A roundup of the ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region during the period Monday 10 September to Sunday 16 September 2012.
Monday, 10 September 2012
Keep abreast of technology!
Barbados – The use of technology in the Caribbean should try to keep pace with the rate of development of that technology, says secretary general of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), Bernadette Lewis… more
LIME confused by disruptions
Barbados – Telecommunications company, LIME says it is still trying to determine the nature of compensation for disrupting the voice and data services of all its customers in Barbados and some other Caribbean territories yesterday… more
Cayman represented at regional Internet Governance Forum
Cayman Islands – Deputy Premier Hon Juliana O’Connor-Connolly and Kernilon Owens of the Office of Telecommunications (OFTEL), represented the Cayman Islands at the 8th Caribbean Internet Governance Forum (CIGF) that was held in St. Lucia recently… more
LIME Aims to Improve Customer Care Operations
Grenada – Regional telecommunications giant, LIME, is giving its call centre contract to TELUS International, a Canada-based outfit… more
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Compensation for local LIME customers?
Antigua & Barbuda – Telecommunications company LIME has agreed to “compensate” customers in Barbados for loss of service on Sunday – but said nothing to thousands of customers who suffered the same inconvenience in Antigua & Barbuda… more
Barbados hosts ICT road show
Barbados – The Caribbean information communication and technology (ICT) road show opened here on Monday with regional countries being called upon to develop their own blueprint for development utilising new information technologies (IT)… more
Minister visits St Lucia to talk on-line security
Cayman Islands – Before heading to Sri Lanka for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association meeting the deputy premier was in St. Lucia attending the 8th Caribbean Internet Governance Forum where cyber security was under discussion… more
BUSINESS: LIME changes stock exchange moniker
Jamaica – Telecoms provider, LIME has changed its trading moniker at the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) from C&WJA to LIME… more
Cellphones And Their Dangers
Jamaica – Less than a century ago, it was not uncommon for doctors to advise patients to use cigarette smoking as an aid in weight control. The idea that inhaling tobacco smoke was harmful was regarded as alarmist, ridiculous, and almost superstitious… more
Global e-learning tool comes to St Kitts-Nevis
St. Kitts & Nevis – Schools in the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis have been introduced to the free e-learning website, Notesmaster, which reportedly serves as an excellent tool for Caribbean teachers and students… more
Wednesday, 12 September 2012
Angry Words Over Cable Price Rise
Bahamas – A crowd of irate Bahamians gathered at Holy Trinity Anglican Church last night to express their outrage over Cable Bahamas’ proposed almost 30 per cent price increase for basic cable… more
Caribbean people called on to innovate
Barbados – Caribbean people have been challenged to “step up to the plate and innovate” by Minister of Commerce and Trade, Senator Haynesley Benn, at the start of an Innovation and Investment Forum, part of the Caribbean ICT Roadshow Barbados… more
Making LIME entrepreneurs
Barbados – Approximately 50 former employees of LIME could be affected by a new arrangement where they will be offered an opportunity to run its four retail centres… more
More telecoms companies to enter the Barbados market
Barbados – One new telecommunications company will be ‘setting up shop’ in Barbados; a move described by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Energy and Telecommunications, Senator Darcy Boyce, as creating more robustness in the industry… more
Central Cable Vision launches out a new service
Belize – One of Belize’s major cable television provide, Central Cable Vision today launched a new service that is intended to enhance the television experience for consumers… more
Broadcasters have up to Sept. 27 to re-apply for licences
Guyana – Existing broadcasters have up to September 27 to re-apply for a licence to continue broadcasting as the new Broadcast Act comes into force… more
Flow Partners With GoGSAT
Jamaica – Broadband Service provider Flow has partnered with GoGSAT to bring free online help to students who are preparing for the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT)… more
Thursday, 13 September 2012
Crooks hack emails to demand money
Antigua & Barbuda – Cyber crooks are at it again, hacking into email accounts of local officials and telling their contacts they were in crisis in Spain and in urgent need of financial assistance… more
ICANN Accredited Domain Name Registrar Internet.bs Corp. Appoints Gregg McNair as Chairman
Bahamas – In a move announced today by Internet.bs Corp. (IBS) Founder and CEO, Marco Rinaudo, PPX International group Chairman Gregg McNair, has taken a substantial equity position in IBS and has also been appointed Chairman of the Bahamas based Registrar… more
8 held
Barbados – Eight young men, charged with the theft of copper and cable from businesses in St Thomas and St Michael, were remanded when they appeared in the Bridgetown Traffic Court yesterday… more
Columbus International secures licenses to acquire TeleBarbados
Barbados – Columbus International has received formal approval to complete its acquisition of TeleBarbados Inc. and all necessary licenses to provide wholesale and retail broadband services for residential and commercial customers… more
Many upset over proposed cable price hike
Barbados – Dozens of New Providence residents, many of whom are Cable Bahamas Limited (CBL) customers, expressed strong concerns about the company’s proposed rate increase at a public consultation meeting at Holy Cross Anglican Church Tuesday night… more
Jones: Hurdles to ICT in our schools
Barbados – Minister of Education Ronald Jones said yesterday that people’s attitudes and money were two main things standing in the way of Barbados’ using more modern technology in schools… more
Gov’t experiencing difficulty with fiber optic cable
Guyana – Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon has said that Government has been experiencing some amount of difficulty with the LTE Fiber Optic Cable programme… more
Digicel expands
St. Vincent & the Grenadines – Digicel now have a bold new face in the Grenadine island of Canouan… more
LIME Parts Ways With 15 Workers
St. Vincent & the Grenadines – LIME General Manager Leslie Jack assured the public that LIME was looking favourably into the future, even as he announced that 15 more employees were being separated from the company’s staff complement… more
Korea, TT explore new opportunities in information technology
Trinidad & Tobago – Electronic Government services, better known as eGovernment, are the way of the future as the world becomes more and more digital. Hence the decision by the Republic of Korea and this country’s Ministry of Science and Technology to host a free one-day forum on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) next Monday at Crowne Plaza, Port-of-Spain… more
V.I. broadband network board member given $50,000 consulting contract by public entity
US Virgin Islands – The publicly funded V.I. Next Generation Network – charged with the responsibility to build and operate the territory’s first open-access broadband network – has entered into a $50,000 consulting contract with one of its board members… more
Friday, 14 September 2012
Laing reminds consumers of collective buying power
Bahamas – Senator Zhivargo Laing yesterday reminded consumers of their right to use their collective power instead of just complaining… more
URCA on defensive
Bahamas – The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) has gone on the defensive, saying in a statement yesterday that its new chairman, Randol Dorsett, previously represented Cable Bahamas Limited (CBL) in legal matters, but that was prior to his appointment to head the regulatory agency’s board… more
Not like that, LIME told
Barbados – Cable & Wireless (C&W) has put the Social Partnership on notice that it wants to send home more of its employees in another round of retrenchments… more
Police highlight partial cell phone ban
Cayman Islands – Officers from the RCIPS started issuing leaflets to motorists on Wednesday, 12 September in advance of the partial cell phone ban, which will be part of the new traffic. The law comes into effect on Friday, 21 September… more
Mobile users complain about voicemail charges
Jamaica – A consumer rights group is raising concern about the ability of mobile telecommunications companies to handle call volumes noting that customers are losing money… more
O’Brien’s cash cow Digicel faces global challenges
Regional – Digicel is the dominant player in many markets, which makes it vulnerable to competition and has put it firmly in the sights of regulators… more
Technology minister Glenn Phillip re-launches Governmental Portal – Gov.kn
St. Kitts & Nevis – Just days before celebrating the Federation’s 29th Anniversary of Independence, St. Kitts and Nevis re-launched its Government Portal – Gov.kn… more
BTP publishes first ever set of Sint Maarten telecoms data
St. Maarten – The Bureau of Telecommunications and Post of Sint Maarten (BTP-SXM) has released its first ever set of telecoms data relating to the Caribbean island nation… more
Saturday, 15 September 2012
Montserrat to launch laptops for students programme
Montserrat – Monday will be a series of first for Montserrat as it will see the launch of its National ICT Strategy, its first National ICT Day and Premier Reuben Meade presents the laptops for students programme… more
Sunday, 16 September 2012
Google supports Caribbean Internet exchange points
Barbados – Global Internet giant Google has given a major endorsement to the ongoing move to set up Internet exchange points (IXPs) throughout the Caribbean… more
Number of telecom snooping warrants kept secret
Cayman Islands – Governor Duncan Taylor’s office declined earlier this month to release information regarding how many warrants have been issued under the Information and Communications Technology Authority (Interceptions of Telecommunication Messages) Regulations, 2011… more
Haiti – Technology : Towards the digital transition
Haiti – Thursday, the National Council of Telecommunications (CONATEL) held at the Hotel Montana, a workshop on the transition from Analog TV to Digital TV around the theme : “The challenges of the transition from analog TV to digital TV”, in the presence of several actors working in the field of telecommunications… more
Image credits: Gary Thomson (flickr); Wikimedia; Facebook; ICANN; Mal_irl (flickr); The Bahamas Weekly
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