A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 29 April to Sunday 1 May 2016.
Monday, 25 April 2016
Girls in Information Communication Technology symposium
Bahamas – The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA), along several licensees within the Electronic Communications Sector will host for the second time, a one day symposium in observance of International Girls in ICT Day in The Bahamas, April 28th, 2016… more
SINCKLER: POSSIBLE ADDITIONAL BENEFITS OF MOBILE TAX
Barbados – If the 4.5 per cent increase in Value Added Tax (VAT) on cell phone usage nets additional revenue, students other than those attending the University of the West Indies could benefit… more
Five years later, no law governing CCTVs
Cayman Islands – It has been nearly five years since the Cayman Islands government began installing closed-circuit television cameras to monitor public rights of way on Grand Cayman and in that time, no legislation governing the use of those devices has been approved… more
Some candw.ky email accounts compromised
Cayman Islands – Hackers have taken advantage of the candw.ky email platform to steal sensitive information from some email accounts, authorities said… more
Leading telecom guarantees array of services on election day
Dominican Republic – Dominican Republic’s biggest telecom on Monday guaranteed its service to the Central Electoral Board (JCE) for the May 15 general elections, and said it’s ready to meet the process’ transmission and communication needs… more
Digicel strengthens female workforce with ‘Will Power’ Series
Regional – Digicel has announced its latest internal initiative, the Women in Leadership Learning Power series, (WILL Power), aimed at empowering and grooming female employees for leadership roles across the organisation… more
Hotels facing online competition
Regional – The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) has told its 32 member associations of a new challenge for the sector from the rapid rise of the online vacation home rental industry and other sharing economy businesses in the region… more
Marketing Strategies Today: Five tips for Facebook Live video
Regional – Facebook, the number one social media platform today and one of the most important companies in the digital world, is on an upward trend in the video industry… more
Tuesday, 26 April 2016
Businessman: BTC Internet service in Exuma ‘horrible’
Bahamas – President of the Exuma Chamber of Commerce Pedro Rolle yesterday lashed out at the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), describing its Internet service as “horrible”… more
BPO Operations to be Expanded
Jamaica – Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) operations are to be expanded in Montego Bay, St. James, and Portmore, St. Catherine, this fiscal year, with an allocation of $1.91 billion… more
Cell phones not allowed in CSEC, CAPE exams, Education ministry reminds
Jamaica – The Ministry of Education today reminded candidates sitting subjects in the Caribbean Examinations Council-administered Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) starting May 2, that mobile phones are not allowed in the examination rooms or centres… more
OUR celebrates ‘Girls in ICT’
Jamaica – THE Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) is to host about 200 female students from across the island at a one-day seminar and exhibition in celebration of International Girls in ICT Day on Thursday… more
Government to open fourth ICT Access Centre in Anse La Raye
Saint Lucia – The Ministry of the Public Service, Information and Broadcasting will open the fourth Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Access Centre, and the third in three weeks on Wednesday 27th April, 2016, in the village of Anse La Raye… more
ACT ON CYBER CRIME
Trinidad and Tobago – Independent Senator Sophia Chote has suggested that Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi amend existing laws which would help the people who are under pressure and are victims of cyber crimes but can get no justice as it stands now… more
Telecom Seeds for the Future UWI Huawei
Trinidad and Tobago – A TWO-WEEK visit to China at the end of June is officially in the works for six second- year engineering students from The University of the West Indies (UWI) St Augustine Campus… more
Wednesday, 27 April 2016
Cyber expert confirms presence of ‘ransomware’ in The Bahamas
Bahamas – A dangerous “ransomware” virus scam that affected several businesses in the Cayman Islands is now impacting local Bahamian businesses, including those in the financial services sector… more
Telecoms Bill returns to National Assembly next month
Guyana – After months of consultations with a number of stakeholders, the Telecommunications Bill is expected to be tabled again in Guyana’s National Assembly by the end of May 2016… more
$J2-million to expand BPO operations
Jamaica – Nearly J$2 billion will be spent by the Government to expand Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) operations in Montego Bay, St. James and Portmore, St. Catherine, this fiscal year… more
e-Gov Jamaica Enhancing Productivity
Jamaica – Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of e-Gov Jamaica Limited, Herman Athias, says his Agency continues to enhance the productivity and efficiency of the nation’s Government agencies, 30 years later… more
ICT to be Directly Incorporated into Curriculum
Jamaica – State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Floyd Green, says there will be increased emphasis on directly incorporating information and communication technology (ICT) into various areas of the school curriculum… more
University Hospital Of The West Indies Goes Digital
Jamaica – The University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) will convert to an electronic hospital management system come May 1, under a US$1-million investment… more
Quisk says Jamaica is fertile ground for mobile banking software
Jamaica – DAVID Koerner, director of marketing at Silicon Valley-based start-up Quisk, Inc thinks that Jamaica’s comparatively high mobile phone penetration makes it ideally suited for the introduction of its Finovate mobile banking solution… more
100 Days To RIO 2016 – Until The Magic Begins!
Regional – On April 27th, Flow joins International Olympic Committee (IOC) partners all over the world in celebration of the official 100-day countdown to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games… more
DIGICEL BUSINESS WINS DOUBLE AT AVAYA AWARDS
Regional – Digicel Business recently won two major awards at the Avaya Partner Engage Week ceremony which just wrapped up in Miami… more
Pundit Shiva’s mission — keeping T&T cyber-safe
Trinidad and Tobago – PUNDIT Shiva Maharaj is a man on many missions. As a Hindu Pundit he is tasked with the spiritual upliftment of devotees at his temple… more
Thursday, 28 April 2016
ICT the new economic horizon, chamber, BTC say
Bahamas – CEO of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation (BCCEC) Edison Sumner, discussing some of his efforts to gain opportunities for the Bahamian business community, insisted that development of The Bahamas’ information and communications technology (ICT) community remains a relatively untapped means of economic growth… more
Belize’s internet providers make history
Belize – All Internet providers in Belize have come together to form a non-profit company called the Belize Internet Exchange Point (BIXP) in order to vastly improve internet based services in the country… more
St. Kitts and Nevis’ CARICOM Youth Ambassadors celebrate girls in ICT Day 2016
Saint Kitts and Nevis – St. Kitts and Nevis’ CARICOM Youth Ambassadors (CYA) join other member states in the region to celebrate International Girls in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Day 2016, today, Thursday 28… more
Digicel Supports International Girls in ICT Day Across its Markets
Regional – In recognition of International Girls in ICT Day, Digicel is saluting its female employees across its operations and thanking them for their role in helping to make the company and by extension, the ICT sector, a success… more
Nun: We are a cable TV society
Trinidad and Tobago – “We have become a society of cable TV.” So said Sr Renee Hall, a Dominican Sister of St Catherine Siena Order and teacher at Holy Name Convent, Port of Spain when she addressed a number of Christian leaders on Wednesday at a press conference in San Fernando… more
Friday, 29 April 2016
Liberty Global To Buy BTC
Bahamas – BTC could have a new parent company in a matter of weeks… more
Union: ‘We’ll Meet New BTC Owner At Airport’
Bahamas – Union representatives yesterday said they plan “to meet Liberty Global at the airport and see what baggage they’re carrying”, with the company’s acquisition of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) majority owner set to close on May 13… more
BROADCASTERS MUST PUSH LOCAL CONTENT
Barbados – The right legislative environment aimed at promoting artistes in small islands like Barbados can help those persons to thrive… more
Belize Internet Exchange Point speeds up service
Belize – Nine of Belize’s internet service providers (ISPs) have partnered to establish Belize’s first internet exchange point (BIXP), which will greatly speed up local internet traffic, allowing for greater efficiency and reduced costs… more
Loggerhead Goes Long Distance For Turtle Telephone Directory
Belize – BTL’s 2016 telephone directory was released today – and this year Oceana snagged the cover page for an endangered turtle species, in this case, a logger head turtle… more
CCT: Services restored following outage
British Virgin islands – After experiencing hours of connection outage in the British Virgin Islands, telecommunications company CCT announced that its services have been restored fully… more
Cayman under cyber-attack, says ICTA
Cayman Islands – As local telecommunications provider Flow issued another alert about phishing scams impacting its customers, the managing director of the Information & Communications Technology Authority warned that Cayman is being targeted by cyber criminals… more
All radio, TV licences to be re-evaluated – Broadcasting Authority
Guyana – All radio and television stations, including 20 radio frequencies that were unilaterally licensed by the President Bharrat Jagdeo, would have to be evaluated in keeping with a new national plan for frequency allocation and coverage area, the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) announced on Friday… more
Guyana finally getting high-speed mobile data….4G
Guyana – Guyanese are on the verge of benefiting from higher data speeds on their mobile phones, with one of the country’s major phone companies announcing that it has been granted approval to offer 4G service… more
Implementing technology solutions within Ministries will reduce costs while improving overall quality of service to Guyanese citizens
Guyana – It has been more than 15 years since the first e-government program was launched in the United States, while in 2015, stakeholders in developing nations like Guyana, have yet to realize the benefits of computerized government departments that use technology to improve customer service, save lives, reduce costs, improve service delivery and extend service hours… more
No political interference for state media – Granger
Guyana – President David Granger has made it clear that his administration is not in the business of politically interfering with the day to day operations of Guyana’s state media entities… more
Sale of GTT shares…Buyer claims side deal done to waive remaining US$5M
Guyana – The controversy surrounding the sale of government’s 20 percent shares in the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) continues to grow… more
Digicel launches scholarship and internship programme to celebrate ‘Girls in ICT’
Jamaica – Digicel Business announced today that it will be offering a three-year scholarship valued at US$3,000 for young women to pursue tertiary level studies in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)… more
Online energy tool developed for students
Jamaica – Secondary school students now have the benefit of an online tool to conduct energy research for projects and prepare for examinations… more
STATIN using technology to improve efficiency
Jamaica – DIRECTOR General at the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), Carol Coy, says the entity has been making use of technology to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of operations… more
Technology minister wants more women in ICT
Jamaica – Energy, Science and Technology Minister, Dr Andrew Wheatley, is underscoring the need for greater female involvement in the field of information and communication technology (ICT)… more
FLOW brings the Olympics to its customers
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Flow subscribers across the region, are in for a treat, as far as the Rio 2016 Olympic Games are concerned… more
Saturday, 30 April 2016
BTC Celebrates International Girls in ICT Day!
Bahamas – BTC is proud to participate yet again in the globally recognized, International Girls in ICT Day…. more
Belize launches Caribbean’s latest internet exchange point
Belize – The Belize Public Utilities Commission announced that Belize’s first Internet exchange point, named BIXP, was successfully launched in Belize City on April 27 at the campus of the University of Belize… more
Dominican Republic records 8.85 mln mobile lines in Feb
Dominican Republic – A total of 8.85 million mobile lines were in operation in the Dominican Republic in February 2016, compared with 8.82 million a month earlier, according to data published by the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (Indotel)… more
Broadcasting body proposing lower fees for TV operators
Guyana – The Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) has recommended a new fee structure which will see a steep cut in the rate for television broadcasters and it is looking at all available options to recover $121M in licensing fees from delinquent operators… more
Gov’t must now present its evidence on outstanding payment for GTT shares
Guyana – Dear Editor, I write in reference to the Stabroek News article titled, `NICIL says has not received outstanding US$5M for GTT shares’ (April 29). To use President Granger’s summation of the situation, this “fiasco” is beginning to look like a comedy of astronomical proportions… more
Guyana promises no media interference
Guyana – PRESIDENT David Granger, speaking at a workshop to train local journalists and other media practitioners in reporting on suicides, yesterday laid out his government’s policy on the media, declaring that the executive will not meddle in the affairs of the private or state media, and reiterating that the state media has responsibility to offer a voice to the opposition and others in society… more
GTT gets approval for faster internet service to mobile customers
Guyana – The Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) has announced that it is getting ready to roll out its 4G (fourth generation) service… more
TVG facing loss of licence
Guyana – TVG Guyana Inc (Channel 28), which is owned by businessman Bobby Ramroop, has failed to submit its financial records to the Board of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) and if this situation persists will get no broadcast licence for 2016… more
Sunday, 1 May 2016
TVG “ain’t gon see a licence for 2016″- GNBA
Guyana – Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop’s constant refusal to furnish the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) with the audited financial statements of his television station—Television Guyana Inc.—will most likely see him off air. This was made clear by GNBA’s Director, Anthony Vieira… more
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