A roundup of the latest ICT/technology news from across the Caribbean region for the period Monday 3 May  to Sunday 9 May 2021.

 

Monday, 3 May 2021

Bahamas Can ‘Set Global Digital Currency Standard’

Bahamas – THE Bahamas can “set the global standard” for digital currencies if it can get more businesses and consumers “on board” with its use, a Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) executive is arguing… more  

Cable, BTC Lose 14,000 TV Clients In Four Years

Bahamas – Pay-TV subscribers in The Bahamas declined by almost 14,000 over the four years to end-2020 as Netflix and other video streaming services continue to lure customers away… more

Decline in pay TV subscribers

Bahamas – Subscriptions for pay TV, the majority of which are with Cable Bahamas (CBL), dropped from 65,900 in 2019 to 62,400 in 2020, showing a continued decline in customers over the past four years… more

Kelly Needs Electronic Wake-Up Call

Bahamas – The letter writer Catherine Kelly is usually a “glass half full” sociologist but occasionally she draws back her bow and the arrow lands way off the mark… more

URCA: Mobile data subscribers grow 43 percent

Bahamas – While mobile voice subscribers saw a five percent decline across the electronic communications sector (ECS) in 2020, mobile data subscribers grew a strong 43 percent, according to the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority’s (URCA) just-published 2020 Annual Report and 2021 Annual Plan… more

Flow forges ahead with plans to deploy island-wide fiber connectivity

Cayman Islands – Flow has been the leader in telecommunications in the Cayman Islands for the past 54 years and is proud of its track record of continuous investment in its network… more

Flow plans to complete island-wide fibre coverage within a year

Cayman Islands – Flow has announced that it will roll out fibre internet availability across all of Grand Cayman and most of the Sister Islands… more

App ready to benefit CSEC, CAPE students

Jamaica – AS many students across Jamaica sink deeper into the COVID-19-influenced education gap, a free application has been developed, catering to the needs of Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) students who will be sitting examinations soon… more

MC Systems acquires core banking platform

Jamaica – In a deal set to power a new financial landscape, MC Systems, the technology member company of the Jamaica National Group, has acquired core banking platform Phoenix International… more

OECS Think Tank Inspires Region’s Innovators

Regional – Innovators, entrepreneurs and investors from across the Caribbean region and the world met virtually on Thursday, April 29, as part of the OECS Think Tank’s inspirational and immersive one-day networking experience… more

The Caribbean has a new currency DCash

Regional – The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has launched DCash, created in partnership with Barbados-based fintech company Bitt… more

bmobile introduces voice response system for payments

Trinidad and Tobago – bmobile customers now have a new, secure, fast, and hassle-free way to pay their bills… more

 

Tuesday, 4 May 2021

Beacon School Receives Donation Of Laptops

Bahamas – THE Beacon School received a generous donation of laptops and projectors on Monday through an ongoing initiative by a charitable organisation based in Miami, Florida… more

Flow Awards Top Performers in Tech4Girls Workshop

Jamaica – Communications and entertainment provider, Flow Jamaica recently awarded the top performers in the 2020 EQUALS/GSMA Tech4Girls Workshop. The handover coincided with the 2021 observance of Girls in ICT Day… more

C&W Communications Appoints Tony Matthews Vice President, Dutch Caribbean

Regional – C&W Communications (C&W) today announced the appointment of Tony Matthews to the position of Vice President, Dutch Caribbean… more

ECTEL Amps up Public Engagement while Observing its 21st Anniversary

Regional – The importance of electronic communications has become more apparent since the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic… more

 

Wednesday, 5 May 2021

Bahamas Central Bank Advances Release of Digital Currency

Bahamas – The national rollout of the Sand Dollar from the Central Bank of the Bahamas (CBOB) now has nine authorized financial institutions (FIs) that have completed the interoperability process, allowing them to communicate and exchange funds among the various platforms, the Nassau Guardian reported on Wednesday (May 5)… more

Logic expands fixed wireless broadband service to Grand Cayman

Cayman Islands – Cayman Islands ISP Logic Communications has launched a new fixed-wireless home broadband service in eastern districts of Grand Cayman not currently covered by its fibre-optic network… more

Flow ‘Working for You’

Curaçao – Flow/UTS has launched a national effort that will see technicians going from neighbourhood to neighbourhood to provide households with enhanced connections and greater overall reliability… more

Dominican broadcasters urged to focus on quality and find new ways to attract listeners

Dominica – Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Telecommunications and Broadcasting, Senator Oscar George, has urged broadcasters in Dominica to be innovative and implement strategies to capture the listening base… more

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiti

Opinion: Haiti’s telecom laws must be modernized

Haiti – The framework of law governing the telecommunications sector dates back to 1977. During this period in Haiti’s history, the country was under the direct influence of a dictatorship… more

IT professionals are essential workers

Jamaica – It’s time to consider IT professionals as essential workers under the Disaster Risk Management Act as technology has become more critical to all aspects of our national life since the onset of the pandemic and our first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Jamaica last March… more

Kadeon Grant – Your girl in ICT

Jamaica – WHEN Kadeon Grant first interviewed to become a data specialist at Digicel in 2012, she did not get the job… more

MERVYN EYRE, TECHNOLOGY PIONEER

Jamaica – Mervyn Eyre has had a pioneering role in technology development in Jamaica. He encouraged greater use of transactional and Internet technology, platforms very valuable to this country’s development, and continues to push regional growth… more

Silicon Caribe salutes more Women in Tech

Jamaica – THIS week we feature three more Women in Tech, chosen by a select panel of peers under the auspices of Silicon Caribe… more

Students attendance registration app being developed

Jamaica – A student attendance registration application is to be developed to collect information in real time about school attendance… more

C&W appoints new Vice President for the South Caribbean

Regional – C&W Communications on May 4, announced the appointment of Kurleigh Prescod to the position of Vice President, South Caribbean. In his new role, Prescod will have overall responsibility for Flow’s operations in Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines… more

Liberty Latin America Reports First Quarter 2021 Results

Regional – Liberty Latin America Ltd. (“Liberty Latin America” or “LLA”) (NASDAQ: LILA and LILAK, OTC Link: LILAB) today announced its financial and operating results for the three months (“Q1”) ended March 31, 2021… more

 

Thursday, 6 May 2021

More retired APUA workers join class action suit for unpaid pensions

Antigua and Barbuda – More former workers of the Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) have come to support a legal action that has been brought against the state-owned utility company over the non-payment of pensions which date back more than 20 years… more

Gov’t allocates $329M to purchase digital devices for needy students

Jamaica – The Government has announced that it is making $329 million available to purchase digital devices for needy students under the recently launched $60 billion SERVE Jamaica Programme… more

C&W’s Susanna O’Sullivan new vice-president for northern C’bean

Regional – C&W Communications’ Susanna O’Sullivan has been appointed vice-president for the Northern Caribbean… more

Cable & Wireless Calls for More Girls in ICT

Regional – Cable & Wireless Communications (C&W), parent company of Flow and BTC, in the Caribbean, is calling for more girls to pursue studies in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) as the company observes International Girls in ICT Day today… more

TelEm Group maintenance on fiber cable into St. John’s Estate Saturday

Sint Maarten – TelEm Group technicians and contractors will be carrying out maintenance works on a cell site and the fiber cable leading into the St. John’s Estate area Saturday, May 8, 2021, resulting in some interruptions in telecommunication service to residential and commercial properties… more

C&W appoints Simone Martin-Sulgan as Flow TT’s vice president

Trinidad and Tobago – Simone Martin-Sulgan is Flow TT’s vice president, telecommunications giant C&W Communications (C&W) announced on Tuesday… more

 

Friday, 7 May 2021

Internet Banking Users Jump 31%

Bahamas – The number of Bahamian internet banking users increased by almost 31 percent to breach the 100,000 mark in 2020 as COVID-19 increasingly drove persons to digital transactions… more

Digitisation increasing global reach

Barbados – Some small businesses which received government assistance over the past year have invested in basic technology in an effort to become more sustainable… more

Flow, BTC sign on as platinum co-sponsors for Carib’n Girls Technocreativity Hackathon

Regional – Flow and BTC, consumer brands of C&W Communications – the region’s leading communications and entertainment provider, have signed on as platinum co-sponsors of the upcoming Caribbean Girls Hack Technocreativity Hackathon which takes place on Saturday, May 8, 2021… more

Cable & Wireless Business Solutions Provides Free Internet for Regional Security Forces

Saint Vincent & the Grenadines – Leading telecommunications provider Flow, continues to stand with the people and government of St. Vincent & the Grenadines… more

 

Saturday, 8 May 2021

 EDITORIAL: REDUCING CUSTOMER WAIT TIMES KEY

Barbados – Both public and private sector companies that usually experience high volumes of human traffic on a daily basis, really need to work harder to reduce customer waiting periods, ensuring less frustration on the part of customers and a better customer experience, when transacting business… more

 

Sunday, 9 May 2021

Digital gift card platform to transform local industry

Jamaica – SET to offically launch in the country later this month, BlinkSky Jamaica, a new digital platform, beleieves that through the use of technology it will revolutionise the local e-gift card industry… more

ibex experiences 397% growth in BPO sector

Jamaica – The business process outsouring (BPO) entity ibex is increasing the diversity of jobs within Jamaica’s global digital services industry through an expansion of its current workforce of two thousand employees… more

JMMB Group digitisation yielding results across region

Jamaica – DESPITE being one of the youngest financial entities in corporate Jamaica, JMMB Group Limited (JMMBGL) has remained committed to the digital transformation of its business as it seeks to broaden horizons across Jamaica and the Caribbean… more

Pilot Coping in Schools programme launched, 20 institutions to benefit

Jamaica – The Ministry of Education has officially launched the pilot Coding in Schools programme… more

David Jessop | Cybersecurity an unavoidable priority

Regional – If the pandemic has demonstrated anything it is that much-improved Internet connectivity, reliability, and security have become unavoidable priorities for the Caribbean… more

 

 

Image credits: Bernard Goldbach (flickr); Wikipedia; SKNVibes; Marketing Magazine; Wikipedia; Wikimedia Commons; Wikipedia;