\/h3>\n

BTC introduces TV service to Bimini<\/h4>\n

Bahamas<\/em> \u2013 Just 8 days shy of Christmas Day, BTC has delivered on its promise, to introduce television services to Bimini\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Digicel Business, Masergy partner on data security<\/h4>\n

Cayman Islands <\/em>\u2013 Digicel Business is extending its partnership with Masergy Communications Inc. to offer an advanced \u201cSecurity as a Service\u201d solution to businesses across Cayman\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Jagdeo stifled Guyana\u2019s technological development<\/h4>\n

Guyana <\/em>\u2013 Former President Bharrat Jagdeo, through his actions, deliberately stalled Guyana\u2019s technological development by more than four years\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Big Things A Gwaan Fi LIME<\/h4>\n

Jamaica<\/em> \u2013 THE EDITOR, Sir: big kudos to telecommunications giant LIME Jamaica on its recent acquisition of Dekal Wireless Jamaica Limited and Columbus Communications through its parent company, Cable and Wireless Communications\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

\"JamaicaJ’can student has large antivirus software firms in his cross hairs<\/h4>\n

Jamaica<\/em> \u2013 SHELDON Duncombe reckons that he can compete with some of the world’s largest antivirus software companies when he launches his company, HurteX, next March\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Mega Technology At MegaMart<\/h4>\n

Jamaica<\/em> \u2013 Believe it or not, it might be possible to avoid long retail lines during the Christmas shopping season, especially if you have to fight your way to the checkout counter\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Columbus\/LIME merger risks taking telecoms back to the dark ages<\/h4>\n

Regional<\/em> \u2013 I felt moved to respond to Mark Wignall’s Sunday Observer column in The Agenda entitled ‘Embrace the healthy competition, Digicel’ based on the fact that the piece was littered with emotional invective whilst, at the same time, being totally devoid of actual facts\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Digicel chairman presses case against CWC\/Columbus merger<\/h4>\n

Regional<\/em> \u2013 DIGICEL Chairman Denis O’Brien argued his company’s case against the proposed acquisition of Columbus Communications by Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) Plc last week in Trinidad, insisting that the purchase will create a monopoly\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

OAS supports Suriname in development of national cyber security plan<\/h4>\n

Suriname<\/em> \u2013 The Organization of American States (OAS) on Tuesday concluded a two-day mission in Suriname for preparatory meetings geared towards information gathering to assist in the development of a National Cyber Security Plan\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Thursday, 18 December 2014<\/h3>\n

Cable Bahamas Suspends Local Talent<\/h4>\n

Bahamas <\/em>\u2013 As a 100% Bahaman-owned company, Cable Bahamas has a vested interest in the community and supporting local talent. Cable Bahamas has become aware of a matter involving one of our local advertising contractors\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

URCA issues preliminary determination and draft order on the BTC March 2014 network outage<\/h4>\n

Bahamas <\/em>\u2013 On March 27, 2014, the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) notified the public that, in exercise of its powers under Section 9 of the Communications Act, 2009, it commenced an investigation into the network outage as experienced by the Bahamas Telecommunications Company Limited (BTC) on March 22, 2014, in order to determine the appropriate regulatory or other measure it would take to effectively address this matter\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Build Or Lease? The Economics Of Datacenter Facilities<\/h4>\n

Curacao <\/em>\u2013 In today\u2019s fast evolving business climate, companies rely heavily on the availability, quality and consistency of their IT infrastructures in order to guarantee the continued success of the business\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

LIME Dominica here \u2018for the long haul\u2019<\/h4>\n

Dominica<\/em> \u2013 General manager of LIME Dominica Jeffery Baptiste has dismissed suggestions by some members of the public that the company may have taken a turn for the worst\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

IT specialist is 2014 Best Cop<\/h4>\n

Guyana <\/em>\u2013 With Information Technology playing a major role in almost every aspect of modern day life including crime fighting, the Guyana Police Force appears to be following the trend when they selected one of their IT Specialists as the Best Cop for 2014\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

CTU issues statement after its Port-of-Spain Forum<\/h4>\n

Regional<\/em> \u2013 Following is the full text of the statement issued by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union on the Regulatory Forum held on December 10-11 at Cascadia Hotel, St Ann’s, T&T\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Telecom consolidation: 5 potential consumer benefits<\/h4>\n

Regional <\/em>\u2013 Much has been written about the potential negative implications of the consolidation being witnessed in the Caribbean telecom sector\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Tell the facts, C&W<\/h4>\n

Regional <\/em>\u2013 I was initially pleased to see that Cable & Wireless (C&W) responded to my letter on their proposed acquisition of Columbus, but after reading their response I was disappointed to see they didn\u2019t take my comments on board, nor did they take the opportunity to ease the concerns of the public\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Putting the consumers first<\/h4>\n

Trinidad and Tobago <\/em>\u2013 ON December 11, Finance Minister Larry Howai assured Digicel founder and executive chairman Denis O\u2019Brien that Government will make a decision soon on the proposed US$3 billion acquisition of Columbus by Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC)\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Friday, 19 December 2014<\/h3>\n

Cable\u00a0Bahamas suspends spokesperson<\/h4>\n

Bahamas <\/em>\u2013 Cable Bahamas yesterday announced that it suspended its relationship with one of its advertising contractors pending the result of a police investigation\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

\"http:\/\/www.thebahamasweekly.com\/publish\/local\/URCA_Public_Consultation_on_Universal_Service21909.shtml\"URCA\u00a0preliminary finding on March 2014 BTC network outage<\/h4>\n

Bahamas <\/em>\u2013 The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) placed the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC)\u2008on a clock with respect to any response by the telecoms company to URCA\u2019s preliminary finding of breach of contract:\u2008BTC\u2008now has less than a month to respond, 30 days after which URCA will issue its final determination and order\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Columbus: Still no luck with mobile licence<\/h4>\n

Barbados<\/em> \u2013 Columbus Barbados Telecommunications Limited is keen to get a mobile licence but has been unsuccessful so far\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Instant message: BB\u2008is here to stay<\/h4>\n

Barbados<\/em> \u2013 The Caribbean remains a stronghold for BlackBerry and any suggestion that the Canadian telecommunication and wireless equipment company is on its last legs is false\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Latitude, a Blockchain Startup Accelerator, Set to Launch in the Cayman Islands<\/h4>\n

Cayman Islands <\/em>\u2013 A newly announced accelerator program for blockchain ventures is set to launch in January in the Cayman Islands, aiming to take advantage of the location’s heavenly landscapes and favorable tax regime\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

What Washington\u2019s Policy Shift Means for Cuba\u2019s Awful Internet Service<\/h4>\n

Cuba <\/em>\u2013 The United States\u2019 trade embargo against Cuba began on Oct. 19, 1960. That\u2019s almost exactly nine years to the day before the first link was established on what would eventually evolve into the Internet\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

BUSINESS BYTE: Customers continue to WIN with LIME this Christmas<\/h4>\n

Dominica <\/em>\u2013 LIME is keeping its promise of making this Christmas a \u2018Holly Jolly\u2019 one for its many customers\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

BUSINESS BYTE: LIME slashes roaming rates<\/h4>\n

Dominica <\/em>\u2013 Dominica\u2019s leading telecommunications service provider LIME, has announced the launch of their new prepaid roaming offers – slashing prices by up to 50%… more<\/a><\/p>\n

Appeal Court says Digicel\/Claro merger was proper<\/h4>\n

Jamaica <\/em>\u2013 The Court of Appeal has closed the chapter on the 2011 merger of Digicel and Claro, saying the merger was effected properly\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

LIME positioning to take advantage of US\/Cuba relations<\/h4>\n

Jamaica <\/em>\u2013 Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC) is now positioning itself to take advantage of any business opportunities resulting from the historic re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the USA and Cuba\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

LIME projects US$281-m growth in revenues from Flow acquisition<\/h4>\n

Regional <\/em>\u2013 TELECOMS provider LIME Jamaica expects to grow annual revenues to US$281 million with the Flow acquisition, according to Chairman Chris Dehring\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Digicel Delivers Super Smartphone Sale Today<\/h4>\n

Saint Kitts and Nevis <\/em>\u2013 Just when we thought that giving away $15,000 cash every week was enough, Digicel St. Kitts & Nevis strikes again with another incentive to make this Christmas the best one to date\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Former LIME Employees Start to Collect Severance<\/h4>\n

Saint Kitts and Nevis <\/em>\u2013\u00a0Some former LIME employees have collected their long delayed severance pay from the government, according to reports reaching WINN FM\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

IDB Funds Open Data For E-Health In T&T<\/h4>\n

Trinidad and Tobago <\/em>\u2013 A US$110 million Inter-American Development Bank loan for Trinidad and Tobago will fund a health initiative to design and implement a nationwide electronic health information management system\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Saturday, 20 December 2014<\/h3>\n

LIME, DEKAL Wireless Provide School With Internet<\/h4>\n

Jamaica <\/em>\u2013 HERE WAS excitement at the Schoolfield Primary and Infant School on Tuesday as the institution received Internet for the first time courtesy of Lime and DEKAL Wireless\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Columbus tells CWU: No plans to cut jobs<\/h4>\n

Trinidad and Tobago <\/em>\u2013 Columbus Communications Trinidad Ltd has told the Communications Workers Union (CWU) it has no immediate plans to reduce its workforce in T&T\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

Sunday, 21 December 2014<\/h3>\n

Five Apply For Portability Admin Services<\/h4>\n

Jamaica <\/em>\u2013 The Office of Utilities Regulations (OUR) has received five applications for number portability administration services to Jamaican telecommunications operators\u2026 more<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Image credits:\u00a0 Mars Hill Church<\/a> (flickr);\u00a0 Wikipedia<\/a>;\u00a0 Wikipedia<\/a>;\u00a0 The Bahamas Weekly<\/a>;\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

____________<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A roundup of ICT\/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 15 December to 21 December 2014. Monday, 15 December 2014 Cable Bahamas Opens Doors On Its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[77],"tags":[71,53,105,55,78,103],"class_list":["post-71197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-businesses","tag-competition","tag-cybercrimecybersecurity","tag-mergers-acquisitions","tag-news-roundup","tag-outsourcing","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Newsstand-by-Mars-Hill-Church-flickr.jpg?fit=480%2C360&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2iE1G-iwl","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71197"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96789,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71197\/revisions\/96789"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}