A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 11 May to Sunday 17 May 2015.
Monday, 11 May 2015
CBL: URCA has no jurisdiction over new towers
Bahamas – Cable Bahamas Ltd. (CBL) has charged that the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) has “absolutely no jurisdiction” over the construction of additional telecoms towers in New Providence… more
Jamaica Cable-TV On US Watch List
Jamaica – The United States said it is watching the progress of proposed amendments to Jamaica’s Broadcasting and Radio Re-diffusion Act that would appear to permit advertising from local entities on the channels of foreign cable operators with the permission of content providers… more
No Internet Access For Murder Accused Brit
Saint Kitts and Nevis – Trial judge Justice Marlene Carter has refused to allow murder accused Kevin Horstwood to take possession of his laptop with internet access, as per his court application… more
Tuesday, 12 May 2015
BPO Job Explosion On The Horizon * …. Barnett ‘Tech Park’ Now Up And Running*
Jamaica – The government’s bid to secure 30,000 jobs in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector by 2020 got a significant boost last Wednesday, following the official opening of a new 50,000-square foot facility at the Barnett Tech Park in Montego Bay… more
Digicel introduces live web chat to customer care portal
Jamaica – TELECOMMUNICATIONS giant Digicel last Friday announced a ‘live web chat’ facility on its website which it described as an extension of its customer care that provides a quick, easy and convenient way to get answers while browsing products and services… more
Jaagro Could Boost Farming – Edwin Allen Boys Create Farming App, Cop 4-H Top Prize
Jamaica – THREE TEENAGED Edwin Allen High School students have created a technology-based mobile application that will assist farmers in managing their farms, as well as maximising production and output based on the size of the farm and the available resources… more
C&W Communications Announces New Brands: Flow To Be The Unified Caribbean Consumer Brand
Regional – Following the completion of the merger of Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) and Columbus International on March 31, 2015, CWC today announces new corporate and consumer-facing brands for the combined Group, which will be rolled out in the coming months in markets where necessary regulatory approvals have been obtained… more
St Lucia to host regional telecommunications conference
Regional – Policies related to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and broadband development in the region are some of the issues to be discussed at the 15th anniversary conference of the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) that opens here today… more
Stanching the Flow
Trinidad and Tobago – A couple of months ago, Flow kindly switched me to their new Advanced Video Services, a suite of IP based technologies designed to launch the company’s cable TV offerings fully into the 21st century, giving me a month to test the service before asking me to choose my package… more
T&T is open data ready
Trinidad and Tobago – The World Bank Group has confirmed that T&T is open data ready with strong high-level commitment to open government… more
Broadband board seeking providers but says challenges steep
US Virgin Islands – The new V.I. Next Generation Network president, Tonjia Coverdale, reported to the agency’s board Monday morning that the network is pushing to open new fiber-optic Internet bandwidth to a wider range of service providers, which will then have the job of connecting homes and businesses to the grid… more
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
Activist Raises Questions Over Cell Phone Towers In Communities
Bahamas – A FORMER Democratic National Alliance candidate yesterday raised concern about the proliferation of cell phone towers in urban communities insisting that the health risk associated with the structures is being overlooked… more
US Gives Cable Growth ‘4 Times’ That In Bahamas
Bahamas – Cable Bahamas yesterday said its US expansion had generated growth that would take three-four years to achieve in this market, having enjoyed an “immediate” 26 per cent top-line boost… more
Bridge of Life Launches New Missions in Telehealth, Hand Hygiene and Primary Care
Belize – DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. DVA, -0.46% a leading provider of kidney care and health care services, today announced that Bridge of Life (BOL), the primary program of DaVita Village Trust, completed three new missions to Belize, Haiti and Vietnam to treat patients and assess conditions for future missions… more
Cable companies welcome copyright
Cayman Islands – Distributing content without a license is already illegal here, but the new copyright regime modernizes the law and puts enforcement mechanisms in place to make it easier for copyright holders to stop infringement and ask for damages… more
Altice, Huawei sign Dominican network expansion deal
Dominican Republic – Altice, which owns telecoms operators Orange and Tricom in the Dominican Republic, has signed an agreement with Huawei for the expansion of Orange’s fibre-optic and 3G/4G networks in the country… more
D-2, 4th Edition of the fair E2TECH
Haiti – Through this fair, the organizers intend to promote and disseminate information and communications technology, but also the energy technology and of the environment and discuss the key challenges and opportunities resulting from these technologies that will be highlighted in separate areas of the same importance… more
Flow Announces Price Increase
Jamaica – Telecommunications company FLOW has issued an advisory informing customers of a rate increase for some of its cable, telephone and Internet services effective June 1… more
Prosecute Criminal Cable Companies
Jamaica – There is now a deafening silence regarding the revelation that the cable companies that have been supplying us with subscriber television services have all along been purloining this service from the providers in the United States (US)… more
Digicel Business Powers ‘The Internet Of Things’ In The Caribbean And Central America With New Technology Partner, Stream
Regional – Digicel Business signed a partnership with Stream Technologies, a global leader in connectivity solutions for the ‘Internet of Things‘ that will see customers connecting their machines, devices and appliances wirelessly using an ‘IoT‘ platform that will power Digicel Business’ Machine to Machine (M2M) products… more
IC silent on emailgate probe
Trinidad and Tobago – AS IT REMAINED silent over the status of investigations into a probe into purported email materials raised in Parliament in 2013 by Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley, the Integrity Commission yesterday sought to distance itself from a newspaper report which had stated murdered senior counsel Dana Seetahal had played a role in the recusal of its former chairman Ken Gordon from the case… more
Thursday, 14 May 2015
BTC Staff Ready To Take Action ‘At Any Time’
Bahamas – BAHAMAS Communications and Public Officers Union Secretary General Dino Rolle warned yesterday that the union is prepared to take industrial action “at any time” if its members continue to be disrespected by BTC… more
BTC union protests again
Bahamas – Charging that employees at the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) are “catching eternal hell”, Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union (BCPOU) Secretary General Dino Rolle said the union will not allow the company to “trample over us”… more
Several Bahamas’ government websites hacked by Tunisian Islamist activist group
Bahamas – Further to the announcement by Bahamas Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie from the floor of the House on Wednesday that the official website of the Ministry of Tourism had been hacked… more
Digicel Launches New Postpaid Smart Plans Offering Customers Best Value For Money
Barbados – Digicel (Barbados) Limited unveiled its new postpaid plans designed to give customers more value for money with increased data, talk time and texting, under the theme Real Postpaid Benefits… more
The direction of government TV: ‘Cut!’
Cayman Islands – A gradual but irresistible force is moving to reshape the media landscape in the Cayman Islands… more
Digicel, LIME on board with number portability
Jamaica – The island’s major telephony providers have pledged their full support for the Government’s roll-out of the Number Portability initiative, scheduled to take effect on May 31… more
Jamaica To Get Additional Area Code By Year End
Jamaica – Potential area codes have already been selected by the North American Numbering Plan Administrators… more
LIME/Flow Merger
Jamaica – THE EDITOR, Sir: Reports indicate that the LIME’s Flow buyout is proceeding along, even with LIME now ditching its name and putting much of the merged operations under the Flow brand… more
LIME Salutes Circle Of Excellence
Jamaica – From start-ups to multinationals to large government departments, the people behind the technology that transforms these enterprises with the efficiency needed to compete in the global world of commerce were recognised at the LIME Circle of Excellence Awards, held recently at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus… more
Xerox expanding its Jamaican business with five new centres
Jamaica – Xerox Corp is expanding its business in Jamaica with the planned addition of five new customer care and business process centers during the next year. The new centres are planned for both Montego Bay and Kingston… more
Jamaica to host regional hackathon
Regional – JAMAICA will be hosting a regional “hackathon” which aims to employ the use of technology in finding solutions to real-life problems and to enhance growth in critical sectors… more
Government moves toward e-payments
Trinidad and Tobago – It will soon be possible to make payments for government services electronically. Finance Minister Larry Howai yesterday announced that regulations to allow for Internet-based payments will be rolled out over the next 18 to 24 months… more
iGovTT reaches East Trinidad
Trinidad and Tobago – JACQUELINE Syms, chairman of iGovTT said residents of the constituencies of Cumuto/ Manzanilla and Toco/Sangre Grande no longer have to get up early to go to far off Port-of- Spain to get their electronic birth certificates and other government documents… more
Friday, 15 May 2015
Islamist Group Hacked Tourism Website, Says Govt
Bahamas – A TUNISIAN Islamist “activist group” called the Fallaga Team was responsible for hacking two government websites on Wednesday, the Ministry of Tourism revealed yesterday… more
Union Shows ‘Job’s Patience’ With BTC
Bahamas –Executives at the trade union representing the Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) line staff yesterday said they had displayed “Job’s patience”, accusing management of stalling negotiations on a new industrial agreement… more
URCA must think we all fool
Bahamas – Dear Editor, Please allow me space in your esteemed publication to express my views on a topic which I believe most of my fellow Bahamians are being distracted away from… more
Why Your BTL Data Usage is Gone in a Day
Belize – Since the introduction of 4G I have chosen to remain with the GPRS system, for I wanted Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) to work out its bugs before I switched over… more
CCT service advisory for VG
British Virgin islands – CCT BVI would like to advise its Virgin Gorda customers that there will be a temporary service outage on Saturday May 16th between the hours of 10PM and 1AM… more
A New Monopoly Taking Effect?
Jamaica – THE EDITOR, Sir: Just in case some persons do not know, our country has entered into another monopoly in a sector that we do not want it to go… more
Flow’s Cable Your Way customers hardest hit by price increases
Jamaica – FLOW customers have discovered that their a-la-carte service Cable Your Way (CYW) is not prix fixe, as they will be the hardest hit with a 66.3 per cent increase in cable rates next month… more
CWC/Flow merger dominates regional market, requires strong regulatory oversight — consultant
Regional – A recently conducted study by regional ICT ministers has indicated that the merger of Cable and Wireless Communication (CWC) and Flow may trigger a return to a monopolistic telecommunications industry across the Caribbean… more
Google, Netflix to join Caribbean Internet service providers for historic gathering
Regional – If you live in the Caribbean, you don’t need to be a computer expert to know that the region’s Internet services need to improve… more
HBO Go Arrives In The Caribbean
Regional – Continuing with the expansion to new users and new countries, HBO Latin America announced that subscribers in the Caribbean can now access the online premium entertainment platform HBO GO for the first time, beginning with DIRECTV customers in Barbados, Curacao, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago… more
Cable & Wireless Communications Recognized as Avaya Central America and the Caribbean Mid-Market Partner of the Year
Saint Kitts and Nevis – Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) today announced it has been recognized as Avaya Central America and the Caribbean Mid-Market Partner of the Year for 2014… more
Fish Fest Gets ‘LIME’ Upgrade
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – “Thanks to LIME, we would be having more fish nights, where we would be able to better promote healthy eating, and spread the word that fish is a better source of food.” … more
$5m fine for hacking into T&T’s gas info
Trinidad and Tobago – A $5 million fine and 15 years in prison is the penalty for someone convicted of the cybercrime of unauthorised intrusion into data on T&T’s oil and gas information… more
Saturday, 16 May 2015
Bahamas to get cyber security training
Bahamas – In the wake of information coming out of the Bahamas which suggests that some aspects of that country’s cyber security network has been compromised, a small team of cyber security experts has decided to hold a free training program on ethical hacking and cyber security for Bahamian State and corporate entities, next month… more
Grenada Launching Business Grants for Innovators, Entrepreneurs
Grenada – Innovators and entrepreneurs in Grenada will soon benefit from a suite of new grant funding opportunities… more
‘Pantrypan’ Glows On World Telecoms Day
Jamaica – As Jamaica joins several other countries in marking World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) today, two young entrepreneurs, Rafer Johnson and Adrian Adlam, are applauding Start Up Jamaica (SUJ) for helping them into the world of technology… more
Barbados to host first-ever regional Internet peering forum
Regional – If you live in the Caribbean, you don’t need to be a computer expert to know that the region’s Internet services need to improve… more
Digicel wins major awards in London
Regional – Digicel Group took home two awards at the annual Global Telecoms Business Innovation Awards 2015 held recently at the Sheraton Park Hotel, Piccadilly, London… more
TTPBA wants talks on Cyber Crime Bill
Trinidad and Tobago – The Trinidad & Tobago Publishers and Broadcasters Association (TTPBA) has once again expressed concern that the Cyber Crime Bill 2015 in its current form would hinder media workers from accessing information for their jobs… more
Sunday, 17 May 2015
Facebook helps police bust sex predators — because law enforcement needs all the help it can get
Belize – Former sixth grade social studies teacher David Thompson used to put in some late nights on the computer. But he wasn’t grading papers… more
Cable Clash! – Illegal Access To US Networks Puts OPM And Broadcasting Commission On Collision Course
Jamaica – The directive issued by the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica (BCJ) to cable television operators to cease transmission of approximately 20 channels by the end of the month is set to be overruled and reversed by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM)… more
UWI to conduct telephone penetration survey in Jamaica
Jamaica – THE UNIVERSITY of the West Indies (UWI) is to conduct an islandwide survey on behalf of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, to determine why the country has been losing its ranking on the world telephony penetration index… more
Minister of Telecommunications Connor Congratulates all working in Telecom and ICT sectors in WTISD Message
Sint Maarten – Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Hon. Claret Connor on Sunday, 17th of May congratulated via a press statement all telecommunication sector workers on World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD), which is being internationally observed today… more
Matt, TTPBA concerned about Cyber Crime Bill
Trinidad and Tobago – The Media Association of T&T (Matt) has expressed concern that the Cyber Crime Bill (2014) contains provisions to charge journalists and their sources for electronic tip-offs… more
Image credits: Mars Hill Church (flickr); Wikipedia; The Eleutheran; Belize Web; Wikipedia
________
