Welcome to ICT Pulse’s Roundup of the previous week’s ICT and technology news! These news below have been drawn from a variety of sources, but primarily from newspapers and press releases published within the Caribbean region. Currently, we plan is post every Monday, a recap of all of the major ICT/technology happenings that made the news during the previous week. However, if the volume of material  is consistently substantial, we may opt to publish the Roundup more frequently. In the meantime, enjoy …

Monday, 25 July 2011

CTV loses rights to broadcast several stations

Antigua – An agreement between Turner Broadcasting System Latin America, Inc (TBSLA) and Karib Cable has left CTV without the right to broadcast networks owned by TBSLA. It means only Karib Cable has exclusive rights to broadcast programming from CNN, TNT, CNN Headline News, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network, Boomerang and truTV to its subscribers in Antigua… more

Guyanese Gov’t To Get Tough On Media

Guyana – Guyanese television and radio stations previously suspended could find it harder to renew their licences under a draft broadcasting law, which will also set a raft of restrictions on programming and conduct. But the decades-old government monopoly on radio broadcasting would almost certainly end if the bill is approved by the government’s simple majority and receives the presidential assent… more

European Union support network in Caribbean

Grenada – Using technology, Caribbean member states will be better able to enhance their global competitiveness. The Caribbean Knowledge and Learning Network, CKLN, an inter-governmental Agency of CARICOM, secured a grant of Euro 10 million from the European Union to develop a broadband fiber optic network, called C@ribNET… more

Stamping Out Payola – Radio, TV still important In Digital Age

Jamaica – There is a school of thought that believes that with increased Internet access, radio and television are less important to music consumers and, therefore, payola concerns are overstated. But Cordel Green, executive director of the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica, quickly shoots down that opinion… more

 Tuesday, 26 July 2011

Telecoms companies lock horns; customers without service

Antigua – Digicel and APUA are trading verbal blows over which company is responsible for a technical fault that has disenfranchised Digicel customers since Monday… more

BTC introduces mobile top-up system for pre-paid customers

Bahamas – One week after a privatized BTC announced it was dropping long-distance connection charges for inter-island calls originating from mobile phones, there is more good news for cell phone users. Pre-paid consumers will soon be able to top up the minutes on their phones at dozens of new and modernized locations, including at cash registers in grocery stores and fuel stations, and will be able to add as little as a dollar to their prepaid accounts with a new product — EZTop-Up… more

 Wednesday, 27 July 2011

Phone card vendors concerned about impact of new BTC top-up system

Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) is set to align its cost base with industry standards worldwide, it confirmed in a statement yesterday, leaving street vendors who make a living selling the company’s prepaid phone cards fearing that alignment will thin their profit margins to the point of destroying their livelihood… more

Thursday, 28 July 2011

Injunction Forces Restoration Of Digicel Service

Antigua – Digicel services that had been unavailable since Monday evening began returning yesterday afternoon after the company got a court injunction forcing government-owned APUA to reconnect its network to the national system… more

Friday, 29 July 2011

BTC’s $1m EZTop marketing spend

Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) yesterday said it plans to spend $1 million in marketing suport over the next 12 months to support distribution of its prepaid EZTop-Up cell phone minutes, describing the reduction in wholesaler commission rates as “necessary” to bring them in line with industry norms… more

Some phone card vendors overcharging customers

Bahamas – Some phone card vendors are overcharging customers to compensate for reductions in their profit margins as the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) rolls out its EZTop-Up system, which is expected to lead to a reduction in the phone card business… more

Cable Bahamas chooses Nokia Siemens Networks for voice services

Bahamas – Cable Bahamas will soon be the first in the islands to offer high-quality attractively priced IP telephony service over cable networks, as the company has selected the Nokia Siemens Networks’ voice over cable (VoC) softswitch platform to roll out the services… more

Government launches $10.2 mil e-gov’t portal

Bahamas – The government officially launched its $10.2 million e-government portal yesterday, which will allow members of the public to do a wide variety of business transactions with the government from their personal computers… more

SMART says 3G! But P.U.C. and Telemedia still no deal

Belize – Standard interconnectivity between Smart and Telemedia remains in limbo tonight despite a Supreme Court order at the end of March for both companies to establish new terms and conditions for the use of shared infrastructure… more

Local TV goes HD

Cayman – High-definition local broadcasts are coming to Cayman, possibly as soon as October, when CITN plans to launch Cayman 27 in the HD format… more

LIME takes measures to improve revenue

Jamaica –INTEGRATED telecommunications giant LIME Jamaica intends to cut benefits to employees as it attempts to redirect focus to its major earners, the landline and broadband/data services market, in an effort to attain profitability. These changes come just four months after the company’s annual report showed losses of J$2.5 billion… more

LIME by no means retreating from mobile market

Jamaica – GARRY Sinclair, managing director of LIME Jamaica & Cayman did not say that the telecommunications company was retreating from the mobile market, as reported in today’s Caribbean Business Report… more

ICT Experts to attend Regional Convention on Critical Internet Governance Issues for the Caribbean and Latin America

Trinidad and Tobago  – Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy and regulatory specialists, Government Ministers and Internet gurus will be attending an important Latin America and Caribbean Convention on Internet Governance aimed at strengthening the Region’s involvement in the governance and use of the Internet and its resources… more

Saturday, 30 July 2011

First group of employees leave BTC

Bahamas ­– One hundred and sixty-two employees who received voluntary separation packages (VSEP) spent their last day at the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) yesterday… more

$100,000 packages for BTC employees

Bahamas – The first wave of BTC employees who accepted voluntary separation packages left the company yesterday with an average financial package of at least $100,000 each… more

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