A roundup of ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region during the period Monday 30 September to Sunday 6 October 2013.
Monday, 30 September 2013
Digicel Antigua & Barbuda stars promo for new Smartplan subs
Antigua & Barbuda – Digicel Antigua & Barbuda has launched a promotion dubbed ‘Win a vacation from paying your mobile bill’… more
Latin America And The Caribbean’s Most Advanced Tier-IV Datacenter Enters Final Commissioning Phase
Curacao – Somewhere deep in the Southwest Caribbean, right in front of the Latin America coastline, the world’s newest and most advanced datacenter enters final commissioning. Curaçao Technology Exchange (CTEX), together with Schneider Electric, CISCO Systems and others for close to two years has pursued one of the most ambitious technology projects in Latin America and the Caribbean… more
TWC Adds Dominican Republic to Penny Plan
Dominican Republic – Tim Warner Cable has added the Dominican Republic to a Global Penny Phone Plan that offers rates as low as a penny-per-minute to more than 40 countries and “competitive international rates” for more than 200 countries… more
50 Persons Charged Under Lotto Legislation
Jamaica – Some 50 persons have already been charged under the Law Reform (Fraudulent Transactions) (Special Provisions) Act, which was passed in Parliament less than six months ago… more
Bunting pleased with cybercrime fight
Jamaica – National Security Minister Peter Bunting says he is encouraged by the attention that local stakeholders are placing on the fight against cybercrime… more
Financial Institutions Support Cyber Security and Digital Forensics Conference
Jamaica – Banks, cambios and other financial institutions are showing keen interest in the two-day conference on Cyber Security and Digital Forensics, scheduled to begin at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona campus on September 30… more
Tuesday, 1 October 2013
BTC Underwater Cable Repairs Hamper Connectivity in Northern Bahamas, Particularly Grand Bahama, Abaco, Andros and Bimini
Bahamas – BTC has advised that landline, internet and cellular services are patchy at best in the Northern Bahamas due to the ongoing repairs to the badly damaged Bahamas Domestic Submarine Network International Cable (II/BDSNi)… more
Maya-1 has more problems
Cayman Islands – It looks like the country’s main Internet and telecoms line will power down once again… more
Grenada’s Community Centres to become Focal Points for eCommerce through Flow Grenada and BrightPath Initiative
Grenada – Flow Grenada and their strategic partner BrightPath Foundation are taking another step to empower and enable Grenadians to become business owners and content creators… more
Cybercrime crime remains a challenge to law enforcers – Bunting
Jamaica – Data show the authorities have been investigating a large number of bank card fraud cases since the start of the year. The Cybercrime Unit in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions on Monday disclosed that there have been 88 cases of third-party debit and credit card fraud since January… more
Falmouth ICT Centre Positively Impacting Lives
Jamaica – In another two weeks scores of young people in Trelawny, will benefit from the introduction of a computer training programme at the Falmouth ICT Youth Empowerment Computer Access Centre… more
Government Taking Steps to Mitigate Threat of Cyber Crimes
Jamaica – The Government is proactively putting measures in place to mitigate the global threat of cyber crimes in the island, Minister of State in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Hon. Julian Robinson, has said… more
LIME cuts landline to mobile rate
Jamaica – Starting Tuesday, October 1, customers of telecommunications company LIME will pay less to make a telephone call from their landline to mobile phones… more
LIME reconnects St. Ann customers following repeat cable theft
Jamaica – Following the restoration of service to customers in Seville Heights and Priory, St. Ann on Saturday due to repeat incidents of cable theft, telecommunications firm, LIME, is welcoming increased vigilance by the Police that will, hopefully, bring an end to the problem… more
LIME targets businesses through bundled packages
Jamaica – Telecoms company LIME has launched three bundles packages — Business Basic, Business Ideal and Business Pro — targeting businesses with ADSL Internet, fixed line local and international minutes and voice services… more
Supporting The Regional Internet Economy
Regional – Failing to convert brilliant business ideas to real returns is costing online entrepreneurs big time. That’s why in the Caribbean, stakeholders are starting to pay close attention to external factors impacting their bottom line… more
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Gear comes to TT
Trinidad & Tobago – The launch of the much anticipated Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and Gear, the newest Galaxy Products coming out of Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd in Gangnum, Korea, took place at the Aria Lounge in Woodbrook before specially invited guests and stakeholders on Thursday… more
Wednesday, 2 October 2013
BTC Blames ‘Pigeon Hunters’ For Disruption
Bahamas – THE Bahamas Telecommunications Company is blaming the disruption of its services in Andros on “gun shooting pigeon hunters”… more
TRC to tackle high Internet prices
British Virgin Islands – The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission has designated LIME BVI as the dominant Internet service provider in the territory, paving the way for possible regulation that the TRC claims could ultimately lower costs for consumers… more
Only one cybercrime prosecution in three years
Jamaica – A joint select committee of Parliament, which had been reviewing Jamaica’s Cybercimes Act, says it is concerned that three years after the Act has been promulgated there has only been one prosecution… more
Pocket stapling practice ‘draconian’, says call centre operators group
Jamaica – The group that represent call centre operators has sought to distance its members from the practice of stapling the pockets of employees… more
Reasons to hate social media
Jamaica – It is true that even today not many people have taken to social media. Some are not fond of it and there are friends who downright hate it. Many of us think that it is a fad that will disappear like bell-bottom or stone-washed jeans… more
Digicel enters renewable energy partnership
Regional – Digicel and NRG Energy, Inc. have announced a partnership to acquire, construct and operate renewable energy projects under development in the Caribbean. Both companies aim to own these projects for their lifetime… more
Thursday, 3 October 2013
BTC Restores Northern Bahamas Services After Disruption
Bahamas – THE Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) has restored its landline, internet and cellular services to the Northern Bahamas and to the Mars Bay area of South Andros… more
URCA ‘Close’ Over Number Portability
Bahamas ‑ The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) yesterday said it expects to make an announcement on number portability’s launch within a few days, telling Tribune Business: “We’re close”… more
100Mbps Internet comes to Grenada
Grenada – Grenada has become one of the five Caribbean nations now offering up to 100Mbps (Megabits per second) of broadband internet service to its residents… more
Flow, Brightpath partner to develop e-commerce in Grenada
Grenada ‑ Flow Grenada and their strategic partner BrightPath Foundation are taking another step to empower and enable Grenadians to become business owners and content creators… more
Copper wire thieves souring LIME’s business, company demands security ministry action
Jamaica – Telecommunications provider LIME is calling for the intervention of the police and the Ministries of National Security and Industry and Commerce as the company’s infrastructure continues to be targeted by thieves… more
Technology Entrepreneurs To Benefit From ‘Start Up Jamaica’
Jamaica ‑ Technology entrepreneurs will have an opportunity to build on their innovations as the Government moves to embark on the ‘Start Up Jamaica’ initiative… more
CEO of Total Caribbean Network named Entrepreneur of the Year
Regional – New York, The Caribbean-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc., (CACCI) has announced that its 28th Annual Entrepreneur of the Year Corporate and Partnership Recognition Awards Luncheon and Fundraiser will be held on Thursday, October 17th, 2013… more
Improving Caribbean Connectivity
Regional – Are external factors holding back the Caribbean’s Internet entrepreneurs? … more
St Lucia intends to eliminate books in the classroom
St. Lucia – St. Lucia’s Prime Minister Kenny Anthony says his government is seeking to revolutionise the islands education system by eliminating the need for books in the classroom… more
TelEm Group experiencing problems with voice and data circuits.
St. Maarten – TelEm Group this morning reported an interruption in its voice and data service that is affecting several major companies, including RBC Bank, Scotia Bank, Blue Mall and the Airport facilities at PJIAE… more
Digicel moves to virtualise business
Trinidad & Tobago – Last Thursday, Digicel’s business division launched a new Cloud Solutions portfolio of services for its business users… more
Friday, 4 October 2013
Mobile APP Development Workshop Planned
Antigua & Barbuda – The Ministry of Telecommunications, Science and Technology, in collaboration with the BrightPath Foundation, will hold a mobile app development workshop in Antigua from Tuesday October 8 to Friday October 18… more
Google Android takes the tablet lead but does it really matter when you have broadband?
Grenada – According to market analyst firm ABI research, Google Android has taken the lead from Apple’s iPad – in other words Android is winning the tablet race too. For the longest time Apple has managed to keep ahead, but as was the case with the smartphone, it was only a matter of time before the proliferation of the Android operating system resulted… more
Samsung sets up shop in Jamaica
Jamaica – SAMSUNG Electronics has announced that it wants to become the market leader in Jamaica… more
TelEm Group praises telecom regulator for staging of Internet awareness Seminar.
St. Maarten – St. Maarten Internet Service Provider (ISP) TelEm Group has praised officials of Bureau Telecommunications and Post St. Maarten (BTP) for organizing an well-attended internet policy development seminar at the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort and Casino recently… more
Flow explains blocked shows
Trinidad & Tobago – Once the rights for a television show are purchased by a local station, cable operators are obligated to block that show so it is only seen on the local station. That’s the word from Columbus Communication, parent company of local cable operator Flow… more
Saturday, 5 October 2013
Dom. Rep. leads LatAm in Web purchases, but retailers frown
Dominican Republic – Dominican Republic’s formal business sector could lose as many as 100,000 jobs over the next three years on distortions from the tax-exempt Internet purchases under US$200, as stated in Decree 402-05… more
Sunday, 6 October 2013
Increase in persons charged for cybercrimes
Jamaica – The Organised Crime and Investigation Division (OCID) of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is reporting that since 2010, 43 people have been charged with various offences under the Cybercrimes Act including unauthorised access to computer data, access with intent to commit or facilitate the commission of an offence, and unlawful possession of a device… more
Make Parliament More Effective
Jamaica – How well is Parliament able to discharge its critical function of oversight of the nation’s public finances? The three chief functions of a legislature are lawmaking, oversight, and representation… more
Digicel Business launches new Cloud Solutions portfolio
Regional – Digicel Business recently launched its new Cloud Solutions portfolio, featuring the latest suite of cloud solutions to drive business advantage. Working with Citrix, Cisco and Microsoft, Digicel Business now offers complete cloud solutions for its clients’ business needs… more
Image credits: RambergMediaImages (flickr); WIkipedia; Wikipedia
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