A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 17 October to Sunday 23 October 2016.
Monday, 17 October 2016
Gaming mogul says the country is poised to gain from global Bitcoin convergence
Antigua and Barbuda – Antigua-based online gaming mogul, Calvin Ayre has urged investors at home and abroad to follow his lead in making Antigua & Barbuda a hub for business process outsourcing (BPO), an industry, he argues, which will benefit heavily from increased use of crypto currencies, such as Bitcoin, in gaming… more
Internet providers told to adjust rates to suit service
Antigua and Barbuda – Local Internet providers have been told to adjust their rates to suit the services they offer, instead of advertising packages they are unable to deliver… more
Technology experts: Fibre optic network not enough to provide reliable internet
Antigua and Barbuda – A computer technology expert has said the use of the fibre optic network provided by the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA), may not necessarily solve the issue of Internet reliability… more
BTC Reports on Hurricane Matthew Restoration
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company Limited (BTC) continues to work feverishly towards 100% network restoration following Hurricane Matthew… more
Cable Bahamas continues national restoration effort in wake of Hurricane Matthew
Bahamas – Cable Bahamas announced yesterday that its restoration exercise remains at a steadfast pace, though a severe weather system hindered the company’s repair efforts yesterday… more
Leonard Craig to step down as Broadcasting Authority Chairman
Guyana – The Chairman of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA), Leonard Craig has signaled that he would be stepping down as Chairman of that television and radio regulatory authority, according to well-placed sources… more
Soon a digital TV pilot channel
Haiti – Jean Marie Altéma, General Director of the National Council of Telecommunications (CONATEL) and Dischler Marcelin, General Director of the National Television of Haiti (TNH) signed an agreement for the commissioning by TNH, of an experimental digital TV channel in the metropolitan area, at the latest on 15 November… more
Digicel Dedicates Top Award To Customers
Jamaica – On receiving the Jamaica Bureau of Standards’ top ranking for excellence in service, Digicel has dedicated the prestigious award to its more than two million customers… more
When Technology And Education Mix
Jamaica – A husband and wife in Jamaica are teaming up to make it easier for students in the Caribbean to prepare for exams… more
C&W expands network with Ericsson across Caribbean and Panama
Regional – Ericsson and Cable and Wireless Communications (C&W), now part of Liberty Global (LiLAC Group) have announced the delivery of a complete network expansion for C&W across their operations in the Caribbean and Panama. The expansion includes hardware, software, licensing and services for C&W brands FLOW (Caribbean), BTC (Bahamas) and CWP (Panama)… more
Cable & Wireless Continues to Grow in Colombia with a Focus on Banking Sector
Regional – Cable & Wireless has been in Colombia for more than a decade and a half. After starting out under the Columbus brand in the wholesale world, it has expanded more and more over the years, and now has more than 1,000 clients in the country… more
ECCAA Bans Samsung Galaxy Note 7 On All Carriers
Regional – The Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA) has issued a complete ban on Samsung Note 7 devices for all carriers… more
ECTEL telecommunications ministers approve new legislation
Regional – The Council of Ministers of the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) concluded its thirty-fourth regular meeting in Saint Lucia on Friday 14th October 2014… more
Marketing Strategies Today: Social media marketing and how to make posts viral
Regional – Social media marketing is a technique that allows there to be many people who are targeted who will know about a company or who will know about a technique… more
New Chairperson of Council of Ministers commends ECTEL‘s contribution
Regional – Minister for Economic Development, Housing, Urban Renewal, Transport and Civil Aviation Honourable Guy Joseph has commended the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL), for its considerable strides and accomplishments over the course of its 16 years of existence… more
Tuesday, 18 October 2016
BTC Credits Customers Affected by Matthew
Bahamas – On the heels of Hurricane Matthew, BTC embarked on an aggressive agenda to restore services to impacted customers… more
BTC Restores Services
Bahamas – With 12 days since the passing of Hurricane Matthew, The Bahamas Telecommunications Company Limited (BTC) continues to work around the clock towards full network restoration… more
Cable focused on restoration, not billing
Bahamas – Complaints about allegedly being billed for unused services from Cable Bahamas Limited (CBL) are surfacing, but Vice President of Marketing at CBL David Burrows said the company’s sole focus at the moment is on restoring services to its customers… more
British Virgin Islands to launch LTE at start of 2017
British Virgin Islands – The British Virgin Islands will finally have commercial 4G-LTE services at the start of next year, reports Telesemana, citing communications minister Mark Vanterpool… more
BVI Post bans Samsung Galaxy Note 7
British Virgin Islands – Based on what it indicated is a recent classification of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices as a fire hazard, BVI Post today banned those devices from all shipments via parcels, eZone, or Amerijet services… more
Evan Duggan & Din Duggan | Regulation: Telecommunication And Internet Penetration
Jamaica – The world of telecommunications is a dynamic and fascinating one uniquely positioned within the utilities universe to meaningfully drive economic growth and development. Changes in the sector over the past 30 years have revolutionised virtually every aspect of Jamaican life from workplaces to homes; education to entertainment; how we worship to how we solve – and in some cases commit - crimes… more
Study investigates impact of internet on Caribbean economies
Regional – A recent study on “The Impact of Broadband on Economic Growth in ECTEL Member States” has indicated that a one percent increase in the broadband penetration rate would lead to an increase in real economic growth of 0.076 percent… more
Digicel T&T CEO promoted
Trinidad and Tobago – Digicel Trinidad & Tobago Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sacha Thompson has been promoted, a spokesperson for the company confirmed by telephone yesterday. Appointed March 1, 2015, Thompson moved up about twice as fast as her predecessor, John Delves, who held the position of Digicel T&T CEO before her for three years. Digicel did not say to what position Thompson was promoted but promised to issue a statement soon… more
Doctor: Use the internet responsibly
Trinidad and Tobago – WITH Trinidad and Tobago ranked high in the use of internet pornography, a young medical doctor has advised his peers to use social media “responsibly” saying the internet and social media “are good servants but bad masters… more
The Uber challenge
Trinidad and Tobago – The private ride company Uber is in T&T, recruiting partners, drivers and insurance companies to create a service of private taxis for the travelling public. This is a challenge on multiple fronts, and things are likely to become quite confusing faster than anyone expects… more
TTBizLink launched
Trinidad and Tobago – THE Ministry of Trade in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health and the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards launched TTBizLink’s 47th e-service-the Mobile Inspection Service on October 13… more
Wednesday, 19 October 2016
BTC outlines restoration schedule
Bahamas – Since the passing of Hurricane Matthew, the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) said that basic mobile and fixed line services have now been restored in North Andros… more
TRC boss falls victim to forgery; two charged
British Virgin Islands – Two British Virgin Islands natives are now facing criminal charges after allegedly forging and cashing cheques under the names of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) boss Guy Malone and businessman Denver Baronville… more
Commercial real estate rentals dip towards BPO pricing
Jamaica – Business Process outsourcing (BPO) firms which often want to lease thousands in square footage for their operations are influencing commercialrenting rates, local realtors state… more
Global tech conference launches in Jamaica
Jamaica – A new global conference and community platform in Jamaica will encourage relationships between tech entrepreneurs, investors and executives, and serve as a true business catalyst offering a more immersive experience for participants… more
Juliet Holness Attends Cyber Security Workshop
Jamaica – Member of Parliament for East Rural St. Andrew, Mrs. Juliet Holness is currently attending the Caribbean Regional Workshop for Parliamentarians and Policy Makers on Cyber Security in Washington DC… more
Caribbean utility regulators to meet
Regional – Prime Minister Andrew Holness is slated to address the opening ceremony of the Organisation of Caribbean Utility Regulators (OOCUR) 14th Annual Conference scheduled to be held at the Secrets Resorts in Montego Bay between October 26 and 28… more
Empowering the Digital Citizen in the ECTEL Member States
Regional – Chances are over the last couple of months, you may have heard or seen several public service announcements on radio and television and also posted in social media in the ECTEL Member States of Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines… more
Thursday, 20 October 2016
BTC promises credit to landline customers
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has announced that it will issue a credit to residential landline customers whose services were interrupted because of an extended loss of commercial power… more
URCA: Final Determination on Pricing Rules for Non Price Capped Service
Bahamas – The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) has published its Final Determination and Statement of Results on the “Consultation on Proposed Revision of the Retail Pricing Rules for Price Regulated Services Not Subject to Price Cap Regulation (Non Price Capped Services)” (ECS 34/2016)… more
URCA to commence testing on NewCo’s rollout activities
Bahamas – The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) is pleased to note that in a Press Release issued by NewCo on Friday 30th September 2016, NewCo announced that its first coverage obligations had been met and invited the public to apply to use NewCo’s services during what NewCo refers to as its “soft launch” phase… more
Beware phony crews
Barbados – POLICE ARE STILL to determine if the picture of a man circulating on social media, said to be “armed and dangerous” and trying to dupe homeowners into giving him access to their properties, was legitimate… more
Con men posing as Flow employees
Barbados – Police are advising householders not to allow anyone purporting to be a Flow technician into their homes without first being shown proper identification… more
AmCham calls for hold on online tax
Trinidad and Tobago – THE SE VEN percent online purchase tax (OPT) on air freight goods is set to come into effect today (Thursday) but AmCham is urging Government to delay implementation until collection mechanisms are in place… more
Digital technology
Trinidad and Tobago – Not only have they changed the way we communicate but they’ve changed the way we run business, spend our free time and understand the world too… more
TSTT online advanced Yellow Pages and mobile app tops 5 million searches
Trinidad and Tobago – With over 86,000 downloads of the mobile app and 5.5 million searches online over the past 12 months and growing, TSTT’s Trinidad and Tobago Yellow Pages is definitely a great companion whether you are traveling around Trinidad and Tobago or across the Caribbean… more
Friday, 21 October 2016
BTC to compensate customers affected by hurricane
Bahamas – Bahamas operator BTC has announced that it will compensate customers that are continuing to experience service outages after Hurricane Matthew hit the island at the start of the month… more
Gov’t ‘Surprised’ By Renew Withdrawal
Bahamas – A Cabinet Minister yesterday admitted the Government had been “surprised” by Renew Bahamas’ decision to suspend its management of the New Providence landfill, with no decision made yet on whether the company will return… more
Eastern Caribbean works to promote broader usage of electronic payments
Regional – A recent electronic payments conference and workshop aimed at promoting broader usage of electronic payments in the Eastern Caribbean and the possibility of reducing the usage of cash was held at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) headquarters in St Kitts on Monday… more
ECTEL passes new legislation to boost telecoms competition
Regional – The Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) has approved new legislation aimed at boosting competition in the region… more
Digicel makes ‘Belongers’ redundant
Turks and Caicos Islands – Telecommunications provider Digicel says it has made redundant a small number of jobs in Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) in efforts to reorganise from a pure mobile operator to a complete communications and entertainment provider in the country… more
Saturday, 22 October 2016
Government places emphasis on ICT for developing green economy
Guyana – Guyana says it is placing much emphasis on the development of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector as part of its efforts to develop a green economy… more
Local stakeholders trained in competition laws
Guyana – Starting Monday until yesterday, 15 participants from various government agencies, including staffers of the Guyana Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission, attended a workshop on competition law and policy designed to increase local knowledge and awareness of these areas and build institutional capacity in the context of the implementation of the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)… more
Andrea Martin-Swaby | Social Media – Think Before You Post
Regional – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, FaceTime, and WhatsApp have become the primary means of communication in the 21st century. Voice over IP has nearly replaced the need to use cellular minutes. Many have argued that data plans and wireless connections have almost made the need for landline connections obsolete… more
NTRC announces My Summer My NTRC promotion winners
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Three winners have been announced in the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC) “My Summer My NTRC” summer promotion… more
Sunday, 23 October 2016
GTT shares issue…Harmon forwards questions to NICIL
Guyana – The issue of the outstanding US$5M from the sale of Government’s shares in GTT is yet to be resolved… more
WikipediaImage credits: Yukio Matsuoka (flickr); Wikipedia; Wikipedia; Wikipedia
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