A roundup of the ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region during the period Monday 23 July to Sunday 29 July 2012.
Monday, 23 July 2012
Killing the Free Market
Antigua & Barbuda – New information reaching Caribarena indicates that the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda forced APUA into the newly established telecommunications Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) prior to the document being vetted by the Attorney General’s office… more
Bahamas Prime Minister addresses CANTO Conference
Bahamas – The following are remarks delivered by the Prime Minister of The Bahamas Rt. Honourable Perry Gladstone Christie MP who was the Keynote Speaker at the CANTO 28th Annual Conference & Trade Show held at the Miami Hyatt Regency Hotel on Sunday 21st July 2012: … more
Digicel welcomes High Court ruling
Guyana – Digicel (Guyana) on Monday lauded the decision of Justice Rishi Persaud of the Commercial Division of the High Court as delivered last Friday in which he ruled that the monopoly held by the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) to provide telecommunications service or to regulate voice and data transmission over the internet is unlawful and void… more
Subscriber wins legal battle against GT&T
Guyana – Justice Rishi Persaud on Friday ruled against the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company, and awarded damages in excess of $850,000 to James Samuels who took the telecommunications giant to court after the disruption of his DSL service back in 2006… more
LIME Foundation kicks off annual Web Design Summer Programme
Jamaica – The LIME Jamaica Foundation last Monday launched its annual Summer Web Design Programme targeting youngsters between ages 13 and 16 with an emphasis on those from underserved circumstances… more
Tuesday, 24 July 2012
Olympian one-upmanship?
Antigua & Barbuda – Dear Editor, I am very upset to see that American-style one-upmanship is at play here in Antigua for the Olympics… more
PM reaffirms BTC agenda at CANTO
Bahamas – Prime Minister Perry Christie has reaffirmed his commitment to the re-nationalization of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) during an international conference held in Miami… more
Alleged top hacker sent to prison to await trial
Dominican Republic – At least eight police agents on Tuesday afternoon escorted Jose A. Gomez Canaan (Jochy) to Najayo prison, where he’ll be held during three months to await trial… more
Digicel in huge slash of international rates; GT&T appeals High Court ruling
Guyana – The Chief Executive Officer of Digicel (Guyana), Gregory Dean on Tuesday said his company is going ahead with its 62 percent cut in overseas rates from Tuesday in keeping with a High Court ruling, even as the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) says it has filed an appeal… more
Lottery scam criminals target head of police task force
Jamaica – The head of the Lottery Scam Task Force, Superintendent Leon Clunis, has been marked for death by criminals involved in the illegal activity, the Jamaica Observer has learnt… more
St Kitts-Nevis gets Internet root server
St. Kitts & Nevis – Internet users and businesses in the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis received a major boost with news that the country now has its own Internet DNS root server… more
Flow gets new regional website
Trinidad & Tobago – Columbus Communications has launched a new regional website for its retail cable TV brand Flow… more
ICT Crucial To Future Caribbean Development
USA – Caribbean telecommunication officials began a three-day meeting in Miami, Florida, on Sunday underscoring the need to develop the information, communication and technology (ICT) sector to be able to meet the goals of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015… more
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Cable Bahamas, BCB strike deal for Olympics coverage
Bahamas – The Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas (BCB) and Cable Bahamas Limited (CBL) have come to an agreement to provide blanket coverage of the London 2012 Olympics… more
S&P eyes ‘question marks’ at CWC
Bahamas – Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has identified “significant country risk” and “lack of full ownership” in key assets as hindrances for Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC) in the near term… more
Marpin and SAT seal Olympic deal
Dominica – Subscribers of Marpin 2K4 Ltd who were concerned that they might not have been able to see the 2012 Olympic Games can now put that to rest… more
Island Outsourcers aims for 2,000 jobs
Jamaica – Yoni Epstein has 300 job applications on his desk even though he hasn’t advertised any of his 20 new call-centre positions… more
Digicel slashes int’l rates up to 88%
Guyana – On Friday, Justice Rishi Persaud ruled that “the licence granting an exclusive right or monopoly to provide telecommunication service or to control or regulate voice and data transmission on the internet is unlawful and void.” … more
Montserrat Diaspora gets free lines to connect to local radio
Montserrat – LIME Montserrat has provided one more way for nationals in the Diaspora to stay connected with home and make a contribution to the island’s development… more
Minister Phillip attends CANTO 28th annual conference in Miami
St. Kitts & Nevis – St. Kitts and Nevis’ Minister of Information Technology, the Hon. Glen Phillip is among Caribbean telecommunication officials attending a three-day meeting in Miami, Florida who have underscored the need to develop the information, communication and technology (ICT) sector to be able to meet the goals of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015… more
Caribbean embraces mobile broadband
USA – The Caribbean is embracing mobile broadband, and Ericsson, one of the world’s leading providers of communications technology and services, is leading the change… more
Thursday, 26 July 2012
Same price for 4G
Antigua & Barbuda – Residents are not expected to pay more to access what’s known in the telecoms market as 4G technology when it is introduced here… more
ZNS, Cable Bahamas reach deal on Olympics
Bahamas – The Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas (BCB) has finalized a deal with Cable Bahamas Limited (CBL) to allow coverage of the London 2012 Olympics to be broadcast on television channels other than ZNS 13… more
Digicel ready for legal showdown with GT&T over cheaper int’l rates
Guyana – Digicel on Thursday declared that it is willing and ready to fight any legal action mounted by or on behalf of GT&T and will aggressively defend its legal right to provide low cost international calls to the people of Guyana… more
GT&T secures injunction against Digicel’s new rates
Guyana – The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) has gotten an injunction barring Digicel from going ahead with its offer of reduced international calling rates with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) also coming down on it for the move… more
Paulwell pledges number portability this year
Jamaica – Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell has noted that number portability is close to becoming a reality in Jamaica… more
Telem launches new numbering plan on Statia — Rohie Ryddim to spice up introduction at Carnival Village
St. Maarten – It’s Carnival time in Statia and the Telem Group of Companies will be launching a new numbering plan for St. Eustatius in grand carnival style… more
OCM gets approval for 4 stations
Trinidad & Tobago – The Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) has advised One Caribbean Media Ltd (OCM) that the TATT board of directors has approved the transfer of concessions and associated licences of four radio stations, including i95.5 FM, to an OCM subsidiary… more
Antigua wins region’s top tech award
USA – Antigua & Barbuda has scored big once again in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. The nation captured the prestigious Connect the Caribbean Project of the Year Award at the annual meeting of the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organisations (CANTO) in Miami, Florida… more
Friday, 27 July 2012
New Internet gaming committee
Antigua & Barbuda – Government has assembled a team to consider its next steps in the on-going internet gaming dispute with the United States… more
$20m Dividend To Double Gov’t’S BTC Return In 12 Months
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has almost doubled the Government’s return on its 49 per cent minority stake in 12 months, its chief executive yesterday saying the company was forecast to pay the Christie administration a further $20 million in dividends this year… more
4G success for BTC
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has seen a massive increase in the usage of its 4G network since its rollout earlier this year, according to BTC CEO Geoff Houston… more
BTC Sees 400% Data Explosion
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) chief executive yesterday said the company expects to complete its 4G roll-out across the country by end-September 2012, and introduce Long Term Evolution (LTE) service within the next 18 months… more
Govt’s BTC profits double, CEO says
Bahamas – The government is receiving almost double the revenue from the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) as a 49 percent owner than it did when it owned the entire company, BTC CEO Geoff Houston said yesterday… more
Phone Service To Be ‘Better Than The US’
Bahamas – Telecommunications services in the Bahamas will be on par or better than the United States in two to three months, BTC CEO Geoff Houston promised yesterday… more
1.4 M Dominican children face the Web’s perils
Dominican Republic – 1.4 million children and minors in the Dominican Republic go online from home, 90 percent of which use the Web and more than 60% talk in chat rooms daily… more
Int’l call rates reduction…Digicel vows to defend decision
Guyana – Mobile giant, Digicel, has vowed to aggressively defend its decision to slash international call rates, despite criticisms by government and an appeal to a court decision by competitor, the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T)… more
PUC orders Digicel to cancel rate adjustment
Guyana – The Public Utilities Commission dealt a severe blow to the expanses of Digicel. By way of a letter dated July 26, 2012, the commission ordered and directed that Digicel “forthwith withdraw the notices which your company caused to be published” advertising drastically reduced rates for international calls… more
Digicel, Boom Sign Us$17M Mobile Banking Deal
Jamaica – Mobile operator Digicel Group has signed a US$17-million ($1.5b) financing arrangement with mobile banking outfit Boom Financial, formerly m-Via, to spearhead remittance products in the region… more
Flow customers to benefit from new technology
Jamaica – Cable TV and telephone provider Flow yesterday said it is well on the way to introducing new, cutting-edge technology that will allow customers to watch their favourite programmes remotely, using devices such as smartphones, computers and tablets… more
Flow joins telecoms battle
Jamaica – Flow joined the bitter telecoms war yesterday, attacking LIME for being “hypocritical” in its campaign to cut interconnection rates… more
Shareholders heckle LIME directors
Jamaica – Shareholders at the LIME Annual General Meeting chastised their directors yesterday for a four-year dividend “drought”… more
St Kitts-Nevis government engages partners on functioning of new DNS root server
St Kitts & Nevis – The government of St Kitts and Nevis is engaging internet service providers LIME and The Cable to address concerns and iron out functionality issues related to the recent acquisition of an Internet Domain Name System Root Server… more
Saturday, 28 July 2012
APUA cops second at mobile application development competition
Antigua & Barbuda – Two young mobile application developers of the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) have placed the local company on the map, with a second place win in the prestigious Ericsson i-Create Mobile Application Competition… more
Information minister attends ICT Summit in Panama
Antigua & Barbuda – Minister of Information and Broadcasting Dr Edmond Mansoor returned from the recently concluded International Telecommunications Union’s Connect the Americas Summit in Panama… more
BTC service disruptions to continue through September
Bahamas – Even though the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) previously said upgrades to its Internet, cellular and landline platforms would be complete this month, cellular customers can expect at least another two months of major service disruptions, BTC CEO Geoff Houston announced Thursday… more
Sunday, 29 July 2012
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Image credits: Gary Thomson, flickr/ Brands of the World / Inside Ireland / The West Indian News / The Eleutheran / Curacao Connected
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