A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 18 January to Sunday 24 January 2021.
Monday, 18 January 2021
Digital Economy To Give Local Firms ‘Global Reach’
Bahamas – Technology providers say the digital economy will reduce “experimentation costs” and enable Bahamian companies to more rapidly trial products and services with global consumers… more
Phone battery sparks fire at landfill
Cayman Islands – A discarded cellphone battery is believed to have caused a small fire at the George Town landfill earlier this afternoon (18 Jan.)… more
NIDS to resolve issues relating to addresses for persons living in rural Jamaica
Jamaica – The introduction of the National Identification System, NIDS, will resolve issues relating to addresses for persons living in rural Jamaica… more
Pilot completed for virtual court appearances by Horizon detainees
Jamaica – The Government has completed a pilot project to have persons from the Horizon Adult Remand Centre appear virtually for mention dates in court cases… more
USF to establish Wi-Fi hot spot in Black River
Jamaica – THE Universal Service Fund (USF) has started work to identify potential sites to install free, secured Wi-Fi access to the public in Black River, St Elizabeth… more
Both St. Kitts And Nevis To Benefit From Government’s Digital Transformation Efforts
Saint Kitts and Nevis – Minister of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), the Honourable Akilah Byron-Nisbett, said that both islands of St. Kitts and Nevis will benefit from the digital transformation efforts of the government because it is a federal undertaking… more
Digicel launches Business Hub for SMEs
Trinidad and Tobago – With a goal of giving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) quick and easy access to everything they need from a technology and connectivity standpoint, Digicel Business launched the Digicel Business Hub… more
Ministry: 2,400 devices with data for students in need in January
Trinidad and Tobago – Students will benefit from 10,000 ICT-enabled devices and SIM cards, with data plans, procured by telecom providers Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (TSTT) and Digicel (Trinidad & Tobago) Limited… more
No student left behind: Devices, data to bridge digital divide
Trinidad and Tobago – Some 30,000 students are still without devices to access online classes… more
Preedy donates 15 laptops to Maloney school
Trinidad and Tobago – FULFILLING a commitment he made to the Maloney Government Primary School in June 2020, Digicel Soca Avenger, Akeem “Preedy” Chance closed off the year handing over 15 laptops to his alma mater… more
Teen has a knack for apps
Trinidad and Tobago – When David Love was around eight years old, his tech-savvy dad introduced him to coding, a type of language used to create computer software… more
Tuesday, 19 January 2021
Justice Ministry Ramps Up Court Technology With Fibre Optic Connectivity
Jamaica – The Justice Ministry has partnered with the National Works Agency (NWA) to provide fibre optic connection to eight courts… more
The ICT Business Analyst – Agent Of Digital Transformation
Jamaica – In a previously published article, The Gleaner’s Shipping Feature discussed how digitalisation is proving its immense value to the shipping industry by helping to keep the supply chain operational during the COVID-19 pandemic… more
TSTT makes call for new CEO
Trinidad and Tobago – If you’re “charismatic, results-driven” and have experience in competitive business environments, then this call may be for you… more
Wednesday, 20 January 2021
CIBC Launches New Banking Technology
Bahamas – CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank (Bahamas) has launched the roll-out of its ‘smart’ automated banking machine (ABM) technology in Grand Bahama… more
ADVERTORIAL | Technology Trends To Watch For 2021
Jamaica – Six major technology applications are among the key trends to watch out for in 2021… more
Road map to digital transformation – process & governance
Regional – LAST week we made the point that organisations must embrace a new paradigm of continuous change and adopt the latest methods of managing this shift if they are to survive the fierce competition seen in the digital era… more
Time to switch from WhatsApp to Signal Messenger
Regional – There was a mad rush to switch from WhatsApp to Signal Messenger and Telegram after users received an ultimatum to agree to share information with Facebook or lose access to the app by February 8th… more
Thursday, 21 January 2021
Antigua And Barbuda Debut New Mobile App, Marketing Video
Antigua and Barbuda – Hashtag Communications, with the endorsement of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, has announced the release of a new and interactive tourist map… more
New website launched in North America exclusively for Dominican products
Dominica – Dominicans in the United States and Canada now have the opportunity to order their favorite Dominica-made products on a new secure website… more
iCreate graduates first batch of coding students
Jamaica – Less than three months after launching a partnership with Code Fellows to offer training in coding/tech and data security as part of its new training division, iCreate Institute has graduated its first batch of coding students… more
Meet Opal Grant-Frater – Manning’s old girl driving technology solutions at Digicel
Jamaica – For most of her early years, Opal Grant-Frater had her eyes set on becoming a teacher… more
Huawei panel looks to data protection and privacy
Regional – “In 2020, we never had a dull day in privacy,” said Dr Felix Witter, a partner with multinational law firm Fieldfisher, foreshadowing the issues that arose in an hourlong discussion on data protection hosted by Huawei on Tuesday morning… more
Policy: Working From Home In The Telecommunications Industry
Regional – This policy provides the guidelines for working from home in the telecommunications industry… more
Online grocery shopping now made possible by EHub SVG
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Ehub SVG, an online grocery shopping service run by Najhma McKenzie is offering persons an easy way to get what they want without leaving their homes… more
SAMSUNG-WHATSAPP SCAM ALERT
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – The Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) wishes to advise the general public about a scam that is currently being perpetuated via Whatsapp, purportedly on the behalf of Samsung…more
IGT upgrades Amica House
Trinidad and Tobago – For seven years now, Amica House has partnered with IGT to help the centre’s socially displaced children… more
Mahabir to host online course on data analysis in sport
Trinidad and Tobago – Former TT Cricket Board (TTCB) and West Indies (WI) Under-19 performance analyst Dinesh Mahabir will host an online interactive course entitled ‘An Introduction to Cricket Analytics’ on January 24 and 31… more
MoE data: Over 46,000 students have never logged on to online learning portal
Trinidad and Tobago – Data provided by the Ministry of Education and presented at a Joint Select Committee on Social Services and Public Administration (JSC SSPA) virtual meeting on Wednesday, said that 46,770 students at both primary and secondary level, have never logged on to portals facilitating online learning… more
Friday, 22 January 2021
BTC offering voluntary enhanced early retirement program
Bahamas – Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) is seeking to further realign its staff by offering a voluntary enhanced early retirement program (EERP), which is in line with its industrial agreement mandated by the Department of Labour, BTC’s Chief Executive Officer Garry Sinclair said in a statement released yesterday… more
BTC Retirement Offer Sparks Trade Dispute
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) two unions yesterday revealed they have filed a trade dispute over what the carrier branded “the most generous retirement package in the Caribbean”… more
BTC unions reject company’s early retirement program offer
Bahamas – The Bahamas Telecommunications Company’s (BTC) line staff and managers union representatives have taken issue with the company’s decision to offer an Enhanced Early Retirement Program (EERP), with one union head describing the company’s actions as “distasteful”… more
In pandemic, technology called central to court’s future
British Virgin Islands – Speaking at a special virtual sitting to mark the commencement of the 2021 law year, Dame Janice Pereira, chief justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, said the Covid-19 pandemic has hampered some of the court’s activities, including grounding jury trials in several member jurisdictions and hurting case clearance rates… more
JAICA webinar explores online dispute resolution
Jamaica – The recent Technology, Innovation and the Changing Global Environment for Dispute Management webinar, highlighted a variety of ways dispute resolution will evolve, particularly through the use of online platforms due to the COVID-19 pandemic… more
tTech urges small businesses to get ready for new Data Protection laws
Jamaica – Managed IT Services provider, tTech Limited is urging small businesses in Jamaica to prioritize data protection and IT compliance for their operations in the New Year, in preparation for the soon-to-be enacted Data Protection Act… more
Digicel Gives Customers a Better Way to Enjoy Data
Saint Lucia – Digicel is giving customers a better way to enjoy data by removing Pay-As-You-Go data in keeping with the promise of being transparent… more
Saturday, 23 January 2021
Itelbpo Maximizes Operations
Saint Lucia –THE Caribbean’s largest homegrown contact centre, Itelbpo, has reported productive business since operations begun here, last July… more
Sunday, 24 January 2021
PHOTO: COMPUTERS FOR JC
Jamaica – The Victoria Mutual (VM) Foundation in partnership with the Group ICT donated 20 all-in-one computers to Jamaica College at the school last Thursday, under its ‘Refurbished for Change’ initiative… more
Sean Paul Foundation hands out 100 tablets; free data preloaded by Flow
Jamaica – THE Sean Paul Foundation (SPF), in partnership with Flow Foundation, distributed 100 tablets to 14 schools across the island… more
Image credits: Bernard Goldbach (flickr); Wikipedia; Wikipedia; Wikipedia; The Eleutheran; Wikipedia
