Since the liberalisation of its telecommunications sector 13 years ago, Trinidad and Tobago has moved from having the 2nd highest broadband tariffs (most costly), to being the most affordable broadband destination in the Caribbean region. Trinidad and Tobago now ranks #16 in the world in respect of the monthly subscription charge for fixed (wired) broadband Internet service, being more affordable than countries such as Japan (21), Switzerland (34), India (36), France (37) and Estonia (50).

Trinidad and Tobago was one of the first Caribbean countries to open up its telecommunications sector. The Telecommunications Act – the piece of legislation which governs the broadcasting and telecommunications sector – was amended in 2005 to facilitate new entrants into a sector which was previously dominated by the State telecommunications provider, Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT).

Read Full Article Here: ICT Unleashing The Potential

Over the last 10-15 years, Trinidad and Tobago has done well to lay a platform of ICT infrastructure and connectivity. This infrastructure includes multiple data centres, an Internet Exchange Point (IXP), hosting facilities, a DNS root server, five international subsea cables as well as terrestrial fibre. Mobile network coverage is at 100% and mobile penetration has hovered around 145% over the last three years, which ranks this small Caribbean nation in the top quartile globally.

Market Evolution

Over the last few years, the telecommunications sector has gone through several rounds of increased competition, thereby enhancing affordability, which has led to accelerated market consolidation. In 2014, Digicel, the largest mobile player in the region, bought the submarine cable assets of Global Caribbean Fibre and Global Caribbean Network to create a fibre optic cable network of approximately 3,100km providing capacity from Trinidad in the southern Caribbean to Puerto Rico in the north.

Read Full Article Here: Information and Communications Technology

There are a number of fundamental underlying trends which have contributed to the explosion of digital commerce in Trinidad and Tobago and globally. Increased competition (resulting in lower prices), traffic, crime, convenience, as well as increased broadband affordability and device availability have all converged to make digital channels increasingly popular.

Trinidad and Tobago has done well, in general terms, to lay a platform of infrastructure and connectivity over the last 10-15 years. Citizens have also responded aggressively, with uptake rates in certain segments (particularly mobile) within the top quartile globally.

Read Full Article Here: The Digital Commerce Opportunity

In order for an economy to achieve sustainable development, the three pillars of sustainability must be adequately addressed i.e. the economic, social and environmental pillars. Due to their inherent reliance on environmental persistence and social stability, economies which thrive on sustainable forms of tourism such as ecological tourism, are good candidates for achieving sustainability.

In the case of Tobago economy, while there is work to be done to optimise the social and environmental pillars, this article will discuss possible strategies which can serve to optimise the economic sustainability of the Tobago tourism product.

Organise the Sector Stakeholders

A major vessel in the tourism space for capturing value is the group of MSMEs which operate in the various parts of the sector. I refer in particular to the various small scale operators such as taxi drivers, tour guides, transport rental companies and bed & breakfast inns which heavily influence the tourist experience and perception of the destination.

Establishing a registry of these actors can provide information on how many operators there are, what services they provide and where gaps lie. Such information can be very useful in formulating policy for the sector, with a view to maximising tourist spend. Beyond this, the registry could be leveraged to commit the tourist dollar to our coffers even before arrival, by making operator profiles publicly accessible online and facilitating online pre-payment for services.

Read Full Article Here: Can Tobago Be A Sustainability Model?

There is a commonly held hope in the potential of the small business sector and entrepreneurship to contribute substantially to national economic diversification, poverty alleviation and national wealth. Although popularly echoed from many government and international agency quarters, in Trinidad and Tobago and the Region, there continues to be an ambient dissatisfaction with the progress made to date to realise SME potential, while the dream of diversification of the national economy remains largely unfulfilled.

The Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Labour, Small and Micro Enterprise Development’s Draft MSE (Micro and Small Enterprises) Development Policy 2014-2016 cites that “an estimated 25,000 registered businesses or 90% of all registered businesses in Trinidad and Tobago are recognised as micro or small”. Clearly a number of MSEs already exist in-country. It can be argued therefore, that MSE development efforts going forward may not need to emphasise encouraging new business formation, but rather to focus on expanding the capacity of existing MSEs such that they are able to contribute more sustainably and substantially to the national economy and long-standing economic diversification aspirations.

Read Full Article Here: Contact Magazine – Q3 2016

In the face of what many may consider too many allegations of healthcare malpractice, medical negligence and quackery in Trinidad and Tobago, it may be useful to take note of the mechanisms in place for healthcare oversight and monitoring in our country. One such mechanism, and the focus of this article, is the appointment of Councils by Government to regulate healthcare practices through the registration and monitoring of healthcare practitioners.

In Trinidad and Tobago, these Councils include:

 – The Dental Council of Trinidad & Tobago

– The Medical Council of Trinidad & Tobago

– The Nursing Council of Trinidad & Tobago

– The Pharmacy Council of Trinidad & Tobago

– The Trinidad & Tobago Opticians Registration Council

– The Council for Professions Related to Medicine of Trinidad & Tobago (having oversight of boards of   Radiographers, Medical Lab Technicians, Physiotherapists, Medical & Psychiatric Social Workers, Nutritionists & Dieticians and Occupational & Speech & Language Therapists)

Read Full Article Here: Know Thy Council – Linkage Q4 2016

In response, the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá joined in a strategic alliance with Intel to advance the state of knowledge in Colombia about the Internet of Things (IoT). Michael A. Smith PhD, director of the Intel® Software Academic Program for IoT, worked with Diego Méndez, an assistant professor of electronics engineering at the university, and Antonio F. Mondragón Torres, an Intel research scientist, to create an advanced IoT program consisting of four classes.

To Read Full Article: Expanding IT Training to Enable the Internet of Things

Intel® Software Academic Program’s Michael Smith recently completed an assignment with the Universitaria de Investigación y Desarrollo (UDI) in Bucaramanga, Colombia as a Fulbright Senior Specialist. The goal of his visit was to establish research and education collaborations in high performance computing, perceptual computing and the Internet of Things (IoT). During his stay, he introduced new courses to the computer science and engineering programs utilizing the Galileo Board and Intel® RealSense™ technology. He also established Intel® RealSense™ technology as a research platform for robot navigation and vision, and worked with the engineering school on a STEM initiative to promote education in robotics to K-12 students in Bucaramanga.