A roundup of ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region during the period Monday 21 April to Sunday 27 May 2014.
Monday, 21 April 2014
Problems with GT&T’s internet service
Guyana – Dear Editor, I have been a customer of the Guyana Telephone & Telegraph Company (GT&T) for a number of years. Recently I started encountering problems with my monthly internet service on my cell phone…more
Digicel starts graduate recruitment, internship programmes
Jamaica – Digicel Jamaica is inviting applications to its Graduate Recruitment (GRP) and Summer Internship (SIP) programmes which start in June… more
ICT sector poised for growth
Jamaica – The country stands to benefit from an additional investment of US$33 million in the ICT sector… more
LIME Debuts ‘Hub Ready’ Solutions At Expo 2014
Jamaica – Patrons of the JMA/JEA Expo 2014 were among the first in Jamaica to experience the new Samsung Galaxy S5 and the emerging Huawei P6, which has gained huge popularity globally… more
Smartphone as teaching tool
Jamaica – St Elizabeth school teacher Romel Richards is looking forward to incorporating her newly acquired smartphone as a vital tool in helping her to connect with her students… more
Regional technology experts to share insights at Caribbean internet governance forum
Regional – Regional technology experts will share their insights on global internet governance issues, from a Caribbean perspective, at an upcoming forum hosted by the University of the West Indies (UWI). Internet governance deals with the development of shared principles, policies and programmes that shape the use and evolution of the Internet… more
Tuesday, 22 April 2014
Ruth Millar to head telecoms liberalization committee
Bahamas – The government has appointed a committee headed by former Financial Secretary Ruth Millar to assist in the process of liberalizing the telecommunications sector, Prime Minister Perry Christie said yesterday… more
Reward offered following top-up thefts
Cayman Islands – Following a spate of thefts at cell phone top-up machines, Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward… more
Telecommunications players urged to collaborate
Dominica – Service providers and regulators within the telecommunications sector have been admonished to work together in the interest of unity so that all can mutually benefit from the liberalization process which started over a decade ago… more
“LIME Awarded the Consumer’s Choice, Communication Provider of the Year 2014”
Saint Kitts and Nevis – As part of the 2014 World Consumer Rights Day, the St. Kitts Consumer Affairs Department in the Ministry of Trade undertook the bold initiative to hear directly from consumers how they felt about the level of service they receive from the telecommunications service providers in the Federation… more
LIME to Launch SAMSUNG Galaxy S5
Saint Kitts and Nevis – Telecommunications provider, LIME, has confirmed that its customers will be amongst the first in the Federation of St. Kitts & Nevis, to experience the new SAMSUNG Galaxy S5… more
LIME: First to Launch 4G in Bequia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Fresh on the heels of its unveiling of the 4G network to corporate partners on the mainland, telecommunications provider LIME unleashed the highly anticipated system to the Grenadine island of Bequia in fine style… more
Wednesday, 23 April 2014
“Employee Engagement in the Digital Age: The Role of Communications” – Virgin Atlantic’s Andre Bello advises IABC Barbados
Barbados – Virgin Atlantic’s Sales & Marketing Manager when at Hilton Barbados recently, admitted how a new strategy may be more difficult to earn approval from colleagues than the public at large, he sees a way to counter internal resistance by designing a campaign which appeals to both company & customers – make it “Future Positive” where both stratas opt to buy in to the concept… more
Effective resolution of disputes critical in ICT sector
Dominica – The effective and expeditious resolution of disputes within the information telecommunication sector is critical to its advancement an official of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has said… more
Guyana residents seek improvements to 911 system
Guyana – People in the South American country of Guyana are pressuring the government to improve its 911 emergency system amid accusations that numerous calls about serious incidents are going unanswered… more
GT&T blames police for poor 911 response
Guyana – The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) has rebuffed claims that it is responsible for a poor 911 emergency response and has instead blamed the police for the unsatisfactory quality of service…. more
GT&T cable stolen; thousands affected
Guyana – As a result of 15 metres of a 2400 pair feeder cable being stolen over the Easter weekend, thousands of GT&T landline customers have no service and the company has offered its apologies… more
Rohee blames GT&T for faulty 911 service
Guyana – Home Affairs Minister and General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Clement Rohee in updating the media on the much complained about 911 emergency number, has cast blame squarely at the feet of Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) for calls to that number not being answered… more
M3 Mobile Banking Goes Live In July – Tech Partner Raises Cash To Expand Mobile Money Footprint
Jamaica – The Government-backed mobile money product under development for the microsector will hit the market in July, according to Transcel Limited, the technology partner in the project… more
Thursday, 24 April 2014
Cable Bahamas: 2014 Florida growth ‘contracted already’
Bahamas – Cable Bahamas has expressed confidence that it has done “particularly well” in its recently-initiated Florida operations, having “contracted all of its 2014 growth already”… more
Cable Bahamas delivers historic increase in broadband upload speeds by 700%
Bahamas – Cable Bahamas Ltd. announced today that it has implemented a network-wide increase in upload speeds for all residential REVON broadband Internet subscribers in The Bahamas… more
Cable Bahamas Eyes 1,500 More Customers To Broadband Subscription
Bahamas – CABLE Bahamas said yesterday that it was looking to add another 1,500 customers to its broadband network, executives noting that the company had gained a 26 per cent market share in landline services in just two years… more
Cable Bahamas invests $3 mil. for 700 percent speed boost
Bahamas – A $3 million investment has allowed Cable Bahamas to increase residential broadband upload speeds by 700 percent, a move which it projects will enable it to contribute to increases in gross domestic product, garner an additional 1,500 customers and satisfy increasing demand from users for faster Internet experiences, executives said yesterday… more
Cable Bahamas ‘Pretty Pleased’ On Florida Growth
Bahamas – CABLE Bahamas said yesterday that it was “pretty pleased” with the growth level on its recently acquired Florida business, its president and CEO telling Tribune Business that the communications provider had already contracted its 2014 growth in the first quarter of this year… more
Smartphone Users Seeing More With Digicel 4G Upgrades
Barbados – Smartphone users in Barbados are smiling since the recent completion of island wide upgrades by Digicel to its 4G network… more
Females encouraged to choose ICT careers
Dominica – Ambrose George, Minister for Information, Telecommunications and Constituency Empowerment, has encouraged females to consider a career in information communication technology (ICT) as the island observes Girls in Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Day… more
Teachers encouraged to use technology in the classroom
Dominica – Principal of the Dominica Seventh Day Adventist Secondary School, Carlotta Challenger has called on educators to use technology in the classroom as it will encourage their students to use it as a tool for learning and work… more
WAWU peeved over Marpin staff pay cut
Dominica – Employees of Marpin 2K4 Limited have been advised by their union, the Waterfront and Allied Workers Union (WAWU), that they should not to accept a decrease in salary unless management indicates their willingness to also accept a pay cut… more
Opening Remarks By Manorma Soeknandan, PhD At The Workshop To Mark ‘Girls In ICT Day 2014’
Guyana – is an honour and a pleasure for me to welcome you today – both to the Secretariat and to the first Secretariat observance of Girls in ICT day… more
Rohee dismisses GT&T’s claims over 911
Guyana – Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee on Thursday stuck to his guns, saying that the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) was not telling the whole truth about the poor functioning of the 911 emergency system… more
Cellphones Helping To Boost Literacy
Jamaica – A study by the United Nations education agency says cellphones are getting more and more people to read in countries where books are rare and illiteracy is high… more
Digicel to Build An Underground Fiber Network in Jamaica
Jamaica – Digicel has teamed up with networking giant Cisco and Sierra to build an underground fiber network in the Jamaican cities of Montego Bay, St James and Kingston… more
CARICOM Secretariat Celebrates Girls In ICT With Interactive Session, Exhibit
Regional – An interactive session, hosted by the CARICOM Secretariat to commemorate Girls in ICT Day, opened this morning at the Secretariat’s headquarters in Georgetown, Guyana… more
LIME: Relief From Internet Congestion On Its Way
Saint Kitts and Nevis – Equipment Compatibility issues have been ironed out and telecoms company LIME says it will begin working on its internet upgrades this weekend, to resolve ongoing traffic congestion issues… more
$28m technology centre in Penal by next month
Trinidad and Tobago – Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is expected to open the $28 million Metal Industries Company (MIC) Institute of Technology in her constituency on May 21, three days before her administration marks its fourth year in office… more
Blink wireless broadband internet to empower rural communities
Trinidad and Tobago – BLINK broadband is continuing to advance its efforts to reduce the digital divide and position Trinidad and Tobago as one of the most connected countries in the region… more
‘T&T lagging in technology’
Trinidad and Tobago – This country continues to lag in the area of technology, according to the 2014 World Economic Forum’s Global Information Technology Report… more
TT shows IT improvement
Trinidad and Tobago – TT’s ranking in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Networked Readiness Index has moved to 71 this year from 72 in 2013, and is one of three top ten network-ready countries in the region showing marginal improved rankings… more
Friday, 25 April 2014
Major Workshop on cyber-security opens in New Providence
Bahamas – Officials from key government ministries and corporations began meeting with stakeholders from the private sector Thursday during the start of a two-day workshop on cyber-security that is expected to lead to the development of a National Cyber Security Strategy for The Bahamas… more
Plea Not To Upload Pictures Of Murder Victims To Internet
Bahamas – A HIGH ranking Royal Bahamas Police Force official is appealing to social media users to refrain from uploading pictures and videos of murder victims to the Internet, noting an increase of such postings in recent times… more
BUSINESS BYTE: LIME to launch SAMSUNG Galaxy S5
Dominica – Telecommunications firm, LIME, has confirmed that its customers will be among the first in Dominica to experience the new SAMSUNG Galaxy S5… more
Dominica to host workshop focused on cybersecurity
Dominica – A week-long workshop to assess and determine the cybersecurity needs of Dominica is expected to commence at the Fort Young Hotel in Roseau on Monday, April 28, 2014… more
Educators told to embrace technology in classrooms
Dominica – Educators must experience a rebirth in the degree of receptivity to the active use of technology in the modern classroom, Education Minister Petter Saint Jean has advised… more
Digicel brings Samsung Galaxy S5 to Guyana
Guyana – Digicel has launched the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone in Guyana… more
E-Governance project has nothing to do with internet – Alexei Ramotar
Guyana – “If you felt the E-Governance project is internet then you are barking up the wrong tree. E-Governance has nothing to do with internet. In fact, internet, in my opinion, in offices should be blocked. What E-Governance does is have a data centre where there is a database repository.” … more
Telecoms legislation… Powers vested in PM open door for prejudice – AFC
Guyana – Executive members of the Alliance For Change (AFC) have expressed concern over the powers vested in the Prime Minister, in the Public Utilities and Telecommunications Legislation, which they say if passed as is, will open the door for prejudice to take place… more
Digicel to launch mobile money service in Jamaica
Jamaica – Digicel plans to launch a mobile money service in Jamaica. Targeting mainly the unbanked population, the service will allow smartphone users to receive remittances, as well as make and receive payments via their mobile phones, The Gleaner reports… more
Jamaica falls in global IT ranking for eighth consecutive year
Jamaica – JAMAICA slipped one spot to 86th in the world rankings, according to the Global Information Technology Report (GITR) 2014… more
Why Is Email Hacking Still So Common?
Regional – The Internet has become the gateway to the rest of the world, to communicate with family, friends, and conduct business. All that is required is a connection using some type of network operating system, a computing device… more
Saturday, 26 April 2014
New Cyber Security Strategy to strengthen data protection capabilities
Bahamas – he Government of The Bahamas has embarked upon the development of a National Cyber Security Strategy that will further strengthen the country’s data protection capabilities by strengthening cyber crime legislation in The Bahamas… more
20 held in lottery scam raid
Jamaica – The Major Organised Crime and Anti-corruption task force (MOCA) yesterday arrested 20 people in Hanover for their alleged involvement in lottery scamming… more
A Map To Jamaica’s Treasures
Jamaica – The conceptualisation of an amazing idea can come at a time when one is ironically at one’s lowest and when creativity is thought to have sunk to its lowest depths… more
iTunes recognises calypso, soca as formal genres
Trinidad and Tobago – In what is a major breakthrough toward the recognition of both calypso and soca as genres in the international music market, US-based iTunes Music Store, a division of Apple Inc, has announced that both art forms have been designated as official musical categories on their internet marketplace… more
Sunday, 27 April 2014
Flow celebrates its one year anniversary
Barbados – ONE year after launching its business in Barbados, telecommunications company Columbus, also known as Flow, is reporting many successes… more
Parenting in the digital age
Regional – In recent weeks, several videos of parents meting out discipline to children who have committed acts of a sexual nature and other acts posted on social media have been highlighted… more
Image credits: NS Newsflash (flickr); Wikipedia; Bahamas Local; International Telecommunications Union; Wikipedia;
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