A roundup of ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region during the period Monday 19 May to Sunday 25 May 2014.
Monday, 19 May 2014
Data Pirates of the Caribbean: The NSA Is Recording Every Cell Phone Call in the Bahamas
Bahamas – The National Security Agency is secretly intercepting, recording, and archiving the audio of virtually every cell phone conversation on the island nation of the Bahamas… more
Gov’t declares support for CCT, but…
British Virgin Islands – The National Democratic Party government has declared its preference for CCT on the basis that it is the locally owned company in the territory’s telecoms market where multi-nationals Digicel and LIME are also major players… more
LIME completes HSPA/LTE deployments in Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands – Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), operating under the LIME banner, and Swedish equipment vendor Ericsson have completed the rollout of the cellco’s Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in the Cayman Islands, which now covers 100% of the country’s territory… more
LIME Invests Billions In Mobile Network
Jamaica – Telecoms giant LIME is investing US$79 million or J$8.7 billion to upgrade its mobile network to deliver more of its fast 4G broadband speeds to more places across Jamaica… more
CWC appoints new Director of Communications and Culture
Regional – Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) today announces the appointment of Grace Silvera as Director of Communications and Culture… more
Caribbean-based Internet Strategist Bevil Wooding receives LACNIC Lifetime Achievement Award
Regional – The Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry (LACNIC) has honoured Caribbean-based technology expert and philanthropist Bevil Wooding with its 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award… more
Digicel Business announced as platinum sponsor of the Virtual Educa Conference
Regional – Digicel Business was today announced as platinum sponsor of the Virtual Educa Conference which takes place in Port-of-Spain on Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th May… more
Tuesday, 20 May 2014
LIME launches HSPA+ in Antigua and Barbuda; sets October LTE date
Antigua and Barbuda – LIME (Cable & Wireless) Antigua and Barbuda has announced that its W-CDMA/HSPA+ 3.5G mobile network is now available nationwide, thanks to an initial XCD35 million (USD13 million) investment in high speed broadband by the company… more
B.T.C. Probes U.S. ‘Spying’ Claim
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) last night promised to urgently investigate “the integrity” of its cellular network, amid claims that the US National Security Agency (NSA) is intercepting almost every mobile call made in the Bahamas… more
Call for telecoms providers to collaborate
Barbados – “As telecommunications providers, companies like Columbus Barbados need to acknowledge and understand the importance of working alongside its competitors to fully realise the transformative impact that broadband and ICTs can have on the region.” … more
2 Belizean students among top four winners in regional competition
Belize – World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is observed annually in the Caribbean on May seventeenth… more
Digicel says mobile 4G now 92% population coverage
Jamaica – Telecommunication company, Digicel, on Tuesday announced that it has recently completed “a massive expansion project” on its 4G mobile network, increasing its footprint to 92 per cent population coverage across Jamaica… more
Chinese cyber espionage renews Caribbean security concerns
Regional – An announcement on Monday that a grand jury in the United States has indicted five Chinese hackers for cyber espionage and other offenses directed at the U.S. nuclear power, metals and solar products industries has renewed concerns that a number of Caribbean governments may be at risk as recipients of personal computers supplied by foreign agencies… more
TATT Turns Ten
Trinidad and Tobago – The Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) hosted a reception to celebrate its tenth anniversary on May 9 at the Century Ballroom of the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain… more
Wednesday, 21 May 2014
Bahamas government responds to spying reports
Bahamas – On 19th May, at a routine lunch with US Charge d’Affairs John Dinkelman, he flagged the possibility of a story being released based on the leaks of the former US government employee Edward Snowden and that they would involve The Bahamas and the use of monitoring apparatus in The Bahamas… more
Recording Calls ‘Clearly Illegal’
Bahamas – THE allegations of possible surveillance of cellphone calls in the Bahamas are “startling” and, if proven, then the behaviour would be “clearly illegal”, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said yesterday… more
CCT fined $50k over spectrum dispute
British Virgin Islands – The territory’s telecommunications regulator has fined CCT Global Communications $50,000 for allegedly using the public spectrum without permission in March and April… more
Cuban blogger’s news site blocked after going live
Cuba – Cuba’s first major independent general-interest news outlet in five decades was blocked on Wednesday shortly after being launched by the country’s best-known dissident blogger… more
Digicel confirms lowest dropped call rate in Jamaica
Jamaica – Digicel Jamaica has confirmed that it has the lowest dropped call rate of any local operator… more
Telecoms expect half of population on mobile broadband in 2014
Jamaica – TELECOM players expect half the population on mobile Internet by year-end, with investments projected to be over $14 billion in anticipation of that demand… more
CWC reports net profit of USD951m in FY2014
Regional – UK-based Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) has posted a 4% year-on-year decline in revenue from its continuing operations to USD1.873 billion in the twelve months to end-March 2014, … more
Cable & Wireless Launches Investment Programme As It Continues To Struggle
Regional – Cable & Wireless Communications PLC Wednesday said it swung to a pretax loss in its last financial year as it booked higher expenses for its restructuring and cost reduction programme and as growth in mobile, broadband and TV revenue failed to offset declines for its fixed-line and data operations… more
Caribbean moves to Phase One of LACNIC’s IPv4 exhaustion planning
Regional – The application process for Internet Protocol (IP) addresses just got stricter, as very soon, new IPv4 addresses will be fully depleted around the globe… more
Ranking the Caribbean on Cell Phone Use
Regional – Where do people use cell phones the most in the Caribbean? … more
Caribbean Classrooms of the Future Initiative Launched in Trinidad and Tobago with the OAS, Virtual Educa and the Private Sector
Trinidad and Tobago – A series of technologically advanced classrooms, designed to benefit thousands of students and educators in schools across the Caribbean,… more
Thursday, 22 May 2014
BTC ‘War Games’ Over Cellular Competition
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has been staging “war games” to prepare for cellular competition, with its controlling shareholder engaging help from Panama and ex-Digicel executives… more
Cayman tops region in cell phone use
Cayman Islands – The latest World Bank’s World Development Indicators Report found Cayman Islands have the most cell phones of those polled in the Caribbean region… more
Digicel increases coverage with 4G expansion
Jamaica – DIGICEL says it has completed a massive expansion project on its 4G mobile network that has increased its coverage to 92 per cent of the population… more
Shame On Flow For Shipping Jobs To T&T
Jamaica – THE EDITOR, Sir: Mr Gordon Robinson’s article in The Sunday Gleaner, ‘The real meaning of devaluation’ (May 18, 2014), is excellent… more
CWC to invest an additional $250M in networks
Regional – Cable & Wireless Communications used its full-year results to unveil Project Marlin, a programme to invest an additional $250 million in its networks across the Caribbean and Central America… more
IDB launches DigiLAC
Regional – LATIN America and the Caribbean lag far behind developed countries in broadband penetration, according to a new index launched today by the Inter-American Development Bank… more
It Pays to Use LIME. Activate & Win!
Saint Kitts and Nevis – LIME kicked off its New Activate & Win promotion with the announcement of the first two weekly winners of $1,000 Cash just for activating or using any of its mobile talk, text, or data plans… more
Can Technology Transform Education in Trinidad & Tobago?
Trinidad and Tobago – Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Education recently co-hosted the second Virtual Educa Caribbean forum, a two-day workshop which explored different ways in which Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can have an impact on education… more
Taking the Lead: Broadband for sustainable development
Trinidad and Tobago – WHEN people hear the term broadband internet they immediately associate it with high speed internet access that far surpasses its dial-up counterpart… more
Friday, 23 May 2014
High-Level Talks In NSA Spy Row
Bahamas – FOREIGN Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell yesterday defended his handling of the situation surrounding the recording of all cellphone calls in the Bahamas saying that meetings are being held at the “highest levels” to get to the bottom of it… more
Wilson: BTC ‘two percent’ deal being ‘refined’
Bahamas – The deal announced in January between Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) and the government to transfer two percent of the company’s shares into a charitable trust has yet to be formalized, with Franklyn Wilson, the government’s chief negotiator of the deal, claiming it is being “refined”… more
Race to the finish for TV competitors
Cayman Islands – Cayman’s four telecommunications companies are in the midst of an infrastructure race to build “fiber to home” networks that will enable them to offer high-definition television and high-speed Internet to customers across Cayman… more
Bancaribe Lights Up Its Disaster Recovery Site At CTEX’s Tier-Iv Datacenter
Curaçao – Curaçao Technology Exchange N.V. (CTEX) announced it has been selected by Bancaribe Curacao Bank, N.V. for a long-term commitment to host the bank’s critical disaster recovery infrastructure… more
Luncheon mum on profitability of GT&T shares sale
Guyana – Two years after Government sold its 20 percent shares in Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) it remains tight-lipped about the financial transaction… more
Technology coming to reduce Internet costs
Jamaica – The country is expected to save more than US$2 million per year, with the creation of the Jamaica Internet Exchange Point (IXP), scheduled for implementation by the end of July… more
CWC plans Central American investment
Regional – Cable & Wireless Communications has unveiled Project Marlin, a $250 million investment programme covering its networks across the Caribbean and Central America… more
Caribbean leaders to meet on cybercrime and eGovernance
Regional – An upcoming meeting of Caribbean Commonwealth officials with responsibility for ICT will bring the region’s eGovernance and cybercrime issues squarely into focus… more
275 Digicel Customers Received CASHBACK to Date
Saint Kitts and Nevis – Loyal Prepaid and Postpaid customers of the top telecommunications company in St. Kitts and Nevis, Digicel, have been receiving CASHBACK every week day for the last six weeks… more
Saturday, 24 May 2014
World Telecommunications And Information Society Day 2014
Regional – The Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) joined the international community to celebrate World Telecommunications and Information Society Day (WTISD), May 17, 2014… more
Focus and fearlessness key in ITC careers
Trinidad and Tobago – Girls from secondary schools across T&T got the opportunity to meet and interact with some of this country’s leading Information and Communications Technology (ICT) female professionals and scientists, at the Women and Girls in ICT Forum on May 21… more
No leads yet in ‘emailgate’
Trinidad and Tobago – It has been over a year since Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley released a series of 31 “e-mails” in Parliament, purported to have been exchanges among four Government ministers… more
Sunday, 25 May 2014
The Bahamas Wants To Know The Reasons Of NSA Recording Its Phone Calls
Bahamas – The Bahamas government officials want their US counterparts to explain why the National Security Agency (NSA) has been intercepting and recording every cell phone call taking place on the island nation… more
Digicel US$1-b expansion should be completed by next March
Regional – DIGICEL Group is expected to complete a two-year, US$1 billion expansion by next March… more
Image credits: NS Newsflash (flickr); The Eleutheran; Marketing Magazine; Wikipedia; ECTEL
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