A roundup of ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region during the period Monday 24 June to Sunday 30 June 2013.
Monday, 24 June 2012
Cash accuses PM of secret deal with CWC
Bahamas – Free National Movement (FNM) Chairman Darron Cash said yesterday that Prime Minister Perry Christie’s consideration of extending the date for liberalization of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) would be a “bad deal” that would not be in the “best interest of the Bahamian people”… more
New claim on BTC proceeds
Bahamas – The government did not net anywhere near $200 million from the sale of 51 percent of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) to Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC), businessman Franklyn Wilson has claimed… more
Internet to be In Most Cuban Homes by 2014
Cuba – Cuba’s state-run telecom company ETECSA plans to begin offering in-home Internet connections by late 2014, a director of the company told Efe… more
Gov’t Making Use of ICT in Fighting Crime
Jamaica – Minister of National Security, Hon. Peter Bunting, says the Ministry is taking full advantage of the offerings of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in combating crime across the island… more
New Blackberry arrives in T&T
Trinidad & Tobago – The new BlackBerry Q10 is finally here—and Digicel customers came out recently at the company’s Trincity Mall flagship store to be among the first to purchase the device and get tips from the experts on hand… more
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
Cable Blasts BTC On Roaming Call ‘Block’
Bahamas – Cable Bahamas has urged regulators to intervene in its long-running dispute over the Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) alleged ‘blocking’ of calls to international mobile roaming customers, demanding that it provide call termination on a “cost oriented basis”… more
PM: No secret BTC deal
Bahamas – Prime Minister Perry Christie has called accusations made by Free National Movement (FNM) Chairman Darron Cash that a secret deal has been made with Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) “entirely wrong”… more
IT Malfunction at the SMMC.
St. Maarten – Last week, the Server of the St. Maarten Medical Center malfunctioned due to a failure of one of the hard disks… more
Wednesday, 26 June 2013
$320,000 Handed To Community Causes By BTC
Bahamas – TO mark the 40th Anniversary of Independence, the Bahamas Telecommunications Company announced it is investing more than $320,000 in several community programmes and charitable causes, as well as launching a series of BTC customer discounts via specialty promotions… more
BTC Can ‘Equal’ $807m Macau Unit
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) majority shareholder believes the company can be developed into “a world class service” provider equivalent to its Macau business, which it sold last week for $806.8 million… more
BTC confident it’s delivering ‘world-class service’
Bahamas – Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) CEO Geoff Houston is confident that the company is supplying its customers with world-class service… more
BTC monopoly extension “price worth paying”
Bahamas – Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union (BCPOU) President Bernard Evans said yesterday that extending the date for the full liberalization of the telecomunications sector would be a price worth paying if it would mean regaining majority shares in the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC)… more
Digicel Urges Mobile Termination Re-Think
Bahamas – A cellular operator beating on the door to invest in the Bahamas has urged regulators to introduce mobile call termination rates prior to the sector’s liberalisation, arguing it will “enhance competition” when it arrives… more
Phone Tech supervisor arrested for theft
Dominica – A man who, it is said, is a supervisor at Phone Tech, has been arrested and charged for reportedly stealing over $51,000 from the company… more
ECTEL Member States Record Five Per Cent Increase in Fixed Broadband Subscriptions
Regional – The seventh Annual Review of the Electronic Communications Sector released by the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) reveals steady growth in broadband subscription in its Member States for the twelve months ending March 2012… more
LIME makes major contribution to the Advancement of Children Foundation
St. Kitts & Nevis – With the aim of the Advancement of Children Foundation (ACF) being “to positively affect the life of the children and youth in our community…” LIME came on board in 2008 to partner with this life changing organisation… more
Thursday, 27 June 2013
BTC Attacks Cable’s ‘Double Rate Subsidy’
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has blasted Cable Bahamas’ call termination rates for being “double” its own, arguing that this results in “unfair competition” by creating a ‘subsidy’ that allows its rival to undercut its fixed-line voice prices… more
I want back my phone, computer
Trinidad & Tobago – AN ANGRY Gary Griffith, National Security Adviser to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday demanded that police return his computer and Blackberry cellular phone which he gave them, over a month ago… more
‘Phone card vendors jacking up prices’
Trinidad & Tobago – Pre-paid phone cards have become one of those indispensables products that tens of thousands of people depend on. Even if vendors are charging a price higher than what is printed on the card, customers will still pay for it… more
Friday, 28 June 2013
Extending BTC Monopoly Will ‘Harm Bahamians’
Bahamas – Extending the Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) cellular monopoly will “be harmful to the Bahamian economy and the Bahamian people”, a former Cabinet Minister warned yesterday… more
Roberts supports extending BTC monopoly
Bahamas – Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Chairman Bradley Roberts said he supports the idea of extending the Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) cellular monopoly in return for two percent of shares in the company… more
India promises IT center
Dominica – The construction of an Information Technology Center in Dominica is one of the commitments made by the government on India… more
Digicel Grenada upgrades Smile promotion
Grenada – Digicel has upgraded its Smile promotion in Grenada. Digicel prepay customers will now receive double the rewards offered through the Smile promotion… more
LIME, Cisco Meraki unveil WiFi earning opportunity for businesses
Jamaica – Telecommunications firm LIME and leading Cloud-controlled WiFi solutions provider Cisco Meraki have teamed up to offer Jamaican businesses technology aimed at increasing revenues and improving the attractiveness of their establishments to an increasingly technologically driven market… more
LIME appoints Acting CEO
Regional – Martin Roos has been named to the position of Acting Chief Executive Officer for LIME… more
Regional Carcip Launch
Regional – Saint Lucia’s Minister for the Public Service, Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology, Hon. James Fletcher, has been invited to deliver the Feature Address at the regional launch of the World Bank-funded Caribbean Regional Communications Infrastructure Programme (CARCIP) in Grenada on Wednesday 26th June, 2013… more
Deosaran: Time to train locals in IT
Trinidad & Tobago – CHAIRMAN of the Police Service Commission (PSC) Prof Ramesh Deosaran believes technology courses should be made available to persons in the security industry so there would be no need to import IT experts to investigate email transmissions… more
Saturday, 29 June 2013
Grenada to punish offensive online comments
Grenada – Legislators in Grenada have approved a bill that makes it a crime to offend people through websites such as Facebook and Twitter… more
Enterprise Centre lands US$3.5 million project
Trinidad & Tobago – The Caribbean Industrial Research Institute’s (Cariri) Centre for Enterprise Development (CED) secured a $US3.5 million World Bank project to establish a Regional Climate Innovation Centre for the Caribbean even before the doors to its spanking new $15 million facility were formally opened on Wednesday… more
Sunday, 30 June 2013
LIME: Consumers prefer our value and simplicity
Jamaica – All network $2.99 prepaid one rate sends clear value signal, company says… more
Nine Jamaicans detained in lottery, money laundering scams
Jamaica – Police have detained nine people in the western part of the island as they continue investigations into money laundering and lottery scamming activities… more
Image credits: Salvatore Vuono (FreeDigitalPhotos.net); The Eleutheran; Wikipedia; Wikipedia
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