A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 3 April to Sunday 9 April 2017.
Monday, 3 April 2017
BTC: Aliv Taking ‘Liberty’ On Name
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) is demanding that its new mobile rival stop using its controlling shareholder’s name to brand one of its product suites, setting the stage for a bruising trademark lawsuit… more
Sub-Sea Fibre Break Blamed For Island-Wide Internet Outage
Bahamas – A “critical sub-sea fibre break” to Cable Bahamas Ltd’s main BICS network in Grand Bahama was the reason for an island-wide outage in internet services throughout New Providence and some Family Islands on Saturday, the company has said… more
BTC testing the Samsung Galaxy S8
Bahamas – Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has announced that it has been testing the Samsung Galaxy S8 device for a few weeks now, and the nifty new phone is expected on shelves this month… more
BTL gets new CEO
Belize – The Board of Directors of Belize Telemedia Ltd. (BTL) announced today via a press release that it has appointed Rochus Schreiber as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company… more
THE HOYOS FILE: CWC directs its new laser beam at landlines
Barbados – NOBODY TELLS ME anything. I did not know, for example, that Niall Sheehy was no longer the managing director (MD) of Cable & Wireless Communications’ Barbados operations… more
8 things to avoid on social media
Regional – ARE you a brick-and-mortar store, relatively new to the age of digital marketing? … more
Marketing Strategies Today: Six surefire ways to improve client retention with social media
Regional – If you own a business, one of the primary goals you are driven by is to get more customers and retain the existing ones… more
Phone consumers cutting cord
Regional – CONSUMERS ARE “cutting the cord” but Cable & Wireless is determined not to let its fixed voice business die… more
A skittish Samsung in resurgence
Trinidad and Tobago – For almost two years, I’d had contact with the company’s regional officers and seen the company in action at two major international launches and describing it as stretched thin would be an understatement… more
Tuesday, 4 April 2017
Bahamas Gov’t Introduces Electronic Bail Management System
Bahamas – The Government’s new Bail Management initiative will introduce electronic processing for bail applications, persons who are granted bail, suretors, and registration at police stations… more
BTC sees 2,000 4G LTE sign-ups in 1 day
Bahamas – BTC has announced that over two thousand customers have moved over to its LTE network yesterday as a result of a one day special offer… more
CBL Credits Customers One Day For Weekend Service Interruption
Bahamas – Hours of service interruption over the weekend has resulted in Cable Bahamas Limited (CBL) issuing its REVON home and business customers a one-day credit… more
BTL’s New Boss Is Foreign
Belize – After a 6 month search, BTL has a new CEO… more
CUC closes first $40 million tranche of private placement
Cayman Islands – The Auditor’s Oversight Authority and the Cayman Islands Institute of Professional Accountants have signed a memorandum of understanding to coordinate quality assurance review visits and inspections and to avoid the duplication of investigations or disciplinary cases… more
Guyana merges 2 key agencies under telecom ministry
Guyana – The Ministry of Public Telecommunications announces the 100 percent merger of the National Data Management Authority (NDMA) and the eGovernment Project Execution Unit. The reconstituted entity, with immediate effect, will be referred to as the National Data Management Authority (NDMA)… more
UG calls in police to probe alleged theft, mismanagement at ICT Centre
Guyana – University of Guyana Vice-Chancellor Professor Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith has asked the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Guyana Police Force to launch an investigation into the operations of the Centre for Information Technology (CIT), following the levelling of serious allegations of theft of equipment from the Centre and misconduct of staff members… more
Union files court action to stop GTT from making 120 positions redundant
Guyana – The Guyana Postal and Telecommunications Workers’ Union (GPTWU) has filed a court action seeking to restrain the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) from moving ahead with a restructuring of its operations that would make 120 positions become redundant in the company… more
Second Phase of Tablets in Schools Programme to Launch September
Jamaica – The Government will be launching the second phase of the Tablets in Schools programme in September… more
Wednesday, 5 April 2017
APUA promises to pay protesting staff
Antigua and Barbuda – Workers in the Telephone Department at Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) returned to the job yesterday afternoon following promises that their increments would be forthcoming by the end of this week… more
A Mobile App to Boost Economic Activity in Old Capital
Belize – Mobile apps are gaining fast popularity as the use of smart phone grows globally… more
Tech startups at Kimpton
Cayman Islands – The tech leaders of tomorrow will compete in Cayman’s first Startup Battlefield event at the IMPACT17 conference… more
Digicel awarded contract to fix Guyana’s 911 emergency phone call system
Guyana – Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, Wednesday said that the 911 emergency telephone line is one step closer to being fixed… more
Minister: Probe underway why CT scanners went down same time
Trinidad and Tobago – The Health Ministry is examining why the CT scanners at both the Port- of- Spain General Hospital and San Fernando General Hospital “coincidentally” went down at the same time, says Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh… more
Thursday, 6 April 2017
BTC Grants Tower Sharing to Second Mobile Provider
Bahamas – BTC today made it official, signing an agreement enabling the country’s second mobile provider access to over one hundred mobile sites on its network…more
Shavonne Smith: Prepare To Combat Rise In Cybercrime
Bahamas – Given the constant cyberattacks on financial institutions and other high-profile businesses, many company Boards are likely to be asking their executive teams: “Could it happen to us?” … more
UB Takes a Stand on Cyber-Bullying
Belize – Today the University of Belize held a forum to educate students about the dangers of cyberbullying… more
BUSINESS BYTE: Digicel increases converage across Dominica with 4G expansion
Dominica – Digicel announced on Thursday, April 6, that it has completed the first phase of its 4G network expansions, which will see customers benefiting from increased coverage, faster speeds, better connectivity and a better mobile data experience across Dominica… more
Digicel gets cleared to ship in equipment for 911 system
Guyana – Several weeks ago, telephone service provider Digicel was awarded a $27M contract for the installation of the 911 business solution emergency service… more
Playing digital catch-up: Finding opportunities for Haiti
Haiti – Haiti is behind the rest of the world in the digital revolution… more
FLOW ‘frees up’ data allowances with new ‘Lyf’ plan
Jamaica – Telecommunications firm FLOW has announced a new suite of mobile data value plans that ‘frees up’ megabytes for customers to suit their lifestyle and online habits… more
Government to launch second phase of tablets in schools project
Jamaica – The Government will be launching the second phase of the Tablets in Schools programme in September… more
Impact of technology on careers without bound
Jamaica – Undoubtedly, the fast pace of technological changes have made the digital age in which we live, work and raise families increasingly challenging to cope with… more
Flow airs Library of Caribbean Focused Content
Regional – For the first time, Flow TV customers across the Caribbean will be able to see Caribbean themed content at their convenience via Flow’s on Demand platform… more
Updated- Cable Building Evacuated Over Fire Scare!
Saint Kitts and Nevis – The Cable Building on Cayon Street was partially evacuated early Thursday afternoon (Apr 6) after occupants reported the scent of something burning… more
A society divided, united in TV
Trinidad and Tobago – Advertising and marketing agency, cmb, has commissioned a survey on media consumption in T&T… more
IT technicians may get three-year contracts soon
Trinidad and Tobago –Information Technology (IT) technicians attached to the Ministry of Education may soon be moved over to three-year contracts instead of the current month-to-month contracts… more
Friday, 7 April 2017
BTC, Aliv Dispute Co-Location ‘Deal’
Bahamas – Aliv and the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) were locked in a new battle yesterday, after the latter’s assertion they had reached agreement on a 100-site infrastructure sharing deal was disputed by its new mobile competitor… more
BTC grants tower sharing to second mobile provider
Bahamas – Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) made it official yesterday, signing an agreement enabling the country’s second mobile provider access to over one hundred mobile sites on its network… more
BTL has new CEO
Belize – The Board of Directors of Belize Telemedia Ltd (BTL) is pleased to advise that it has appointed Mr. Rochus Schreiber as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BTL with effect Wednesday, April 5th 2017… more
BTL Phonebook Launch – Our Heritage: the Reef
Belize – On Thursday, March 30, 2017, Belize Telemedia Limited, Yello Belize, and World Wildlife Fund Belize launched the distribution of the 2017 telephone directory… more
FLOW introduces new ‘Lyf’ plan for mobile customers
Jamaica – TELECOMMUNICATIONS company FLOW yesterday announced a new suite of mobile data value plans that ‘frees up’ megabytes for customers to suit their lifestyle and online habits, in what the company said is another bold move to offer customers the best value in the mobile industry… more
C&W’s Garry Sinclair Showcased Innovative Flow Lend App at the CTU’s ICT Symposium
Regional – At the recently held Caribbean Telecommunications Union ICT Week & Symposium held on March 20 – 24 in Antigua, C&W’s Caribbean President, Garry Sinclair delivered an interactive presentation during which he showcased the Company’s newest award-winning, customer-focused app – Flow Lend – to more than 100 delegates… more
Suriname Islamic bank selects Kuwaiti technology partner
Suriname – Suriname-based Trustbank is one step closer to open its doors to customers interested in Islamic banking products after it signed a new licensing deal with the Kuwait based Islamic software vendor, Path Solutions, to implement Islamic Banking and Investment System as its new core banking platform… more
Cybercrime—a chilling effect?
Trinidad and Tobago – The Cybercrime Bill currently tabled is one of a slate of “high-fly” proposed legislation for this country which, at first glance, seems to be just what is needed to rein in this “difficult, or impossible to govern” country… more
Intellectual property strategy to be implemented soon
Trinidad and Tobago – A draft intellectual property (IP) strategy and the establishment of an intellectual property academy are among activities the local Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is currently pursuing to safeguard national intellectual property rights… more
Saturday, 8 April 2017
8,000 BPO jobs to be created this year – Chang
Jamaica – Major developments in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) locally are expected to generate approximately 8,000 additional jobs this year… more
Enmore NDC minutes confirms plan to sell computers
Guyana – In a twist to the seizure of 15 computers and eight power packs from the Enmore/Hope Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), this newspaper has seen the minutes of that NDC that confirms that the computers were indeed going to be sold… more
Government partners with Facebook to broadcast alerts for missing children
Jamaica – The Ministry of Education has announced plans to partner with social media giant, Facebook, to broadcast Ananda Alerts – a system for reporting missing children… more
Sunday, 9 April 2017
DIGICEL PLAY SURPRISES 20 000TH CUSTOMER
Barbados – Leslie Schultz is the 20 000th customer of Digicel Play in Barbados… more
Carolyn Cooper | FLOW Giveth And FLOW Taketh Away
Jamaica – Blessed be the name of FLOW? … more
No easy Flow with triple play
Jamaica – Dear Claudienne: After living in New York for almost 30 years, my husband and I decided to resettle in Jamaica… more
CARIBBEAN PLAYING CYBERCRIME CATCH-UP
Regional – Lack of resources has been one of the challenges facing Barbados and the region in its efforts to fight cybercrime considering that criminals are presently a step ahead… more
Image credit: Bernard Goldbach (flickr); Wikipedia; Belize Web; Wikipedia; Wikipedia
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