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| The Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica's (BNS') Information Technology (IT) Centre has been implicated in what the police have described as the identity theft of the bank's former president and chief executive officer William 'Bill' Clarke with whom it has been involved in a bitter legal battle.
As a result, the Observer has learnt that despite the fact that the identity of the person or persons responsible remains unknown, action is being contemplated under Section 5 and/or 6 of the Libel and Slander Act (1851). Civil proceedings are also being contemplated for injury and damage to Clarke's reputation, the Observer was informed. In June, a person pretending to be Clarke created a profile on the social networking site Facebook and posted comments attacking the Observer's reports on the banker's bitter legal battle with the Canada-based bank. The profile also featured pictures of Clarke at various social events, as well as comments purporting to be coming from Clarke in relation to his legal battle with BNS. The fake Bill Clarke also approved friends, including local journalists and politicians, joined groups and foundations, played games and replied to comments posted on his profile wall... Full story |
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| Digicel has acquired the mobile phone operations of Orange Dominica, a French-owned phone company on the Eastern Caribbean Island.
Digicel announced the acquisition yesterday and said Orange customers will be transitioned onto the Digicel network over the course of this week. The firm added that all Orange employees will sign new contracts with Digicel under the same terms and conditions they had with Orange. "Digicel is committed to delivering the best value, the best care and the best coverage to our customers across the Caribbean, Central America and the Pacific," said Digicel in a statement to the Business Observer yesterday. "The acquisition of Orange Dominica means that more customers will now benefit from the exciting range of value for money products and services from the bigger, better network in Dominica."... Full story |
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| The Irish-owned telecommunications company, Digicel, yesterday said it had completed a deal to acquire the assets of the French phone company, Orange Dominica Limited.
"I am delighted to announce that Dominica's 'bigger, better network' just got even bigger and even better with the acquisition of Orange Dominica Limited. From today all Orange customers here in Dominica will automatically become Digicel customers," said Digicel's country manager in Dominica, Richard Stanton. "Their service will be delivered by Digicel, the value offers they will enjoy will be Digicel offers, and later on this week all Orange customers will be seamlessly transitioned on to the Digicel network." Stanton said all Orange employees will sign new contracts with his firm, "on exactly the same terms and conditions that they had with Orange". Takeover He said as a result his company's customer base in Dominica has increased by significantly providing it with an advantage in the local market. "We are winning and we will win," Stanton said, but did not say how many new customers Digicel had acquired, nor did he mention the cost of the takeover. Previous to the takeover, there were three mobile operators, including the British telecommunications giant Cable and Wireless (LIME). "I believe we are totally ethical in what we do in Dominica and I have no problem with taking people on head-to-head," Stanton said. Meanwhile, Group Chief Executive Officer Colm Delves positioned the development within the context of Digicel's growing international reach. "Digicel is delighted to welcome Orange Dominica customers to Digicel, where they are joining a family of 10 million customers in 32 markets across the world. Our customers benefit from our extensive network of operations through a wide range of innovative products and services that offer the best value for money, the best customer care and the best network - wherever you are in the world," he told Wednesday Business. Full story |
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| Written by jamaicaobserver.com
Wednesday, 19 August 2009 More than 600,000 square feet of new office space will be provided over the next five years as the Government moves to provide facility for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services. "This is the movement that we are heading towards for the future," said Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Karl Samuda. Samuda was addressing the official opening of the American-owned Salary.com Jamaica Limited last Thursday at the Montego Bay Free Zone. He said he was happy to observe that 95 per cent of space in the free zone was dedicated to the ICT industry. Accordng to the technology minister, the Government is placing increased focus on ICT as part of the development effort, including providing computer training for students as early as the basic school level. Observing that some 95 per cent of the Canadian population is computer literate, the minister said, "until we get there, whatever is being attempted will be frustrated". "That is why the Government is placing so much emphasis on getting it started at the basic school level so that by the time a child reaches the high school stage, they would have all the knowledge and skills to create programmes of their own and make the kind of contribution to companies within the ICT sector, that will move the economy forward," he added... Full story |
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| Written by jamaica-gleaner.com
Friday, 21 August 2009 Salary.com, a human resources software services provider to medium and large firms based primarily in the United States, has expanded its sales, data provision and service arm to Montego Bay. Salary.com Jamaica Limited plans to double its staff of 40 by March next year, transforming the Montego Bay Free Zone office into the company's international sales and service hub. Headquartered in Boston, with two additional US locations, parent Salary.com has offices in China and the United Kingdom. And while it seeks to grow its 7,000 customer base of mainly US corporates from its Jamaica location, Salary.com hopes to deepen its foray into the Jamaica marketplace. "All customer service type positions will be built there," Debra Fraser, the firm's country manager, said of the planned Jamaica expansion. "Jamaica is a great near shore opportunity in the same time zone and just three hours flying time from Boston. Managers from Boston who are here are engaged in training only." Sourcing workers She has highlighted too, the benefits the company is deriving from sourcing workers locally. "We are leveraging not just line staff but personnel at all levels. We have three local managers including myself. We chose to locate a near shore operation in Jamaica because we could leverage the talent pool here," said Fraser. "Jamaica has really great skills in terms of customer service and English speaking, skills which are much better than India and China where the language has not been mastered as well." With its heavy information technology focus, the business is said to be reaping savings from the abundant pool of computer skills available locally. "All of our positions demand interface with customer through computer use. It is more cost advantageous for us to employ talent here and so far we have been able to find the skills and make the savings in labour which allows us to hire even more talented people," according to Salary.com's Fraser. Attractive packages With the large number of new Jamaican hires coming from Kingston the company says is has been offering attractive remuneration packages including relocation allowance." Typically the company sells HR software to firms, but also makes its solutions accessible online. But getting its HR software, systems, and talent management business set up in Jamaica was not all smooth sailing for the company, which entered Jamaica last November. "The government of Jamaica is still trying to catch up on how to help investors who want to hire and start business here. The free zone - the fact of its existence made its easy to rent office space and also facilitated the benefit of less taxation. But, things like utilities and the red tape involved in shipping have been very challenging," said the locally recruited country manager. "We also had to figure out how to match the talent here with what we needed. An accountant in Jamaica is a little different from accountants in the States. Sales, we also found, was different. It took us several months to figure out who we needed and where." But Fraser also said Jamaica Trade and Invest and the Montego Free Zone operators were supportive. "JTI held our hand the whole way," she said. Full story |
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| Written by jamaicaobserver.com
Wednesday, 19 August 2009 More than 600,000 square feet of new office space will be provided over the next five years as the Government moves to provide facility for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services. "This is the movement that we are heading towards for the future," said Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Karl Samuda. Samuda was addressing the official opening of the American-owned Salary.com Jamaica Limited last Thursday at the Montego Bay Free Zone. He said he was happy to observe that 95 per cent of space in the free zone was dedicated to the ICT industry. Accordng to the technology minister, the Government is placing increased focus on ICT as part of the development effort, including providing computer training for students as early as the basic school level. Observing that some 95 per cent of the Canadian population is computer literate, the minister said, "until we get there, whatever is being attempted will be frustrated". "That is why the Government is placing so much emphasis on getting it started at the basic school level so that by the time a child reaches the high school stage, they would have all the knowledge and skills to create programmes of their own and make the kind of contribution to companies within the ICT sector, that will move the economy forward," he added... Full story |
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| Written by jamaica-gleaner.com
Wednesday, 19 August 2009 Seprod Limited is employing the latest in technology to boost efficiency and reduce costs, investing $10.6 million in a software package being rolled out across its seven subsidiaries to manage its huge inventory of machine spare parts critical to its day-to-day operations. But company officials are not saying what level of savings is expected from the latest technological upgrade even as they insist it is not designed to cut jobs. "It tracks and tells us when to purchase machine parts, spare parts and when repairs are needed as well as allows for better inventory management of spare parts," Byron Thompson, Seprod's managing director, said of the new software, Maximo, which will cost an additional US$50,000 in annual licensing fees. Thompson said Maximo is expected to maximise efficiencies within the manufacturing company, whose net worth exceed $6 billion. St Thomas sugar factory Its newly acquired sugar factory in St Thomas will also be brought into the new inventory system, he said. The company and its partner, Fred M. Jones Estate, took possession of the factory in mid-July. Thompson would not divulge the investment being made, but last year the company reported a 94 per cent jump in capital expenditure from $205 million in 2007 to $398.5 million in 2008. Seprod is in the business of producing and distributing edible oils and fats, cereals, other foods and beverages, personal-care and household consumer products. Manufacturing accounts for the lion's share of the company's $4.9 billion half-year revenue to June, 13.5 per cent more than it brought in the first six months last year. Its distribution business contributed $1.9 billion. Four of the Seprod's seven subsidiaries are involved primarily in manufacturing activities, and savings in this area are likely to have a major multiplier effect on the business' bottom line. Group Financial Controller, Carl Domville, said the information system being built is not designed to affect jobs in any way. "It is a preventative maintenance system which allows you to take pro-active steps in getting repairs done rather than wait for the machines to break down," he explained. The inventory-management software was first tested in Seprod subsidiary, Caribbean Products Company Limited, a high-tech refinery on 16 acres along Spanish Town Road in Kingston that produces cooking oil, margarine, shortening as well as plastic containers. With encouraging results from improved equipment uptime, fewer breakdowns and better adherence to maintenance schedules, Maximo is about to be rolled out in other Seprod operations such as Serge Island Farms and Dairies Limited, International Biscuit Limited and Belvedere farms. Seprod, largely owned by conglomerate Musson and the Coconut Industry Board, runs the largest dairy operation in Jamaica through Serge Island Dairies, the manufacturing arm of its 2,000 acre farm in St Thomas. The dairy operation has been undergoing a major modernisation and expansion aimed at ramping up milk production to about nine million litres over the next three to four years. "We are progressing well with the expansion, said Thompson. "Last year, we produced 5.4 million litres of milk; this year, we are on track to produce about six million." International Biscuits is the former local manufacturing arm of Kraft Foods, acquired by Seprod two years ago. It makes several popular brands of biscuits, cookies and crackers. Full implementation Next in line for the full implementation of the system by the end of this year, according to Seprod, is Jamaica Grain and Cereals, the dry-milling plant that produces a wide range of corn products. "It has been done in some of our existing plants and with the acquisition of the factory in St Thomas, we will move to implement it there as well," Thompson said, indicating Seprod's intention to apply the technology to the former Duckenfield sugar factory it recently bought from the Government in partnership with Fred M. Jones Estates in a 55 per cent/45 per cent joint-venture partnership. At June, Seprod reported fixed assets of $2.2 billion and a six-month operating profit of $1.3 billion, up from the $752 million it made in the corresponding six-month period last year. But with increasing finance cost, net profit for the first six months this year came out at $926.6 million. Shares in Seprod last traded at $14.50 on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. Full story |
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| Written by jamaica-gleaner.com
Thursday, 13 August 2009 In Jamaica's telecommunications battle royal, the term 'innovation' is usually business double-speak for flashy, new technology, new packaging, or free credit. In an ironic twist this week, mobile provider Digicel decided to innovate, not by selling new phones, but alleviating the toll of HIV/AIDS on children, by selling old phones. Yesterday marked the launch of Digicel's 'Help A Child, Recycle Your Unwanted Phone' campaign at their Tropical Plaza, St Andrew, outlet. In true Jamaican fashion, hardly a word was spoken without the jangling of ringtones, and the occasional 'man in the street' - who would walk in, turn in the old mobile, then distract patrons with "Call mi back, I jus' buy a new phone. Hello?" - before strolling out. Cellphones lying around "We know that there are thousands upon thousands of old cellphones lying around in people's homes and offices," said Mark Linehan, CEO of Digicel Jamaica. "Digicel is pleased to be working with a recycling partner to recycle these old mobile phones for sale. The proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL) to help orphaned and vulnerable children affected by or infected with HIV/AIDS across Jamaica." Linehan explained that the phones would be auctioned off in bulk to businesses in the Far East and Africa which deal in reconditioned handsets. There, depending on the condition, a handset will sell for anywhere between US$1 and $5. Seventy Digicel outlets, of the 183 across the island, will accept unused handsets and, Linehan added, "a handset is a handset". He noted that the handset, not the chip, was being recycled and the network of the cellphone was irrelevant. The idea The campaign is the brainchild of Marcia Forbes, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Mining, who said she proposed the idea last year after noticing a housekeeper with three cellphones. UNAIDS representative Miriam Maluwa was on hand to pledge support for the initiative and to monitor the impact of the campaign. "This worthy programme will go a long way to achieving HIV/ AIDS-related United Nations development goals and also contribute to achieving universal access to commodities and services for HIV prevention, treatment, care and support." JASL Executive Director Stacy-Ann Jarrett noted that about 1,500 Jamaican children are directly affected by HIV and, statistically, 83 per cent of the 15-49 age group are at risk. Full story |
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| Written by jamaica-gleaner.com
Saturday, 15 August 2009 Jamaica has begun the process to go fully digital in radio and television broadcasting, but with no national digital switchover (DSO) policy in place and the necessary research yet to be done, broadcasting regulator, the Broadcasting Commission says no timeline has been set to switch off analogue signals still being used. A steering committee set up by the commission to plan the way forward has met only twice, but has already decided to focus on the switchover to digital television, with radio to be treated as a separate project after a feasibility study has been completed. "It is expected that switchover will be carried out in a phased manner," said the Broadcasting Commission's information and public relations officer, Nicole Morrison. "This will give the relevant parties adequate time to make the necessary changes and adjustments for transition." Around the world, the use of set top and rooftop antennae to receive broadcasting signals has been coming to an end as DSO picks up pace. European countries such as Germany, Finland, Luxembourg, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and much of Austria have already built out their digital networks, and the United Kingdom is now doing a region-by-region switch over, scheduled to be completed by 2012. The United States went digital in June, pulling the plug on its old analogue system. Study pending But Jamaica's move in this direction is still in the early stages, with the study to be undertaken being the first of four stages of implementation identified in March by representatives of broadcasting, cable TV, telecommunications, transmission, retail and consumer advocacy groups. A report on the Broadcasting Commission's website lists the other stages as technology selection, digital switch-on and analogue switch-off. Players in the cable industry have so far been tight-lipped on the moves being made to go digital. Winsome Witter, president of the Jamaica Association of Community Cable Operators (JACCO), which represents the 38 cable operators islandwide, would not comment. The group's representative on the national steering committee, Wesley Anderson, who heads the May Pen, Clarendon-based General Satellite Network, was equally mum when contacted by the Financial Gleaner. However, Dennis Darby, general manager of Telstar Cable, which operates in Kingston said company officials were now informing themselves of the DSO process. "We are researching the matter, looking at the whole scenario and seeing how it will impact on what we do, as well as how we will utilise the new technology," he said. Columbus Communications, the parent company of Jamaica's largest cable operator, Flow, has been offering a digital service since it entered the local market three years ago. The company has invested, it says, some US$200 million (approximately $15 billion to $17 billion) in this market, including six or seven cable company acquisitions. Flow entered the market willing to buy up operators willing to sell, but is now backing off of that programme. "There are still quite a number of companies that are approaching us to buy their systems but we are just concentrating on our greenfield (operations) - building out in new areas, putting our network in place, rather than acquiring and overbuilding," Chief Executive Officer Michelle English told the Financial Gleaner. FLOW behind The company, under its licence, is committed to building out a nationwide network, but now says it would not have achieved blanket coverage at its initial deadline. Said English: "2011 has been pushed out a little, but it is tough to say right now when we will be completed. We are a bit behind, but trying to look at ways that we can make that up, so I would not want to give a hard and fast time." Flow's cable company acquisitions that operated analogue systems have been converted. "What we have done is acquire some analogue companies as in Portmore and Mandeville and have gone in and replaced the analogue structure with digital," Sharon Roper, head of marketing at Flow told the Financial Gleaner. "What we will do as short term - that people don't miss out on their cable - is keep the analogue service in place while we upgrade the existing infrastructure, after which they are required to switch over to the digital service," the Flow representative said. Flow, with is core retail business of cable-television, high-speed Internet and landline telephone service predicated on a digital backbone, has resisted calls from some of its cable TV clients to retain the analogue systems they buy in order to keep down the cost of the service. But English is against that, saying it would compromise the core standards that come with Flow's digital infrastructure. "That would mean an inferior network offering outdated products," English said. "I don't see us going down that road. The whole world is trying to move to digital, and certainly would be a real step back to offer anything less than the type of service that we are offering today." Full story |
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| Written by jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, 26 July 2009 Government is opening up new business opportunities by providing licenses to allow service providers to roll out wireless-based services to Jamaicans. Minister with responsibility for Information, Telecommunications and Special Projects in the Office of the Prime Minister, Daryl Vaz, in his contribution to the sectoral debate in Parliament on Wednesday, announced that a wireless broadband licence has been issued to Digicel that would provide wider choices to a greater number of consumers. Government is also offering two wireless cable licences to facilitate greater choices to consumers. Vaz noted that the mobile phone has become the most phenomenally successful access device spanning all social and economic strata. With the introduction of the new wireless-based services, users will literally be able to carry their business in their pockets through the cellphone. The new services, he said, would allow users to access their e-mail, internet, converse, watch television and movies, engage in video conferences, record videos and remotely monitor activities in their offices or from their homes. Vaz said the Information and Telecommunications Policy is to be presented to the Parliament shortly. This would help to build confidence around the use of mobile applications, provide the environment for persons to seize new opportunities and allow service providers and regulators, the platform on which to institute measures that enhance security and mitigate breaches. Full story |
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| Written by jamaica-gleaner.com
Friday, 17 July 2009 Seeking wider broadband coverage and more clientele, LIME Jamaica has commissioned American firm Calix to supply the communication equipment that will allow the deployment of voice and video at faster speeds, under a US$5 million ($445 million) contract. The upgrade to be completed in two months will allow upgraded broadband service roll-out in Kingston, Montego Bay, and Portmore. "LIME is now offering eight MB in selected areas and by the time our upgrade project is finished in September, we will be offering eight MB in most of the residential areas where we have high internet traffic and this will give our customers more than enough speed for all their favourite online activities," said Geoff Houston, country manager for LIME in Jamaica. Cut internet prices The company said the upgrade would cut broadband internet prices to residences by as much as 24 per cent. Its current internet broadband service, ADSL, costs about US$25 in monthly rental, or approximately J$2,000. "We are making a major investment to improve our Internet backbone to give our customers world-class Internet service with faster speeds and consistent, reliable connectivity," said Houston. The company is, however, several months behind rival Claro Jamaica, which is already promoting its wireless broadband modems at an introductory cost of $4,999, compared, said a customer service representative at Claro's downtown Kingston office, to the regular price of $14,999. The service is available for a monthly $2,000 to $3,500 unlimited access. A code is required to activate the unlimited plan. A broadband card is also on offer, specifically for laptops, at a cost of $11,499, the representative said. Reconstruction The Calix contract follows the build out of LIME Jamaica's 3G network at a hefty US$30 million. That job, handled by Sony Ericsson, was confined the company said this week to the reconstruction of the telecom's mobile network, following a J$5 billion write-off of what LIME decided back in 2007 was inadequate infrastructure incapable of giving the company the heft needed to match rivals Digicel and Claro Jamaica. Claro was the first to deploy its 3G network and first to market with consumer wireless broadband. Digicel is yet to publicise the launch date for its 4G network services, though the internet buzz on blogs and message boards is for a January 2010 roll-out. Calix will supply LIME with its C7 Multiservice Access Platform, capable of handling internet traffic from all market segments - government, corporate and residential - the company said in a statement this week announcing the deal with LIME. The American company's system is already deployed across other country operations in the LIME Caribbean grouping, notably Barbados and St Kitts and Nevis. Full story |
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| Written by TechJamaica.com
Friday, 17 July 2009 In a land-mark deal, telecommunications giants LIME and Claro have signed an agreement to share a large amount of cell tower sites across Jamaica which will allow both companies to rapidly expand the reach of their mobile networks. Under the long term contract, each company will provide a matching number of cell towers across the island, which will increase the overall coverage footprint of both mobile providers. Existing and potential customers of both LIME and Claro will be able to enjoy considerably enhanced service with expanded coverage and greater reliability in more locations across the island. Geoff Houston, Country Manager for LIME in Jamaica said: ‘LIME is serious about providing customers with the best network experience possible and this deal will allow us to significantly improve our coverage over the next 6 months so Jamaica can look forward to having an absolutely world-class mobile network across the whole island.” Alejandro Gutierrez, CEO for Claro Jamaica said: “At Claro we are committed to keep on delivering the best services, state of the art technology and coverage all across Jamaica. This agreement allows us to further enhance the island wide coverage mobile experience of our 3G services for our customers at affordable rates.” In addition to being a win/win for LIME and Claro, the deal is also a big plus for the Jamaican environment as both companies can expand their network coverage with a minimal amount of new tower construction which means less impact on the country’s environment. Mr. Gutierrez said: Claro is dedicated to the preservation of our country’s natural resources, its beauty and is proud to be a part of a project which leaves less of a Carbon footprint. “This tower sharing agreement between Claro and LIME shows that an issue like the Jamaican environment is bigger than competition and it also shows that both companies are serious about environmental protection,” Mr. Houston said. Minister with responsibility for Telecommunications, Hon. Daryl Vaz said: “The signing of this agreement is an important milestone for Jamaica because it shows that with the right mix of competition and co-operation our telecommunications industry can move forward and Jamaican consumers can receive the best service possible with minimal impact on the environment. I want to commend both LIME and Claro for setting the pace in this regard.” Full story |
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