A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 29 May 2016 to Sunday 4 June 2017.
Monday, 29 May 2017
Dominica Mobile Application Developers to participate in Regional Mobile Startup Competition
Dominica – Four (4) teams of mobile entrepreneurs from Dominica are part of the 25 finalist selected to participate in the PitchIT Caribbean Challenge 3.0 scheduled for June 13 – 17, 2017 in St. Kitts & Nevis… more
Tuesday, 30 May 2017
Samsung Boss Visits Bahamas Telecommunications Company
Bahamas – BTC hosted a courtesy call with Samsung representatives last Thursday at the Southwest Plaza Flagship store… more
Union Demands Clarity Over BTC Ownership
Bahamas – The trade union representing Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) line staff yesterday said it will resist industrial agreement changes if the company’s sale has not been fully approved… more
Competition policy matters
Barbados – Henry Su was the featured speaker at the Fair Trading Commission’s Competition Law and Policy Training Programme, which was held in March… more
CTUSAB SAYS NO TO CELLPHONES IN SCHOOLS
Barbados – Ill-conceived… more
Eleven Digicel workers retrenched
Barbados – Close to a dozen workers were Monday given their walking papers as part of ongoing restructuring by Actavo, the Irish-headquartered company contracted by Digicel to provide services and which, according to its website, has a strategic partnership with the telecommunications company… more
How a Tiny Island Could Give Cryptocurrency a Big Boost
Barbados – Could we be getting closer to a blockchain-based, central bank-backed digital currency? Yes, but not in the way most people imagine… more
Integration complete at Flow
Barbados – BARBADOS HAS BECOME the first business unit in the Caribbean for telecoms provider Flow to achieve complete systems integration. Flow recently concluded a major upgrade… more
ECTEL donates computer equipment
Haiti – Embert Charles, the Director General of the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) handed a donation of equipment and computer furniture to the community of Arcahaie, in the North of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince… more
IoT — The Next
Jamaica – After we moved into our apartment we had no Wi-Fi, my son said Mom “I don’t think I can live well without the WiFi, fighting the laughter I wondered to myself, but can I?With over 10 years experience in Information Technology… more
New JSE Listing – Cable Bahamas
Jamaica – more
Wednesday, 31 May 2017
ALIV Partners with Abaco Chamber of Commerce
Bahamas – ALIV, The Bahamas’ newest telecommunications company, announced yesterday that it has signed on to become the official telecommunications partner for the Abaco Chamber of Commerce over the next three years… more
BTC expects no downsizing in wake of mobile market loss
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) indicated that it has no plans to make any changes to its staff complement in the near future, even as it competes with the country’s newest mobile provider, Aliv, for subscribers… more
Union: No More Downsizes Needed For BTC Competition
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) chief executive yesterday said there have been no recent discussions on further staff downsizing, although this was an “open-ended conversation” given increased competition… more
Williams Says No Job Cuts Because Of Competition
Bahamas – BTC CEO Leon Williams yesterday dismissed assertions that mobile competitor Aliv’s entrance into the market could force the company to make additional job redundancies to avoid incurring any losses… more
Breakthrough for Bitt
Barbados – ARBADOS-BASED FINANCIAL technology pioneer Bitt Inc. has joined forces with an American counterpart to offer a new central bank product that could be a solution… more
Flow Barbados up to 39 LTE sites, 16,000 subscriptions
Barbados – The Flow Barbados subsidiary of Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) has reached over 16,000 LTE subscribers just two months after activating the service at the end of March, reports local daily The Nation… more
New cell phone school policy stands
Barbados – The rise in school-related violence being recorded and circulated on social media will not affect Minister of Education Ronald Jones’ plan to allow cell phones in schools from September… more
Fraudulent email on election scandal circulating
Cayman Islands – Officials are warning that an apparently salacious but totally fraudulent email that purports to be from Supervisor of Elections Wesley Howell is not coming from the Elections Office email servers and that anyone who recieves the email should not forward it or click on the links.. more
OfReg issues notice to Wifi providers
Cayman Islands – At least nine companies are illegally charging people for access to the internet via Wifi hot spots, according to the Utility Regulation and Competition Office… more
Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association launches Pure Grenada app
Grenada – The Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association (GHTA) has made a bold step in enhancing visitor experience in Pure Grenada with the release of its exciting new app… more
readytv offers pay-as-you-go type service
Jamaica – New subscriber service readytv hopes to cement its place in the market by offering “bite-size chunks” of cable television to over 500,000 households… more
Cybercrime a major risk for insurance companies – study
Regional – Insurance companies, including those in Barbados and the Caribbean, have identified the inability to confront change and combat cybercrime as the greatest risks which they will face over the next three years… more
Thursday, 1 June 2017
Telecoms minister says A&B can lead regional market
Antigua and Barbuda – Telecommunications Minister Melford Nicholas says while he wants to see greater competition on the local telecoms market – he is also targeting a regional expansion for the telecoms unit of the state-owned Antigua Public Utilities Authority… more
Expenses for B.T.L. Settlement Will Go to the C.C.J.
Belize – As the PM has openly stated, litigation over the remaining B.T.L. bill will certainly be taken up at the CCJ level, notwithstanding the presumed total that’s left to be paid… more
Ready Call Going Through Changes, 100+ Jobless
Belize – Tomorrow the Ready Call Center celebrates it’s 12th anniversary in Belize. While there may be a cocktail or even a party for the staff and employees, something even more significant will be happening: the operations up at their Burrell Boom office will be shut down… more
Who Will Replace Denys in Fight Over B.T.L. Settlement?
Belize – Judge Barrow’s departure to the seat of the CCJ leaves behind a vacuum, as not only was the venerable attorney government’s chief legal counsel; he is also recognized as its best… more
KPMG: Cayman scores low on cybersecurity assessment
Cayman Islands – In a multiregional survey by KPMG, the Cayman Islands indicated the least preparation among 28 countries against cybersecurity threats… more
OfReg application process now online
Cayman Islands – The application process for the utility regulation and competition office (OfReg) is going digital… more
STEM WORKSHOP TO BETTER EQUIP TEACHERS FOR THE CLASSROOM
Dominica – A two-day workshop, to assist regional educators to impart knowledge to students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, got underway in Dominica on Wednesday… more
Digicel in new Galaxy
Regional – DIGICEL HAS LAUNCHED Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+the latest and hottest smartphones from Samsung’s Galaxy flagship line.These smartphones push the boundaries… more
Friday, 2 June 2017
Flow customers to pay more for services
Barbados – Flow mobile postpaid customers will be paying more for services come July 1… more
Concerns increase over Dominican Republic telecom tax
Dominican Republic – Latin American telecoms association Asiet has criticized the recent approval in the Dominican Republic of a law governing the national emergency… more
Whitney Fennell FLOWs into Price’s shoes
Jamaica – As Stephen Price yesterday took on the role of managing director at FlowJamaica, Whitney Fennell has been promoted to step into Price’s former position of vice-president, retail sales and distribution… more
Digicel opens at C3 Centre
Trinidad and Tobago – MOBILE and TV provider Digicel has opened its new experience store at C3 Centre at Corinth Road, San Fernando… more
Saturday, 3 June 2017
Barbadians must boycott Flow, says Gibbs-Taitt
Barbados – Telecommunications consumers are being urged to boycott Flow after the provider announced that rates would rise from the beginning of next month… more
Merge finance with technology – Haggins
Barbados – There is a call for a central bank issued virtual currency in Barbados and the region in light of existing and emerging challenges associated with physical currencies… more
Flow Offers Up $100,000 In Endless Everything Summer
Saint Lucia – Saint Lucia and the Caribbean’s leading telecommunications service provider, Flow, has lifted the curtains on its exciting new summer promotion… more
Sunday, 4 June 2017
Bahamas Cable Company Taps Jamaica For Capital
Bahamas – A cable company based in the Bahamas has tapped Jamaica for financing through two issues of preference shares that will trade on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE)… more
GTT announces improved broadband service to businesses
Guyana – There will be an increase in broadband internet access provided to business customers at no extra charge, the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) announced yesterday… more
Towards an airwaves «war» with DR ?
Haiti – Given of the Haitian interference (radio, TV and telephone) found along the border area, in the Dominican frequency spectrum, the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (INDOTEL) and the National Department of Investigation (DNI) announced the establishment of a “technical committee”, which will coordinate joint actions for the protection of the Dominican hertzian sovereignty… more
Image credits: Nicolas Alejandro (flickr); Brands of the World; The Eleutheran; Wikipedia; The West Indian News
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