ICT Tender: T&T sets new bids deadline for digital project – Trinidad & Tobago
UTS launches 4G LTE on Saba – Caribbean
Cuba opens first laptop, tablet factory – Cuba
Huawei, Telefónica sign MOU to develop NB-IoT in LatAm – Regional
Costa Rica issues digital TV certification guidelines – Costa Rica


ICT Tender: T&T sets new bids deadline for digital project – Trinidad & Tobago
The government of Trinidad & Tobago has postponed the deadline for bids on a tender for the digitalization of the national land registry records.
Bids can now be submitted by January 26 instead of January 12. The government did not provide any explanation for the deadline extension.
The tender aims to improve information management at the country’s Registrar General’s Department (RGD) and the Ministry of the Attorney General. RGD is responsible for the registration of all civil, land and company records.
Partially financed by a loan from Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the tender entails scanning and indexing records to carry out land conveyance transactions online.
More information on the bidding terms and documents required can be found at http://www.finance.gov.tt or via email: mofctb@gov.tt and procurementmla@gov.tt.
Bidding documents may also be obtained in person on weekdays at the addresses shown below. In sealed envelopes, bids must be submitted in person at the same addresses.
Address 1
Chairman Central Tenders Board
116 Frederick Street
Port of Spain
Trinidad and Tobago
Telephone No.: (868) 625-3565
Fax: (868) 625-1809
Email: mofctb@gov.tt
Address 2
Ms. Anika Ramlogan, Procurement Specialist
Registrar General’ s Department Registration House
72-74 South Quay
Port of Spain
Trinidad and Tobago
Telephone No: (868) 729-0725


UTS launches 4G LTE on Saba – Caribbean
Curaçao-based United Telecommunication Services (UTS) has extended coverage of its 4G LTE network to the island of Saba.
In an interview with the Curacao Chronicle, UTS CEO Glen Carty said the launch was the second this month after phase one of the 4G LTE network on St Eustatius Island went live on December 5.
Carty said the company is in discussions with French telecommunications authorities to upgrade to LTE spectrum in French St. Martin and on Saint-Barthelemy.
To date, the company has been operating a 3G/4G network.
For the St. Kitts and Nevis markets, UTS will be seeking a partner to expand its Chippie brand.

Cuba opens first laptop, tablet factory – Cuba
Cuba inaugurated its first laptop and tablet factory, which will use Chinese technology and parts to produce close to 500 units per day.
The facility will manufacture sixth generation laptop computers as well as 8in and 10in tablets. The latter model will have a keyboard and up to 1TB in capacity, reported local media.
State-run ICT company Gedeme (which belongs to the ministry of industries) and the university of computer sciences (UCI) have been the most active entities in pushing the project.
The UCI will provide the devices’ operating systems while Chinese electronics company Haier will supply the technology and equipment used in the factory, as well as the raw materials and productive processes needed to manufacture the devices.
Initially, the produced equipment will be destined for the wholesale market and government entities.
The opening of the factory comes at a key moment as Cuba has lately placed a strong focus on the Caribbean country’s ICT development. State-run telco Etecsa has taken several initiatives to increase connectivity on the island, such as reducing the cost of internet navigation plans and signing an agreement with Google to improve internet access.


Huawei, Telefónica sign MOU to develop NB-IoT in LatAm – Regional
Press release
By Huawei
December 26, 2016
Huawei and Telefónica today announced that they have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together on jointly developing the NB-IoT markets in Europe and Latin America.
The two companies have already started their first trials of a NB-IoT solution and are aiming to start to launch commercially in Europe and Latin America during 2017. The MOU marks the beginning of a new phase of comprehensive collaboration for the two companies. They will also start collaboration concerning the alignment of end-to-end NB-IoT solutions, interoperability, ecosystems, IoT platform evolution and joint marketing, to develop the upcoming large-scale commercialization of IoT, and enabling Telefónica to boost the number of connected devices in the next 5 years.
The end-to-end NB-IoT solution is designed to meet Telefónica’s requirements for massive IoT services with low-power and wide-area (LPWA) coverage. Developed based on 3GPP standards, the solution underpins flexible networking under various industry and use scenarios. In addition, NB-IoT device and application partners could easily get access to the solution, enabling business innovation and scenario-based customization.
Patrick Zhang, President, Huawei Marketing and Solutions Department said: “We are very honored to have reached this agreement with Telefonica to cooperate on Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT). Huawei’s end-to-end Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) solution, including the IoT operating system (Lite OS), device chipset, network access solutions, and IoT platforms, enables Telefonica to unlock new business opportunities in areas such as smart metering, smart parking, logistics tracking, and smart cities.”

Costa Rica issues digital TV certification guidelines – Costa Rica
Ahead of next year’s digital switchover, the Costa Rican authorities issued the technical guidelines that suppliers of digital television sets and converters must follow in order to certify that their products comply with the ISDB-Tb digital television standard.
Certified equipment will obtain a seal after a evaluation process from certifying organisms, which have to the ratified before Costa Rican certification entity ECA.
According to a press release from science and telecom ministry Micitt, the certification seal is meant to provide certainty to consumers and players in the broadcasting industry.
Costa Rica began its transition to digital broadcasting signal back in 2009, when the government published the national telecommunications development plan. The ISDB-Tb technical standard for digital TV was chosen the following year due to its transmission quality and efficient coverage.
The country’s digital switchover is scheduled for December 15 of next year. However, Micitt has expressed concern that recently announced budget cuts could delay the process.

Copyright 2015 Business News Americas
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