A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 13 July to Sunday 19 July 2015.
Monday, 13 July 2015
BTC Bosses Accused Of Bullying Over Imminent Job Cuts
Bahamas – BTC intends to let go 140 employees this Wednesday, according to Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union Secretary-General Dino Rolle who yesterday accused the company’s managers of being “nasty bullies”… more
Technology not proven, says expert
Barbados – THE TECHNOLOGY involved in the controversial Cahill waste-to-energy plant is not commercially proven, said Professor Paul Connett yesterday when he appeared as a guest on VOB’s Brass Tacks Sunday programme… more
Tricom to bring fibre to 600000 Dominican homes by 2018
Dominican Republic – Dominican operator Tricom plans to roll out a 2,700 km fibre optic network reaching 600,000 households over the next three years, reports Prensario Internacional, citing Tricom marketing manager Rosario Veras… more
SMEs are T&T’s new business champs
Trinidad and Tobago – Three small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been chosen as the Hidden Champions of T&T after participating in a new export-accelerator programme launched by the BizBooster Incubator Programme of the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business (UWI-ALJGSB) in partnership with the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) and the Export Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM)… more
TSTT’s mobile revenue up $74m
Trinidad and Tobago – Although its revenue decreased year-on-year in fiscal 2015, Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) posted a 77 per cent higher revenue than Digicel in the same period. TSTT has more subscribers than Digicel as it offers both fixed line and mobile services… more
Tuesday, 14 July 2015
BTC Chief Denies Bullying Amid Talks About Job Layoffs
Bahamas – BTC CEO Leon Williams yesterday denied claims that company executives were attempting to “strong-arm” and “bully” employees to agree to unfavourable terms in a new industrial agreement amid pending layoffs… more
BTC redundancies ‘very soon’
Bahamas – While he remained tight-lipped on the specifics regarding the company’s redundancy exercise, Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) CEO Leon Williams said yesterday redundancies will take place “very soon”… more
Tagging technology upgrade planned
Cayman Islands – The assistant director for electronic monitoring at the Department of Public Safety Communications, Julian Lewis, who was certified as a professional communications centre manager just last month, has said that the centre is looking to upgrade its tagging technology… more
Haiti – Technology : First open source school management software developed in Haiti
Haiti – Thursday, July 16 at 5:00 pm at the Fondation Connaissance et Liberté (FOKAL) located at 143, avenue Christophe, the Haitian enterprise LOGIPAM will officially launch the first open source school management software developed in Haiti: SIGES (Integrated Management System and Access to Information School), a complete software that meets the needs of schools in Haiti in terms of academic and pedagogical management and administrative and financial management… more
The PC is Dead! Long Live Personal Computing
Regional – Just when it seemed like the embattled Personal Computer was enjoying a reprieve from it dramatic decline to near irrelevance, worldwide PC shipments saw their biggest drop in nearly two years, according market reports released this month… more
Wednesday, 15 July 2015
BTC Announces New 3 Year Union Agreement
Bahamas – Executive Management is pleased to announce that BTC and the BCPMU (The Management Union) has agreed on a new three year (3) Industrial Agreement which will take immediate effect… more
DNA Leader: BTC’s Russian Roulette
Bahamas – The government’s announcement of cellular liberalization has so far failed to usher in any of the benefits that Bahamians were promised… more
Be it Hurricanes or Hackers, companies must treat Disaster Recovery as vital
Barbados – Information Technology (IT) firms’ need to shore up constantly upgrading IT targets for recovery juxtaposed with more frequent and lower-cost testing while understaffed, or without requiring a significant time commitment by existing IT staff led to the formation of the Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) market… more
Digicel rewarding customers
Barbados – DIGICEL BARBADOS is putting out $100 000 in giveaways for its summer promotion… more
Watching the websites
British Virgin Islands – Quality of service, attention to detail, consistency of product. Once, these were things discussed primarily by business professionals, but in the world of social media and Internet reviews, they’re the stuff of ratings that could come from any customer… more
CUC files lawsuits against cable firms
Cayman Islands – Caribbean Utilities Company filed two writs late last week accusing Logic and C3 of using its utility poles to hang cable lines without permission, according to court documents… more
CUC takes local cable companies to court
Cayman Islands – Caribbean Utilities Company has started a legal battle with two local cable companies… more
Website offers first-ever virtual tour of Grand Cayman
Cayman Islands – Virtual reality has arrived in Grand Cayman as a local media company has set out to introduce the first and only virtual-tour of the country’s largest island… more
Dominica to establish a Centre of Excellence in Cybersecurity
Dominica – Dominica may soon have a Centre of Excellence in Cybersecurity, the Ministry of Information, Science, Telecommunication and Technology has announced… more
New mobile licence offer
Jamaica – The Government aims to grant a number of new mobile licences to companies that set up service utilising existing mobile networks… more
‘Emailgate the greatest hoax’
Trinidad and Tobago – Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday labelled Section 34 conspiracy claims as one of the greatest myths her Government has had to dispel in the last five years… more
Thursday, 16 July 2015
BTC and managers union sign three-year deal
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) yesterday announced a new industrial agreement between BTC and the Bahamas Communications and Public Managers Union (BCPMU) expanding the benefits of the voluntary separation packages (VSEP) extended in March 2015 to any future employees made redundant by the company… more
BTC Staff ‘In The Dark’ On Layoffs
Bahamas – BAHAMAS Communications and Public Officers Union Secretary-General Dino Rolle yesterday claimed “battle weary” union members were being left to “operate in the dark” after BTC CEO Leon Williams refused to clarify how many employees the company planned to layoff, or a date the layoffs will take effect… more
CARICOM Secretariat representative conducts consultations with services sector stakeholders in The Bahamas
Bahamas – Deputy Programme Manager, Services Sector Development, of the CARICOM Secretariat Timothy Odle paid a courtesy call on Minister of Financial Services the Hon. Hope Strachan to update her on efforts of the CARICOM Secretariat to develop a Regional Strategy for the Services Sector, June 24, 2015… more
C&W Unveils the ‘New’ Flow and Creates History in Barbados
Barbados – Telecoms history was made in Barbados today as Cable & Wireless Communications (C&W) officially launched its retail brand, Flow, for its newly combined consumer group… more
LIME no more
Barbados – Over a dozen people have expressed an interest in buying over the divested assets LIME and FLOW… more
New Digicel CEO plans to continue legacy
Barbados – THE new Chief Executive Officer at Digicel Barbados is Johnny Ingle… more
US$160M C&W Investment for Barbados
Barbados – C&W is investing US$160M in Barbados as the Company rolls out its new retail brand Flow on the island as part of its merger with Columbus Communications… more
Minister advises against malicious use of ICT
Dominica – Minister for Information, Science, Telecommunication and Technology, Kelvar Darroux has advised the youth to abstain from using the internet and technology for malicious purposes… more
Phase I of ICT Center for Excellence Complete
Dominica – The first phase of the nation’s Innovation in Information Communication Technology (ICT) Center for Excellence is now complete… more
Flood forces closure of radio, TV stations, University of Guyana
Guyana – Severe flooding caused by overnight heavy rainfall has forced the closure of Guyana’s state-owned radio and television stations and at least one private radio station and the Turkeyen Campus of the University of Guyana, officials said… more
Computer lab opened at Refuge Temple in St Elizabeth
Jamaica – Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell, on July 10, opened a $4.4 million computer lab at the Refuge Temple Learning Academy in Myersville, St Elizabeth… more
PICA To Import Multimillion-Dollar Device To Fight Identity Theft
Jamaica – The Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) is preparing to import a new device to fight identity theft… more
C’bean education ministers to focus on transforming regional education system
Regional – The transformation of the region’s education system is the major area of focus for ministers of education from the Caribbean Community (Caricom) as they attended a two-day meeting of the Caricom Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD)… more
blink | bmobile connecting people and building bridges at TIC 2015
Trinidad and Tobago – INNOVATION is driven by people and technology more than anything else and has facilitated the proliferation products which have changed the way societies function over the past few decades… more
Friday, 17 July 2015
Cable & Wireless Obtains TV Licence in Anguilla
Anguilla – Cable and Wireless Communications (C&W) which now operates Flow, the Caribbean’s leading communications service provider, today announced that it has secured the broadcast licence to operate TV service in Anguilla… more
BTC Signs Agreement With Union Ahead Of Layoffs
Bahamas – BTC has signed a new industrial agreement with the Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union, which now puts the company in the position to restructure and lay off staff… more
Cell Phone Competition
Bahamas – EDITOR, The Tribune. After the carnival music has died down, our Marathon brothers and sisters are given the respect and attention they deserve, Baha Mar is finally open, and BAMSI is rebuilt, I shudder think that we will wake up one day to find out that we have been swindled and hoodwinked into believing that we finally have competition in our cell phones service… more
Union Remains Unhappy With BTC Staff Salaries After Layoffs
Bahamas – The industrial agreement recently signed between the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) and its line staff union “favours” those identified by the company for voluntary separation employee packages and not those who remain with the company, a senior union official told The Tribune yesterday… more
Apps to make road use wiser
Barbados – BARBADOS’ transportation and traffic woes are no secret. Just ask the estimated 44 000 people who commute to work and other places daily… more
FLOW creating job opportunities
Barbados – LIME IS NO MORE in Barbados, with Cable & Wireless (C&W) yesterday officially adopting FLOW as its chosen brand and promising to turn the Barbados communications market blue… more
FLOW promises greater benefits
Barbados – Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) officially unveiled its new consumer brand FLOW last night during an entertainment-filled evening at the Halton Plantation in St Philip… more
Flow ready and raring to go
Barbados – BARBADOS over the next few years stands to benefit to the tune of approximately US $160 million… more
BTL restores 4G network after weekend overload
Belize – Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) has restored its 4G network after it experienced technical issues on Sunday, preventing thousands of Digicell 4G users from using its mobile internet services for most of the day… more
Re-branding of LIME to Flow set to take place shortly
Jamaica – The re-branding of telecommunications company LIME to become FLOW in Jamaica is expected to begin shortly… more
Successful in Jamaica, Branson to expand online entrepreneurial platform across region
Regional – Richard Branson and Virgin Unite-founded Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship-Caribbean (BCOEC) has launched a non-academic online skills training programme to increase its intake of potential entrepreneurs across the region… more
Saturday, 18 July 2015
BTC signs agreement with line union
Bahamas – Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) signed an industrial agreement with the Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union (BCPOU) last night, and immediately began to roll out the details of how it plans to restructure in the face of liberalization of the mobile telecommunications sector. That plan focuses on the voluntary separation employee packages (VSEPs) offered in March, and now outsourcing opportunities… more
Sunday, 19 July 2015
ICT and Law Enforcement
Guyana – was on a project some years ago where, in a requirements definition meeting, some veteran policemen argued passionately that information technology is not the panacea for the challenges faced by the Police Force… more
Phillips promotes crowdfunding for SMEs in developing countries
Jamaica – MINISTER of Finance Dr Peter Phillips is considering the use of crowdfunding as an alternative method of raising funds for the private sector… more
image credits: carterse (flickr); Wikipedia; The Eleutheran; Columbus Communications;
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