A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 19 June to Sunday 25 June 2017.

 

Monday, 19 June 2017

Start-Up Targeting Digital Media Push

Bahamas – A Bahamian start-up aims to transform the digital media sector by providing platforms that offer the greatest marketing potential for business clients… more

The service GTT is providing is unacceptable

Guyana – Dear Editor,  Last Saturday I activated a three-day data plan on my mobile phone with GTT… more

Government developing regulations for interactive gaming

Jamaica – THE Government is developing regulations to govern interactive and online gambling… more

Jamaica Moves to Legalize Online Gambling, Consolidate Gaming Regulators

Jamaica –  Jamaica is ready to jump on board the online gambling train, with government ministers proposing fast-track legislation that would allow the government to collect taxes and charge licensing fees for interactive casinos operating in the country… more

Jamaica to “fast track” online gambling legislation, regulation

Jamaica – Jamaica’s finance minister says the island nation is forging ahead with plans to regulate online gambling to keep abreast with the changing pace of technology… more

The Cybercrime Bill for journalists

Trinidad and Tobago – The deadline for formal comments on the bill closed on Friday and along with participating in the TTCS perspective (http://ow.ly/PIom30cFTqC), I’ve also republished the submission of technologist Taran Rampersad (http://ow.ly/Y8HW30cFHzQ)… more

Tuesday, 20 June 2017

Bahamian start-up sparks digital marketing revolution

Bahamas – As many Bahamian companies struggle to market their companies through digital channels, a new start-up aims to transform the sector by providing digital media platforms with the greatest potential to move a business forward… more

BTC and BCCEC Prepare Businesses for Hurricane Season

Bahamas – The hurricane season has begun and the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) alongside the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation (BCCEC) are urging business owners to technologically prepare their businesses for the worst… more

Social media can’t replace weather bulletins

Barbados – BARBADOS WAS SPARED the brunt of Tropical Storm Bret yesterday, but the Met Office wants Barbadians to continue heeding its bulletins as two tropical waves head this way… more

Female Attorney-at-Law is new Chairperson of Public Utilities Commission

Guyana – A female is set to be sworn in as the third Chairperson of Guyana’s Public Utilities Commission, following the retirement of Justice Prem Persaud from that post, government said Tuesday… more

Digicel Wants Governments To Protect Consumers And Tax Revenue

Regional – POLICIES needed to extend consumer protection and tax collection to the digital economy… more

Five Awarded US$5000 At PitchIT Caribbean Challenge

Regional – Five entrepreneurs were awarded US $5,000 each for successfully pitching their business ideas as finalists in the PitchIT Caribbean Challenge held in St. Kitts this past weekend… more

Emergency numbers established

Trinidad and Tobago – THE Water and Sewerage Authority, in a press release, stated it has implemented specific measures in its Disaster Preparedness Plan in anticipation of the passage of the oncoming tropical storm… more

Free calls from Bmobile until 1p.m.

Trinidad and Tobago – In the aftermath of Tropical Storm Bret, Bmobile has announced that it is offering customers free calls today, from 9a.m to 1p.m… more

Wednesday, 21 June 2017

BTC, Aliv shares to be sold to Bahamians

Bahamas – Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis yesterday said shares in telecommunications providers Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) and Aliv will be sold to Bahamians and the funds collected will be used to pay off the country’s historically high national debt… more

FLOW AIMS FOR IMPROVED CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE WITH SYSTEM UPGRADE

Barbados – The focus on improving customer experience continues to be a priority for telecoms provider Flow… more

Flow: Bill delay due to upgrades

Barbados – THE REASONS WHY FLOW CUSTOMERS are receiving their bills late this month is finally clear… more

Cable TV laments ‘malicious acts’

British Virgin Islands – BVI Cable TV has claimed that a number of its fiber optic cables are being damaged mainly as a result of ‘malicious acts’ in a number of communities on Tortola, resulting in widespread disruption in service… more

Guyana Government Officials Commend Qualfon’s Focused Approach to Invest in People and the Local BPO Industry

Guyana – Qualfon, a mission-driven business process outsourcing (BPO) company and global provider of contact center services, was publicly commended by Guyana’s Minister of Public Telecommunications and Minister of Business for its investments in the South American country of Guyana… more

Public Utilities Commission has to be “retooled” as telecoms liberalisation nears

Guyana – The newly-appointed Chairwoman of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Dela Britton on Wednesday listed retooling the regulatory agency as one of her priorities at a time when Guyana is preparing to liberalise the telecommunications sector… more

BPO sector wants meeting with gov’t before SEZ regulations finalised

Jamaica – The Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ) is calling on the government to engage with the association before it finalises Special Economic Zone (SEZ) regulations, which in the view of the BPIAJ has the potential to stifle the growth of BPO in Jamaica… more

Forge CCTV Ties With Cable Companies

Jamaica – The Government has been toying with the idea of using of CCTV in public spaces as a tool for crime prevention and detection. CCTV is remarkable as a support for the police force which is undermanned and cannot patrol every street everywhere at every time… more

Gov’t Committed to Providing the BPO Sector with the Necessary Support

Jamaica – With 30,000 persons set to secure jobs in business process outsourcing (BPO) operations, over the next five years, the Government is focused on providing the sector with the necessary institutional support… more

ICT hosts Viable Career Choice Expo

Trinidad and Tobago –  ICT is like seasoning in food because you must have it. ICT plays in every aspect of everything we do in every industry,” says Dr Joseph Jacob, manager Student Recruitment, University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT)… more

Thursday, 22 June 2017

BTC recognizes stellar employees

Bahamas – Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) recently held its employee awards reception at The Balmoral Club, where over 100 employees were recognized for exemplary services to the company… more

Ministry Plans Electronic Building Permit Process

Bahamas – The Ministry of Works plans to introduce an electronic processing solution to enhance the efficiency and security of building permit applications, which generated just under $1.3 million in revenues for the Government last year… more

Minnis promises free Wi-Fi in inner city

Bahamas – The government will put free Wi-Fi in areas within the inner city of New Providence, said Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis… more

Barbados MVNO Ozone Wireless to launch in July

Barbados – New Barbados MVNO Ozone Wireless is set to launch commercial 4G services on 17 July, reports local daily Nation News… more

Belize Gov Signs MOU With Microsoft For Digital Transformation Goals

Belize – A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed today between the Government of Belize (GOB) and Microsoft Service at an official ceremony held in Belize City… more

GOB Strikes Deal With Microsoft For E-Government

Belize – Today the Government of Belize and Microsoft signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at helping the government to meet its National Digital Transformation Goals… more

Siri founder shares secrets to success

Cayman Islands – Want to know how to become a multi-million dollar Silicon Valley success story? Better ask Siri. Or better still, ask one of the company’s founders, Adam Cheyer… more

Guyanese youths get GYD$2.5 million support to participate in First Global Robotic Challenge

Guyana – A team of youths, who will be representing Guyana in the First Global Robotic Challenge in the United States (US) next month, has received support amounting to GYD$2.5 million, the Ministry of the Presidency announced Thursday… more

 Liberalisation looms as GTT negotiations wind down

Guyana – Government is nearing the end of negotiations with the US owner of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) as the country prepares to allow new operators into the telecoms arena… more

The 10-Step Plan To Fight Cyber Risk

Regional – Rigorous IT security assessments should be performed by specialists… more

Caribbean – Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Digital Media – Key Statistics, In Depth Analysis and Forecast to 2022

Regional – Caribbean operators ramp up investments in LTE and GPON fibre servicesThe telecoms sector is one of the Caribbean region’s major growth sectors, particularly in the mobile telephony and data segments… more

KPMG: Bermuda & Caribbean Cyber Security

Regional – A multiregional survey by KPMG indicated that Bermuda is slightly more prepared against cyber security threats in relation to its Caribbean counterparts… more

PRESS RELEASE: Diverse group of tech hopefuls share US$25,000 at PitchIT Caribbean Challenge 3.0

Regional –  Tech start-ups from five Caribbean territories scored big at the PitchIT Caribbean Challenge mobile app entrepreneurship competition on June 17, each winning US$5,000 in seed funding to develop their businesses… more

Friday, 23 June 2017

BTC and Chamber to Host Disaster Workshop

Bahamas –  As a routine, BTC has completed its checks and balances and is ready for the 2017 Hurricane season. Year round, BTC ensures that its network is maintained… more

Government’s shareholding in Aliv, BTC complicates regulation, says URCA CEO

Bahamas – CEO of the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) Stephen Bereaux lauded the government’s announcement to sell its shares in Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) and Aliv to Bahamians, adding that the government’s stake in both mobile operators “complicates regulation”… more

CEO: Keep taxes off smartphones

Barbados – THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER of Promotech Barbados, Kailash Pardasani, is calling for smartphones to remain duty-free… more

Contributors to Internet recognized

Barbados – Considering that Barbados is home to the person who not only designed the first Internet search engine but also steered a committee into setting standards for such cyberspace innovations, one might wonder why the island only a few months ago joined the Internet Society, an organization dedicated to ensuring that the Internet stays open and transparent… more

Students get online advice

Barbados – A visiting educator at the University of West Indies (UWI) is advising the authorities to seriously consider introducing technology and internet safety into the secondary school curriculum… more

Totally unsatisfactory!

Barbados – Cable & Wireless customers, have you yet seen your telephone bills which usually arrive between the fifth and seventh day of the month and are payable by the 21st? … more

USE SOCIAL MEDIA WISELY

Barbados – Secondary school students have been warned against posting personal information on social media, even pictures of themselves wearing their school uniforms… more

GOB Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft

Belize – A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed yesterday between the Government of Belize (GOB) and Microsoft Service at an official ceremony held in Belize City… more

CCT among 3 approved for duty free privilege

British Virgin Islands – The government has awarded pioneer status to three entities including Caribbean Cellular Telephone Limited (CCT)… more

Charge Anywhere powers Mobile Payment Platform for AZUL in the Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic – harge Anywhere, a financial technology solutions leader, and AZUL, a payment brand of Servicios Digitales Popular, a subsidiary of Grupo Popular, have announced that AZUL recently launched AZUL GO!, a mobile payment acceptance application utilizing Charge Anywhere’s mPOS platform to merchants in the Dominican Republic… more

Utilities Commission rules in favour of GTT promotion

Guyana – The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has ruled that the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) shall be able to continue to offer its “Get More Pay Less” promotion until August 2017… more

PUC orders six-month limit to GTT promotion

Guyana – The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has ordered a six-month limit to a promotion of the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) which began on February 22, 2017… more

Utilities Commission rules in favour of GTT promotion

Guyana – The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has ruled that the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) shall be able to continue to offer its “Get More Pay Less” promotion until August 2017… more

Lessons from Haiti for tech entrepreneurs — and opportunities, too

Haiti – Recently, it was my privilege to speak at the Haiti Tech Summit, where 500+ leaders from throughout the western hemisphere shared a remarkable conversation about technology, entrepreneurship, innovation, and ecosystems… more

Artificial Intelligence Posing A Threat To BPO Jobs – Wheatley

Jamaica – Technology Minister Dr Andrew Wheatley says the increasing use of artificial intelligence poses a threat to jobs in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector… more

‘BPO Sector In A Precarious Position’

Jamaica – Dr Guna Muppuri, the outgoing president of the Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ), is calling for dialogue with the Government before the long-awaited special economic zone (SEZ) regulations are finalised… more

Cool Playings: Jamaica Finally Looks Set to Regulate

Jamaica – The Caribbean Gaming Show and Summit brought the sunny news that Jamaica is looking to regulate online gambling… more

Education Minister Highlights Value Of IP Protection

Jamaica – Minister of Education, Youth and Information, Ruel Reid, has highlighted the importance of intellectual property (IP) protection to national development… more

Gov’t set sights on artificial intelligence

Jamaica – The Government is looking to position Jamaica to take advantage of the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) in boosting economic growth and job creation. AI is the area of computer science that is focused on the creation of intelligent machines that operate like humans… more

IT Expert Outlines How You Can Prevent Cyber Threats

Regional –  With cybercrime on the rise in the Caribbean region, and St. Kitts and Nevis having a 79.4% level of internet penetration, it is important that citizens take the necessary measures to protect themselves when using the internet… more

PRESS RELEASE: Flow and C&W business boost cyber-security

Regional – More and more, it is becoming difficult – if not impossible – to do business without access to the internet, whether fixed, home or office wireless, or even a mobile connection, with the proliferation of smartphones and other similar devices… more

CTU Secretary-General, Dupersoy to address Governor’s Symposium

Sint Maarten – Bernadette Lewis, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at today’s invitation-only Governor’s Symposium themed “ICT Governance – Shaping Our Future” in the American University of the Caribbean (AUC) Medical School… more

TelCell upgrading its key cell sites

Sint Maarten – TelCell will be carrying out what the company says is major upgrades of key cell sites in the areas of Middle Region, Defiance, Sucker Garden and parts of Guana Bay and Dawn Beach… more

Trinidad and Tobago seeks to leverage broadband in diversification efforts

Trinidad and Tobago – In late April Maxie Cuffie, the minister of public administration and communications, announced that a new broadband strategy targeting universal access to internet services was almost finalised… more

Saturday, 24 June 2017

Remove NSRL from cell phones, Goverment told

Barbados – Just as Government announced a planned roll back of the National Social Responsibility Levy on selected food items, one retailer is demanding similar consideration for mobile phones and other such electronic items… more

CUSTOMERS DISSATISFIED WITH BTL’S NEW NETWOR

Belize – It was with much fanfare that Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) switched on its new 4G LTE network last December… more

Ban On Phones Mirrors Most US States’ Traffic Laws

Jamaica – Jamaica’s proposed new Road Traffic Act is in line with most states in America, but is tougher than what now obtains in Florida… more

Digicel Play to connect children’s homes to Internet, Digital TV

Jamaica – BEGINNING with the hosting of an exciting movie night and Internet experience for the children and employees at the Nest Children’s Home on Manning’s Hill Road in Kingston, Digicel Play set in motion its plans to connect more of these homes to the Internet in order to provide wholesome entertainment, while improving learning opportunities for the young ones… more

Flow and C&W Business Boost Cyber-Security

Regional – More and more, it is becoming difficult – if not impossible – to do business without access to the internet, whether fixed, home or office wireless, or even a mobile connection, with the proliferation of smartphones and other similar devices… more

Sunday, 25 June 2017

CONSUMER CONCERNS…Bouquets for PUC chairman Persaud and revitalizing GTT

Guyana – Within the last week two matters of particular consumer concern occurred… more

Entertainment Goes Mobile

Jamaica – The aim of any good marketing strategy is to captivate the audience and leave it longing for more… more

National Identification System — the cyber security aspect

Jamaica – With the Government of Jamaica seeking to develop and design a National Identification System (NIDS) to effectively capture and store personal identity information for citizens and persons ordinarily residing in Jamaica, there have been mixed reviews about such a system… more

 

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