A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 29 June to Sunday 5 July 2015.
Monday, 29 June 2015
E-govt: Bridge to sustainable development
Bahamas – E-government remains the best bridge to the future for sustainable development, according to Rowena Bethel, director and CEO of the National Insurance Board. Bethel told a roundtable on innovating public service delivery that e-government has the capability to adapt to the expectations of its users… more
Union To Make Late Effort To Prevent BTC Strike Action
Bahamas – THE Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union will make a last-ditch effort today to avoid possible strike action by presenting its members with a proposal from BTC’s management outlining their future employment conditions, BCPOU Secretary General Dino Rolle said yesterday… more
‘Easier to study’ with new laptops
Barbados – MORE THAN 130 Nigerian students under the Delta State Youth Empowerment Programme in Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago are now more at ease with their studies after each received a laptop from local company PromoTech… more
Online contest launched
Barbados – Exciting and creative! That’s how Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Stephen Lashley views the new Barbados TODAY Crop Over Superstar Competition officially launched at his Haggatt Hall office this morning… more
Warning of layoffs from Flow/CWC merger
Barbados – The merger of telecommunications companies Lime and rival Flow will soon claim the first causalities—staff… more
Government IT problems widespread
Cayman Islands – Several basic, but potentially catastrophic problems involving the security of information within a number of government departments have been revealed within the past two years… more
Frequently Asked Questions About Number Portability
Jamaica – Local number portability was rolled out to Jamaicans on June 22. Since then, consumers have been asking many questions. Here are some of the frequently asked questions and their answers:… more
Gov’t monitoring private online conversations?
Jamaica – The US State Department on Friday released its 2014 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices… more
Letter Of The Day: Recycle Rather Than Disposing Mobile Phones
Jamaica – THE EDITOR, Sir: I take keen interest in an article published in The Gleaner on June 25, 2015 titled ‘Jamaicans logging on to e-wasted disposal project’… more
Local entrepreneurs get training in Jordan
Jamaica – REPRESENTATIVES of three Jamaican ‘start-up’ companies are currently receiving global business training in the Middle East to make their ventures more successful… more
Digicel details “evolution” plan ahead of IPO
Regional – Digicel, a mobile operator across Caribbean and South Pacific markets, filed for an Initial Public Offering, with its documentation revealing some interesting details of its business plans… more
First Citizens CEO: Banks need better security solutions
Trinidad and Tobago – It is time for regional providers of information technology to develop more innovative security solutions to help strengthen the banking system, says Karen Darbasie, Group CEO of First Citizens… more
MovieTowne pioneers online cinema ticketing
Trinidad and Tobago – MovieTowne cinema patrons can now enjoy the convenience of buying movie tickets online from their homes, office or anywhere… more
Tuesday, 30 June 2015
140 BTC Staff Get Extra Time Before Losing Jobs
Bahamas – THE 140 BTC employees, who were expected to be let go from the company today, “will have a little more time” before they are made redundant, according to Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union Secretary General Dino Rolle yesterday.. more
Barbados’ legal system going online
Barbados – WITH AN INCREASING demand for access to information online, efforts are underway to have all of Barbados’ laws available digitally… more
Science And Technology Ministry To Develop Open Data Policy
Jamaica – The Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining will spearhead development of the proposed open data policy, slated to commence shortly… more
LACNIC Caribbean on the Move kickstarts in Suriname
Regional – An upcoming workshop will give the Caribbean and Latin American Internet community a valuable opportunity to better understand the complex workings of the global Internet… more
Wednesday, 1 July 2015
BTC unions seek to block impending layoffs
Bahamas – The unions representing workers at the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) have filed for an injunction in an attempt to prevent the company from laying off more than 100 employees… more
Union Hopes Injunction Will Block BTC Lay-Offs
Bahamas – The union representing Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) line staff yesterday said it was seeking a Supreme Court injunction to block the lay-off of 140 staff, as its leader expressed surprise over the Government’s failure to intervene… more
Gov’t called out about information bill
British Virgin Islands – A day before he officially retired as the first Complaints Commissioner in the British Virgin Islands, Elton Georges made another pitch at the government, urging it to pass the Freedom of Information Bill into law… more
TRC seeks public input ahead of LTE allocation
British Virgin Islands – The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission is again asking for public response to proposed changes that could enable Virgin Islands mobile users to access faster service… more
Curacao institute hosts e-commerce seminar
Curacao – Curacao Innovation and Technology Institute (CITI) hosted a mini seminar entitled “Starting eCommerce in Curacao”, on Tuesday at the Curacao National Library in Willemstad… more
Distance learning doesn’t require a study permit
Jamaica – Dear Mr Brown: I just completed my bachelor’s degree at a local university… more
Digicel Group posts US$157m net loss
Regional – DIGICEL Group’s mobile subscriber base and total revenues remained flat amid posting a US$157.6 million (J$18.2 b) net loss for its March 2015 year end, documents indicate… more
Do you have full control over your web property?
Regional – I would have to say that 99 per cent of my clients who come to me wanting their existing website overhauled or redone are unable to give me the login to their website domain names… more
Finsbury Advises Digicel IPO
Regional – Digicel Group, the Caribbean and Pacific island mobile telecom provider founded by Irish billionaire Denis O’Brien, is relying on Finsbury for PR counsel as it pursues an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange… more
Voice telephony still dominates Digicel’s earnings
Regional – Despite Digicel’s push to transition to becoming a more diversified telecoms firm, the company still earns most of its money from voice telephony… more
Thursday, 2 July 2015
BTL will argue ownership of Channel 5 at the CCJ
Belize – The legal battle over Channel 5, Great Belize Productions, is going to the Caribbean Court of Justice, the highest court in the land. There, it will be decided once and for all if this company should return as an asset to Belize Telemedia Limited… more
Internet speeds increase but lag behind competitors
Cayman Islands – Household Internet connections in Cayman are getting faster, but lag behind other countries in the region, according to data from Ookla, a company that monitors download speeds for consumers… more
Cuba launches 1st public Wi-Fi hotspots on Havana avenue
Cuba – Cuban authorities have launched public Wi-Fi hotspots along a main avenue that is the heart of Havana’s cultural and social life, the first step in government promises to gradually roll out such connectivity options on an island that the Internet revolution has largely passed by… more
BUSINESS BYTE: Digicel’s ‘red hot’ Summer promotion
Dominica – This summer Digicel will blaze up the heat with red hot deals of up to $15,000 in cash and prizes in its “Red Hot Summer” promotion… more
Atlantic Tele-Network Upgraded at Zacks (ATNI)
Guyana – Zacks upgraded shares of Atlantic Tele-Network (NASDAQ:ATNI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning, AnalystRatings.NET reports… more
Atlantic Tele-Network VP Sells $69,250.00 in Stock (ATNI)
Guyana – Atlantic Tele-Network (NASDAQ:ATNI) VP William F. Kreisher sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st… more
Cable thieves cause disruption to residents, essential services in St Mary
Jamaica – THE hospital, fire station and police station in St Mary are now without critical communication after thieves made off with LIME’s cables in the parish on Tuesday… more
Gov’t Denies Monitoring Citizens’ Online Activities
Jamaica – The Jamaican Government has denied that it has monitored private online communications without appropriate legal authority… more
National baseline survey on Information Technology
Jamaica – Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell, says the Government will be embarking on a national baseline survey, to determine the distribution of information technology (IT) throughout the island… more
US corrects report on Jamaica
Jamaica – The US State Department on Thursday corrected its 2014 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, stating that it had no reason to believe that the Jamaican Government was monitoring citizens’ online conversations… more
CARICOM Competition Commission to investigate telecoms merger
Regional – The CARICOM Competition Commission (CCC) has, pursuant to Article 176.1 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC), completed its preliminary examination of the agreement by Cable and Wireless Communications Plc (CWC) to acquire Columbus International Inc. and has reached the conclusion that an investigation is warranted… more
OAS And Spain Organize Exercises To Strengthen Cybersecurity Capabilities
Regional – The Organisation of American States (OAS), the National Critical Infrastructure Protection Centre of the Ministry of Home Affairs (Spanish acronym: CNPIC) and the National Cyber-Security Institute of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism (Spanish acronym: INCIBE) have launched the 1st International Cyber-exercises – CyberEx 2015… more
Preliminary ruling from Caricom Competition Commission: Probe CWC/Columbus merger
Regional – The Caricom Competition Commission says there are grounds for an investigation of the US$3 billion acquisition of Columbus International by Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC)… more
Columbus offers Data Recovery service
Trinidad and Tobago – COLUMBUS Communications Trinidad Limited on Tuesday unveiled a new service to prospective customers: Columbus Disaster Recovery as a Service (DraaS) which promises that businesses will have a “seamless high availability of their critical systems and applications in times of unexpected failures and disasters.” … more
Shutdown
Trinidad and Tobago – TELECOMMUNICATIONS provider Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago’s (TSTT) mobile, voice and data services were shut down for almost an hour yesterday following a problem on its network… more
Friday, 3 July 2015
Cable Bahamas partners with Cash N’ Go
Bahamas – One month after providing more payment locations to its customers in New Providence, Cable Bahamas has announced that it has expanded its partnership with Cash N’ Go to bring the same option for bill payment to subscribers in Grand Bahama, Abaco and Exuma… more
Tolling bells for traditional media?
Barbados – If I were a journalist employed by a traditional media house, such as either of the two Barbadian daily newspapers, I would have understandable reason to be concerned about the future from an employment perspective…. more
Businesses taking advantage of number portability
Jamaica – FOLLOWING the launch of number portability a little over a week ago, Digicel Business is reporting that several medium and large companies have ported in their Closed User Group (CUG) services to its network… more
JN Subsidiary, MC Systems, To Roll Out Mobile Payment Device
Jamaica – Management Control Systems has launched a new electronic payment device, MPAY2, which will be distributed through local banks to small merchants… more
Caribbean alliance eyes new era for youth entrepreneurship
Regional – Young people hoping to transform their business ideas into successful enterprises are set to benefit from the creation of a new Commonwealth alliance to promote youth entrepreneurship across the Caribbean and Americas… more
Digicel shifts gear from smart play with bond debt to NYSE flotation
Regional – As Ireland struggled to recover from the crash, bond guru Michael Hasenstab of Franklin Templeton snapped up billions of euro worth of the State’s bonds, becoming one of its biggest backers and turning a massive profit… more
National Health Helpline (203) launched
Saint Lucia – The long awaited National Health Helpline was launched on Monday 29th June at a ceremony held in the conference room of the National Mental Wellness Centre… more
New PCs to Enhance Telecenters in Rural Areas
Saint Kitts and Nevis – Computers in community centers throughout St. Kitts will be replaced with upgraded equipment, following a hand-over of 10 new PCs on Friday (July 03)… more
Blogger remains in pre-trial detention
Sint Maarten – Blogger J.R. (40), who was arrested on June 30, for a number of offenses, will remain behind bars in pre-trail detention to give police a chance to interrogate her on the charges against her… more
Caricom to probe CWC-Columbus deal – report
Trinidad and Tobago – The Competition Commission of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (Caricom) is to investigate the USD 1.85 billion acquisition of Columbus International by Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC), reports the Trinidad Guardian… more
Saturday, 4 July 2015
By 1st August, Flow’s Customer Care Centre goes Retail, post LIME-deal
Barbados – Flow’s Customer Care Centre at Sky Mall, will stay at the same locale but expand its services, now the blending of Columbus and CWC is reaching completion… more
Number Portability – Almost Two Weeks In, Digicel And Lime Pleased
Jamaica – Almost two weeks after number portability came into effect, telecommunications networks Digicel and Lime say they are pleased with the amount of new customers porting to their networks… more
Trinidadian among 21 arrested for lottery scamming in Hanover
Jamaica – The police say the western end of the island continues to be the focal point of operation as the Jamaica Constabulary Force moves to clamp down on lottery scamming activities… more
ECTEL keeping an eye on Flow/C&W merger
Regional – An investigation is warranted into the Cable and Wireless acquisition of fellow telecoms company Columbus International, according to the CARICOM Competition Commission. The CCC says it arrived at that conclusion after completing its preliminary examination of the agreement between the two companies… more
Sunday, 5 July 2015
Digicel Correct In Refusing INDECOM Subscriber Data – Court
Jamaica – Telecommunications provider Digicel Jamaica was correct in refusing to provide call data and subscriber details to the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) because it did not specify that it was investigating a criminal offence, the Court of Appeal has ruled… more
HBO Channels JAMPRO?
Jamaica – AMERICAN cable television network, Home Box Office (HBO) Latin America said it is willing to work with Jamaican stakeholders in getting their content aired, once certain requirements are met… more
Mobile unlocking— the hidden cost of ‘free’ number portability
Jamaica – LOCAL operators of mobile unlocking and repair shops could see an increase in profits from the Government’s decision to implement number portability… more
OUR Auctioning Up To 12 Mobile Licences, Targeting Virtual Operator
Jamaica – The Office of Utilities Regulations (OUR) wants to issue up to 12 new mobile telecommunications licences this year… more
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