Caribbean watch: Fiber deployment, Wi-Fi and digitization

Fiber deployment

Bahamas telecom company BTC will achieve 100% fiber coverage in Grand Bahama “soon,” Dominic Petty, BTC’s executive senior manager for the Northern Bahamas, said in a press release. The rollout covers nearly 90% of the island.

The fiber deployment is part of a plan to decommission all the company’s copper infrastructure, a goal that is planned for mid-September. 

As of mid-June, 10 areas in Grand Bahama had been decommissioned, namely Glenburn, Hawksbill, Sunrise Sub, Wellington Heights, Chesapeake, Heritage, Hudson Estates, Yorkshire, Regency Park and Pinta Avenue.

Universal service fund

Citizens of Parlatuvier, L’Anse Fourmi and Bloody Bay in Trinidad and Tobago will benefit from a new broadband internet service as part of the universal service fund program. 

The deployment will serve 170 households, according to local newspaper Newsday. The investment was not disclosed.

The project was entrusted to Cable & Wireless Communications by regulator TATT and the digital transformation ministry. 

Digitization unit

Bahamas’ agriculture and marine resources ministry has established a new digitization unit for permits, licenses and registration. 

"My ministry has a total of 29 services launched overall [in the new digital platform]. The department of agriculture has 13 online services. The department of marine resources has 14 online services and the ministry, two online services," minister Jomo Campbell said in a statement. 

The ministry has processed over 11,000 online applications. Over US$116,000 was received from fees associated with online filings, it said. 

Wi-Fi

Jamaica's government inaugurated a new Wi-Fi hotspot in Glasgow Lodge district in Murray Mountain, St. Ann, as part of its universal service fund’s community Wi-Fi program. 

Glasgow Lodge is among the first set of communities in the district to receive this technology, the Jamaica Information Service reported. The project benefited a total of 189 communities.