CANTO Weekly Newsletter – BNamericas: 06/26/14
Roundup: World Cup viewership, Digicel, Cuba – Regional
Cuban govt allows internet access for cooperatives – Cuba
ZTE chosen to install 4G TD-LTE network in Dominican Republic – Dominican R.
Jamaican govt expects to launch internet exchange point in August – Caribbean
O3b prepares to launch 4 new satellites – Regional
The information presented and opinions expressed herein are those of
the author and do not necessarily represent the views of CANTO
and/or its members
Roundup: World Cup viewership, Digicel, Cuba – Regional
Mexico’s 3–1 World Cup triumph over Croatia on Monday broke football broadcasting records in Mexico, when 87.3% of TVs switched on from 4:30–5pm local time were tuned into that match.
From 2–5pm, Televisa had the largest share of viewers tuned in to its free to air networks, with 43.2% of the total audience, while TV Azteca had 35.7%, local daily Milenio reported, citing Ibope figures.
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Haitian telecom provider Digicel blocked several “unauthorized” VoIP applications last week, including Viber, Tango and Nimbuzz.
Digicel said in a release that it blocked the apps because they were not paying to route their traffic over the provider’s networks.
The company said it was forced to take the measure to recoup millions in lost tax revenue and to relieve the “enormous pressures” the apps put on network bandwidth.
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Cuba loses US$10mn per year to telecom service fraud, local daily Cuba Debate reported.
According to state telco Etecsa, fraudulent activities include call rerouting, theft of legally contracted lines and international systems that offer lower rates than those of legal telcos.
Cuban govt allows internet access for cooperatives – Cuba
The Cuban government has authorized internet access for new service cooperatives created last year.
Access to the internet, which is still very restricted in Cuba, will be available to cooperatives that have basic telephony contracts with state provider Etesca, according to a resolution published in the country’s official gazette.
Etesca will charge cooperatives the same rates as state entities.
Internet access will only be available on the premises of non-agricultural cooperatives and only cooperative workers can use the services, with access by third parties prohibited, the resolution said.
The creation of non-agricultural service cooperatives was announced last year, allowing workers to open new businesses or take control of certain state-run companies.
So far there are more than 450 cooperatives operating in Cuba, most of which are in the gastronomy, transportation and construction sectors.
ZTE chosen to install 4G TD-LTE network in Dominican Republic – Dominican R.
Internet provider Wind Telecom has chosen ZTE Corporation to build the first 4G TD-LTE network in the Dominican Republic.
Chinese telecom equipment provider ZTE will install the technology in the country’s main urban and rural areas, covering the 2.5-2.7GHZ spectrum frequency, which Wind Telecom will use to expand mobile and fixed broadband, ZTE said in a release.
Under the multi-year contract – the value of which is undisclosed – ZTE will use its unified platform EPC and eNodeB solutions based on its Cloud Radio technology.
In September, Wind Telecom received a US$27mn investment to evolve its wireless service to 4G LTE and expand its fiber optic network.
ZTE said it has performed TD-LTE trials and helped set up commercial networks for 66 operators in 40 countries.
Jamaican govt expects to launch internet exchange point in August – Caribbean
Jamaica is expected to launch an internet exchange point in August, Silicon Caribe reported.
The minister for science, technology, energy and mining, Julian Robinson, said the ministry is currently working with Packet Clearing House and that the initial design is “already done.”
Robinson gave details of the IXP during his 2014-15 sectoral debate presentation in the country’s house of representatives on June 11, entitled “Information and Communication Technologies as Enablers for Growth and Development.”
Enhanced data transfer speeds, reductions in latency and decreased costs due to circumvention of international or third-party networks are some of the benefits said to be offered by the IXP infrastructure.
“This is important, because it will allow for those companies that are involved in developing products and solutions that require heavy use of the internet to locate in areas close to where an IXP is,” Robinson said,
Jamaica is not the first country in the Caribbean to launch an IXP. In March, Saint Lucia initiated its local IXP under the name SLiX.
In March last year, Dominica launched an IXP, the second in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the third in the English-speaking Caribbean.
At the end of May 2011, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Grenada also launched IXPs.
“There are many other countries in the region which are ahead of us. As such, we are moving quickly and we intend to have an IXP launch by August,” the state minister noted.
O3b prepares to launch 4 new satellites – Regional
Global satellite services provider O3b Networks will launch four new satellites on July 10 in the next stage of its plan to bring broadband connectivity to underserved regions of the world, including Latin America, according to an O3b release.
The launch was pushed back from the original September 2013 date to allow for further testing.
French commercial space transportation company Arianespace will handle the shipment on its eighth Soyuz mission from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, releasing the satellites into a circular “medium-earth orbit” (MEO) at 8,062km, according to the release. Its positioning is designed to reduce network cost and latency.
Operating in the high-frequency Ka-band, the company launched its first four satellites in June 2013.
O3b is planning to reach 3bn people in over 180 countries with internet connectivity. It expects to launch its third group of satellites in 1Q15, O3b said.