A roundup of ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region during the period Monday 13 May to Sunday 19 May 2013.
Monday, 13 May 2012
Cable: Bandwidth Expansion Drives 20% Data Growth
Bahamas – Cable Bahamas says it has seen a 20 per cent increase in Internet data usage since it increased subscriber bandwidth speeds last month, an improvement it plans to further build on… more
Web shop gaming ‘not caught’ by act
Bahamas – Attorney Wayne Munroe, who represents a group of web shop operators, claims that his clients’ gaming operations, which consist of the ‘Pick 3’ and ‘Pick 4’ games, are not covered by the Lotteries and Gaming Act… more
Putting pressure on hackers
Barbados – Local information technology professionals will on June 5 gain firsthand knowledge on how to better protect their systems from hackers… more
Columbus Networks and CWC form JV to Expand Subsea Network Platform
Regional – Columbus Networks and CWC Wholesale Solutions today announced the formation of a joint venture to provide expanded wholesale bandwidth capacity to global, regional and local communications companies in the Caribbean and Americas Region… more
Demand for 4G smartphones jumps in T&T
Trinidad & Tobago – Over 60,000 people in T&T used Digicel’s 4G Service in the past 30 days and with more and more people purchasing smart phones everyday, T&T is on par with the rest of the world in terms of embracing technology… more
Internet issues
Trinidad & Tobago – Greetings folks. I trust that all is well with you, and that you are ready to have a fantastic week. Sadly, my column today is not about anything too fantastic. On May 8, I experienced one of the worst online nightmares – my email was compromised… more
Tuesday, 14 May 2013
Cable Bahamas doubles international Internet capacity to meet increasing usage
Bahamas – Cable Bahamas Ltd. has implemented a major increase in its international connectivity to the rest of the world as part of its ongoing network optimization plans… more
Digicel, FTC appeal case begins
Jamaica – The Court of Appeal has began hearing the appeal of telecommunications Company Digicel in relation to the Fair Trading Commission’s intervention in its merger with Claro… more
Jamaica Pumping Us$20M Into ICT Sector
Jamaica – The Jamaican Government is pumping an estimated US$20 million in the development of the information communication technology sector, Phillip Paulwell, science, technology, energy and mining minister, has said… more
Twelve Clarendon Schools To Get Free Internet
Jamaica – Approximately a dozen schools in Clarendon have been earmarked for free Internet and cable services under Columbus Communications Jamaica Limited’s Building Leaders Through Technology Programme… more
Joint Venture Promises Broadband Benefits with Potential Risks for Latin American, Caribbean Markets
Regional – When Columbus Networks and Cable & Wireless Communications announced the formation of their new joint venture entity at International Telecoms Week 2013, it signaled an important milestone for the telecommunications sector in Latin American and the Caribbean… more
Government Partners With Microsoft
Trinidad & Tobago – Government has partnered with technology giant, Microsoft in order to bring Trinidad and Tobago more technologically advanced… more
Wednesday, 15 May 2013
BTC: 60% Voice Traffic Growth Drives New Sites
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) is set to bring three more cell towers into service by month’s end, in a bid to relieve New Providence “hot spot” bottlenecks created by a 27,000 per cent increase in data traffic… more
Jamaica – The Hub Of Innovation And Entrepreneurship In The Caribbean?
Jamaica – A 12-person delegation, headed by Julian Robinson, minister of state in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, has just returned from a four-day visit to Santiago, Chile, to see first-hand how that country is developing a robust ecosystem for entrepreneurship and innovation… more
Ministry Of Education Creates ICT Jobs
Jamaica – The Ministry of Education is partnering with the Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ) to train more workers for the information and communications technology (ICT) sector… more
Thursday, 16 May 2013
Govt Connects With 4G LTE
Antigua & Barbuda – The Ministry of Telecommunications, Science, and Technology continues to provide government departments and key public servants with high speed 4G LTE connectivity through the e-Government Connectivity component of the Government Assisted Technology Endeavour (GATE) programme… more
BTC ‘Sits Outside’ Owner’s Cable JV
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) and its fibre optic cables will remain outside the regional joint venture its majority shareholder has entered into with Columbus Networks, Tribune Business was told yesterday… more
ICT reach
Barbados – After nine years of successfully bringing value to the local market and positioning itself as Barbados’ leading mobile provider, Digicel is poised to become the island’s number one total telecommunications company by merging telecommunications and information technology in a way never seen before in Barbados… more
LIME investing $100m in fibre optic network
Barbados – Telecommunications giant LIME has invested a whopping $100 million in the expansion and development of its fibre optic network across the island… more
LIME not playing catch-up
Barbados – Chief Engineer at LIME, Glenn Thorpe, has refuted statements that the telecommunications company is playing catch-up with its fibre-optic extension deployment plan… more
Social media aids business
Cayman Islands – Social media should be a tool businesses use to build relationships with clients, not to make sales. That was the message to those attending a marketing conference last week… more
GT&T gives bluetooth ear pieces to aid safer driving
Guyana – As the world observes World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2013, under the theme ““ICTs and Improving Road Safety,” GT&T has signaled its support for safe road use with the donation of a quantity of bluetooth ear pieces to the National Road Safety Council and the Guyana Public Transportation Association… more
Appeals court reserves judgment in FTC, Digicel case
Jamaica – The Court of Appeal is to hand down its decision on October 25 on whether the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) has the authority to intervene in the Digicel/Claro Merger… more
Jamaica woman accused of scamming elderly Canadian
Jamaica – A Jamaican woman has been charged with fraud after allegedly swindling an elderly Canadian man in a lottery scam… more
TelEm Group Observing World Telecommunication and Information Society Day road safety theme
St. Maarten – TelEm Group is promoting the safe use of mobile handsets and smartphones by motorists on St. Maarten as part of its observance of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) today (Friday)… more
350 TSTT workers ‘down their tools’
Trinidad & Tobago – Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) workers refused to work at the company’s facility at Cipero Road, San Fernando yesterday… more
Friday, 17 May 2013
BTC Mobile Voicemail Upgrades
Bahamas – Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) announced today that a Voice Mail upgrade will ‘go live’ overnight on Saturday May 18th when the existing BTC Voice-Mail platform transfers to a new and improved one that is more user-friendly, versatile and feature-rich… more
LIME’s blast from the past
Barbados – If you went through your company’s ancient accounts and found that a current, paid-up customer seemed to have an outstanding balance from ten years ago, what would you do? … more
TelEm Group using new frequency to tackle 3G network interference
St. Maarten – TelEm Group technicians and engineers last night switched over to the use of a new 3G network frequency to remove network interference issues that are coming from neighbouring Anguilla… more
4G Americas: LTE connections to surpass 100 million this week
Regional – Worldwide LTE network connections will pass 100 million this week, according to estimates by 4G Americas and Informa Telecoms and Media, with about 57 million of those coming from the United States and Canada… more
Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad warned
Regional – The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), has placed Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago on a watch list of countries that have failed to make the adequate copyright payments for U.S. musical compositions aired in the broadcast media… more
‘4G for feteing’
Trinidad & Tobago – Local mobile services provider Digicel launched its first branded 4G-capable smartphone handset, the DL600, yesterday at a special media event at Flair Restaurant, Ariapita Avenue, Port of Spain… more
Digicel launches its own smartphone
Trinidad & Tobago – Digicel will today launch its own Android smartphone in the T&T market. The official launch of the DL600, which features a 3.5-inch display, takes place at Flair Restaurant, Woodbrook… more
TATT chairman: Piracy affecting all walks of life
Trinidad & Tobago – Chairman of the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT), Selby Wilson, has warned that the number of people in T&T affected by intellectual property violations will continue to grow if that illegal practice continues unchecked… more
Saturday, 18 May 2013
Linking road safety with ICT
Barbados – Barbados joined others across the globe yesterday in marking World Telecommunications and Information Society Day… more
Cyber Centre Opens in August Town
Jamaica – August Town residents now have increased access to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) following yesterday’s (May 16) official opening of the Escarpment Road Cyber Centre… more
Digicel Vows To Make Up For Glitches
Jamaica – The Editor, Sir: I write in response to Mr Romaro Scott’s letter in The Gleaner (May 16, 2013) concerning number portability and network issues… more
Technology almost a decade later
Regional – Over the course of the past decade, significant progress has been made in terms of technological innovation in the telecommunications industry… more
TATT: Third mobile provider on the cards
Trinidad & Tobago – The Telecommunications Authority of T&T (TATT) will soon issue a request for proposals (RFP) for a third mobile telephone provider… more
T&T mobile penetration among highest in world
Trinidad & Tobago – T&T now has one of the highest mobile phone penetration rates in the world, Sacha Thompson, Chief Operating Officer, Digicel, said yesterday… more
Sunday, 19 May 2013
Special Bonus for Viva Mobile Recharges on LlamaRepublicaDominicana.com
Dominican Republic – LlamaRepublicaDominicana.com announces a special bonus on mobile recharges sent to Viva mobiles in Dominican Republic… more
Govt. tells Trinidad newspaper…Radio licences were granted to persons with financial means
Guyana – Former President Bharrat Jagdeo, in late 2011, mere days before he ended his two terms in office, approved 11 radio frequencies to applicants after they showed that they had the financial means to run the broadcasting operations… more
Caribbean Cable Company Awards Long-Serving Customers
Jamaica – Old Harbour, St Catherine: For the first time since it opened its doors to the public in 1968, Caribbean Cable Company (CCC), located in Old Harbour, St Catherine, awarded two of its long-serving customers… more
Flow new customers to get free access
Jamaica – Flow is offering new customers 30 days of FREE access to 21 movie channels when they sign up for service before May 31… more
Working from home…an emeging sector?
Jamaica – Monique Richards* isn’t the typical high-heeled young professional. She is one of the growing numbers of people who are employed from home by companies seeking to lower their overhead costs… more
Image credits: RambergMediaImages (flickr); CWC; Wikipedia; TelEm; TATT Facebook page
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