A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 3 October to Sunday 9 October 2016.
Monday, 3 October 2016
Cable Fault Blamed For Power Outage In New Providence
Bahamas – BAHAMAS Power and Light has blamed a cable fault at the corporation’s Blue Hills Power Plant for a major outage that affected about 30 per cent of New Providence for several hours on Saturday… more
New Mobile Operator ‘Bang On Roll-Out Goal’
Bahamas – The Bahamas’ second mobile operator and its controlling shareholder yesterday said they were “bang on target” in meeting its first roll-out milestone, describing this and the launch of services as “a miracle”… 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
FLOW customers without Internet in Portmore after vandals strike
Jamaica – Telecommunications provider FLOW is once again grappling with the loss of a section of its copper network which delivers voice and Internet services… more
TUTTA welcomes ICT policy
Trinidad and Tobago – PRESIDENT of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA), Davanand Sinanan welcomed the ICT (information and communication technology) policy for schools, but wants to know how the $7.2 billion allocated to education will be used… more
Tuesday, 4 October 2016
ICTA Establishes Rules for Reporting Network Outages
Cayman Islands – The Information and Communications Technology Authority (ICTA) has established Outage Reporting Rules for all its licensees that will include fines for non-compliance… more
Claro to invest USD 200 million a year in Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic – Claro (America Movil) is committed to investing a total of USD 600 million in the Dominican Republic over the next three years, reports local daily Listin Diario, citing America Movil CEO Daniel Hajj Aboumrad… more
Blink | bmobile wins big at the local advertising awards
Trinidad and Tobago – Blink | bmobile’s advertisements took the lion’s share of awards at the 2016 Advertising Agencies Association of T&T’s (AAATT’s) Creative Excellence Awards held on September 22, by placing first in the majority of categories judged in the telecommunications sector… more
The technology agenda, deferred
Trinidad and Tobago – In his second budget presentation, Minister of Finance Colm Imbert played again to the cheap seats, offering minimal fiscal dings and tentative benevolence to citizens living on the monetary margins of society… more
Wednesday, 5 October 2016
NewCo on the block; Bahamian cellco hits first coverage target, begins ‘soft launch’ phase
Bahamas – NewCo2015, the Cable Bahamas Ltd (CBL)-backed newcomer to the Bahamas’ mobile sector, has completed the first stage of its rollout and has invited customers to apply to use its service during what it calls its ‘soft launch’ phase… more
Regulator Backs Newco On 25% Higher Charges For Termination
Bahamas – Regulators have backed the new mobile operator’s argument that it should be allowed to charge “asymmetrical” call termination rates that are 25 per cent higher than the Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) over the short-term… more
URCA to test NewCo network
Bahamas – The Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) will spend the next four weeks testing to see whether NewCo2015 has indeed met the first milestone of its Individual Spectrum Licence (ISL), which is to provide cellular mobile services to the general public with its own cellular mobile network covering 99 percent of New Providence and 80 percent of Grand Bahama by October 1, 2016. At stake is a $4 million bond… more
Telecoms will have to report outages or face fines
Cayman Islands – New rules issued by Cayman’s telecoms regulator mean that licensed companies will have to report outages or could face fines… more
Internet ready learning center for Capuchin community
Dominica – The Capuchin community resource center is now well equipped to provide users with greater access to the internet… more
Joe Singh to probe corruption allegations at Broadcast Authority
Guyana – The Terms of Reference (TOR) for the investigations into the allegations of corruption and misconduct made by Mr. Kenwin Charles against members of the Guyana National Broadcasting Association (GNBA) Board were Thursday handed over to Major General Ret’d Joe Singh, MMS, by Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon, at his office, at the Ministry of the Presidency… more
Caribbean innovators urged to take advantage of World Bank funding project
Regional – Climate change innovators in the Caribbean can access funding to develop their projects through the World Bank’s Entrepreneurship Programme for Innovation in the Caribbean (EPIC)… more
Cellphone carriers waive fees for calls to countries affected by Matthew
Regional – Through Oct. 7, several mobile phone companies are waiving charges for U.S. customers to call friends and family in Caribbean islands affected this past week by Hurricane Matthew… more
TelEm Group signs purchase accord to take over Cable TV
Sint Maarten – The TelEm Group on Friday, September 30, signed a purchase agreement to take over the ownership of St. Maarten Cable TV from its present owner Innovative… more
AmCham against online tax
Trinidad and Tobago – THE AMERICAN Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago (AmCham) yesterday called on Government to reconsider the seven percent tax on online shopping imposed by Finance Minister Colm Imbert in the 2016-2017 Budget… more
How to innovate
Trinidad and Tobago – The recent World Economic Forum rankings have been something of an eye-opener for many parties given our downgrade, but there’s one area which jumped out at me. It’s the low score on the ability to innovate (105 out of 138 countries)… more
Thursday, 6 October 2016
Bahamas NewCo meets first mobile coverage target
Bahamas – Cable Bahamas (CBL) has announced that NewCo2015 Limited, the new entrant in the country’s mobile sector, has successfully completed its first service milestone and now covers 99 percent of the population on New Providence and 80 percent on Grand Bahama after installing a total of 73 sites across the two islands…more
CCJ splits payment due to Ascroft for BTL down the middle
Belize – After 7 years of resisting, Lord Ashcroft finally agreed that although it will make up a part of the settlement, it would be payable in Belizean dollars in the Hayward Charitable Belize Trust… more
Flow gives more price options for faster speed on VG
British Virgin Islands – Telecommunication company Flow said its broadband customers living in The Valley area of Virgin Gorda (VG) have been experiencing faster internet speeds, adding that they will not be charged extra for the improved service until October 15… more
Telecom firms breach licences over fibre-optics
Cayman Islands – The minister with responsibility for utilities has admitted that “many” telecommunication firms operating in the Cayman Islands have licences that require them to build out fibre-optic networks across all the islands but none of them have met their agreed target dates… more
TELEM GROUP, A ST. MARTIN FIRM, ANNOUNCES PURCHASE AGREEMENT FOR TAKEOVER OF INNOVATIVE ST. MARTIN
Sint Maarten – TelEm Group, a St. Martin firm, announced on Wednesday the signing of a purchase agreement to takeover ownership of St. Maarten Cable TV from its present owner Innovative… more
TSTT, E-IDCOT partner on ICT investment
Trinidad and Tobago – Tobago will soon have its first data centre due to a collaboration between the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (TSTT) and the Eco-Industrial Development Company of Tobago (E-IDCOT) Ltd… more
Friday, 7 October 2016
BTC Issues Mobile Credit to The Entire Bahamas
Bahamas – BTC has announced that it will issue a $5 mobile credit to all customers in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew… more
Cable Bahamas reveals extensive action plan following Hurricane Matthew
Bahamas – As Hurricane Matthew left flooding and damage in its wake throughout The Bahamas, Cable Bahamas crews and response teams are being activated to deal with the aftermath… more
STEMGuyana will help create critical thinkers and problem solvers
Guyana – STEMGuyana is a big idea whose time has come and it was created to expose Guyanese students to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and the Arts) education in a fun and engaging way. Communities in countries all over the world have embraced this idea and it is less important that Guyana is playing catch up than is the fact that we are now fully engaged… more
Caricoin and Bank of Jamaica Team Up For Nation’s First Licensed Bitcoin Exchange
Jamaica – Localized Bitcoin wallets can make an impact in a specific region. Caricoin, the Bitcoin wallet solution for Caribbean users, is planning to launch the first-ever licensed Bitcoin exchange in Jamaica… more
FLOW faces $-m repair bill from copper theft
Jamaica – Communications provider FLOW says it has been left with a repair bill of approximately $1 million after vandals “wreaked havoc” on its copper network in sections of St Catherine during the passage of Hurricane Matthew on Monday… more
Completed sea cable benefits Saba, Statia
Sint Eustatius – Internet prices have gone down for St. Eustatius and Saba since the islands have been connected to the international optic fibre cable structure on surrounding islands… more
Saturday, 8 October 2016
Guyana, India reviews sugar, rice, ICT technical assistance projects
Guyana – During a scheduled visit, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo on Thursday met with India’s Minister of State for External Affairs, Retired General, Dr. Vijay Kumar Singh… more
UG promises improved Wi-Fi on campuses
Guyana – Students of the University of Guyana (UG) are expected to soon have access to more reliable wireless internet service at their campuses… more
Lawyers tangle over use of mobile devices during hearing
Jamaica – A debate over the use of mobile technology while in session hogged much of the spotlight at the Jamaica Conference Centre yesterday during the disciplinary hearing to determine whether West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell is guilty of violating a whereabouts clause… more
Costa Rica to host second meeting of ECLAC’s ICT, science conference
Regional – THE Second Session of the Conference on Science, Innovation and Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) will begin next Monday at the Hotel Holiday Inn Aurola in San Jose, Costa Rica… more
Sunday, 9 October 2016
Jamaican Banks Unite Against Cybercrime
Jamaica – Jamaica’s banking sector is rolling out a campaign meant to make customers more alert to and mindful of online security to safeguard their finances amid rising cyberattacks that appear to be growing more sophisticated… more
Digicel calls in regional technician to assist with outage
Regional – Telecommunications company DIGICEL are assuring customers that the company is doing all it can to restore service on the island… more
Image credits: journalismthatmatters (flickr); Wikipedia; Wikipedia; Wikipedia; Wikipedia
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