The Ministry of Works and Transport of Trinidad and Tobago (MOWT) has launched Trinidad and Tobago’s New Driver Permits System at a press conference on Friday January 13 2017.

According to Senator the Honourable Rohan Sinanan, Minister of Works and Transport in his feature address:

“The new driving permit being launched is embedded with barcode technology that significantly reduces the risk of duplication. In the very near future, meaning in a few months-time, legislation will be brought to the Parliament which will allow authorized officers to scan permits on the scene and obtain all relevant information about the holder of the particular driver’s permit”

Other interesting details about the new driving permit system via the MOWT’s press release :

The New Driving Permit System will be part of a centralized digital system that will allow authorized persons at the Licensing Office to access and provide data in legitimate circumstances, so that the holder of a driver’s permit no longer has to go to a specific office to get pertinent information about his/her licence. The electronic storage of information will benefit citizens as it is cost effective, reliable and easily available.

The scanning of the barcode on the new driving permit, allows authorized officers to obtain relevant information such as whether the holder has any recorded and/or outstanding infractions of the law thereby establishing an independent and reliable tracking system for those who have had any interaction with the legal system.

The New Driver’s Permit System will be implemented in Tobago on Monday January 16 2017 with production of certificates on the same day of the request.

CNC3 aired a segment about the launch of the new driver licenses on its Friday January 13 2017 newscast.

 

According to a notice by the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) in the Trinidad and Tobago Gazette No 143, dated December 15 2016, Dr. John Prince is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of TATT from December 7 2016 for a term of two years.

Dr John Prince served as Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of TATT from July 1 2004 until he was sent on leave by the TATT board on May 31 2006 and his contract terminated on June 30 2006. He filed a writ in the Port of Spain High Court for breach of contract and the High Court ordered Dr John Prince’s reinstatement as TATT CEO in its decision on October 25 2006. TATT appealed the decision but Dr John Prince and TATT came to a consent order in December 2016 whereby Dr John Prince would be paid for the remainder of his contract on leave.

According to the Trinidad Guardian article dated January 5, 2017 , one of Dr John Prince’s priorities for TATT is a spectrum plan for 4G LTE services that can accommodate three providers.

 

 

The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society is pleased to announce the release of the TTCS OSSWIN v1.62, a collection of the latest version of Free and Open Source Software for Microsoft Windows (10/8/7/Vista/XP) for download.

The TTCS OSSWIN collection features a web based interface for browsing programs organised into several categories:  Desktop Applications, Educational, Games, Graphics, Internet, Server, Sound and Video and Utilities.

Several software updates for TTCS OSSWIN v1.62, including Mozilla Firefox 50.1.0, Audacious 3.8.1, BlueGriffon 2.1.2 and more. See the changelog for more details.

Visit the TTCS OSSWIN page at https://www.ttcs.tt/osswin for more details and to download the collection as an ISO file for burning onto a DVD or extracting to your harddrive or USB storage device.

The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society is pleased to announce the release of the TTCS OSSWIN v1.61, a collection of the latest version of Free and Open Source Software for Microsoft Windows (10/8/7/Vista/XP) for download.

The TTCS OSSWIN collection features a web based interface for browsing programs organised into several categories:  Desktop Applications, Educational, Games, Graphics, Internet, Server, Sound and Video and Utilities.

Lots of software updates for TTCS OSSWIN v1.61, including LibreOffice 5.2.3, Mozilla Firefox 50.0.1, Virtualbox 5.1.10 and more. See the changelog for more details.

Visit the TTCS OSSWIN page at https://www.ttcs.tt/osswin for more details and to download the collection as an ISO file for burning onto a DVD or extracting to your harddrive or USB storage device.

The Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) has noted, that as per its press release on October 6 , Mobile Number Portability in Trinidad and Tobago has been implemented on October 31 2016.

TATT has a dedicated page at https://tatt.org.tt/NumberPortability.aspx

Both Bmobile and Digicel have pages about number portability:

• Bmobile Number Portability FAQ
• Digicel Number Portability FAQ

 

 

 

The Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) has noted in a press release dated October 6 2016 that

• Mobile Number Portability (the ability to change mobile service providers without changing your phone number) will launch on October 31 2016 and
• Fixed Line Number Portability (the ability to change fixed line providers without changing your phone number) will launch on November 28 2016.

Number portability was delayed before, the last delay announced by TATT on July 1 2016. However TATT’s determination 2016/01 dated October 4 2016 which notes the “go-live” dates also says:

“The Authority hereby declares that it shall cease forthwith to exercise forbearance on non-compliance by Operators who are subject to this DETERMINATION.”…. This Determination is binding upon all Operators so required by the Authority to implement number portability pursuant to section 25(2)(j) of the Act AND SHALL NOT BE AMENDED, REPEALED OR RESCINDED………..Non-compliance with this Determination 2016/01 will result in the Authority’s commencement of enforcement proceedings against the Operator in accordance with the Telecommunications Act”

TATT’s Number Portability page at https://tatt.org.tt/NumberPortability.aspx has yet to be updated.

The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society is making available a resource of ICT related laws and policies in Trinidad and Tobago online.

https://www.ttcs.tt/articles/ict-related-laws-and-policies-in-trinidad-and-tobago

This TTCS resource documents the various Information and Communication Technology (ICT) related laws and policies that have been introduced and/or proposed in Trinidad and Tobago either in the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament or by various Government ministries, and the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) since 1999.

The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society has commented on many of these policies and links to our comments have also been provided. Furthermore. we have also linked to local copies of policies that have disappeared with the removal and/or redesign of government websites over time.

The Minister of Finance, Honourable Colm Imbert presented the 2017 Budget Statement in the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament on September 30 2016.

The 2016 Budget Statement and related documents can be downloaded at http://www.finance.gov.tt/budget-statement-2017/

This post will focus on the ICT related aspects of the 2017 Budget Statement.

The ICT related aspects of the 2017 Budget Statement :

Page 22: under “Information and Communication Technology”

“Consistent with our manifesto commitment, we are
already rolling out free and easy access to broadband
internet in public spaces through the recentlyimplemented
TT WI-FI initiative. We are building a
knowledge-based and well-connected society as a
foundation for increasing productivity and for generating
sustainable growth and development. In fact, all WI-FI
enabled devices, including smartphones, laptops and
tablets, now have access on thirteen (13) specific Public
Transportation Service Corporation (PTSC) buses, twelve
(12) in Trinidad and one (1) in Tobago. And this is just the
beginning.”

Page 29: Under “Education”

Madam Speaker, the previous Administration introduced
a “Free Laptop Policy” for first year students in secondary
schools at an estimated cost of $310 million over a
four-year period. In our view, the programme brought
limited benefits because it was done in the absence
of an overarching ICT education policy and there was
inadequate ICT infrastructure in schools: limited access
to high speed Internet services, insufficient relevant
digital content, sparse training of teachers in ICT and no
management procedure for ICT projects and initiatives.
In light of this, a comprehensive ICT in Education Plan
will be rolled out in the next fiscal year. This 5-year plan
will ensure:
1. The establishment of an overarching ICT in
Education Policy;
2. Training and Professional development of teachers
and other educators;
3. Provision of adequate and appropriate ICT
infrastructure in schools;
4. Curriculum reform to include ICT-infused lesson
plans for students; and
5. Establishment of an ICT Steering Committee.

The new Plan will provide for laptops for each Form Level
at each secondary school; laptops will be used during
class sessions that require the use of ICT-related tasks
and will remain the property of the Ministry of Education.
Students writing CSEC and CAPE will soon benefit from
the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy for those who
would like to use their own device for School Based
Assessments and other research projects while at school.

Page 45: Under “Tax on On-line Purchases”

Madam Speaker, the popularity of online purchases has
increased significantly over the past few years. Reducing
the demand for these items helps to save on foreign
exchange and to assist local industry. There are 31
Courier Companies registered and bonded in Trinidad
and Tobago and is estimated that the value of packages
cleared by these Courier Companies exceeds $1 billion
a year.
Madam Speaker, as I announced previously I intend to
impose with effect from October 20, 2016, a 7 percent
charge on purchases that arrive in Trinidad and Tobago
through the courier companies or are brought in directly
by individuals via air freight. This measure will generate
approximately $70 million in additional revenue. The
tax will be due and payable at the bonded warehouses
before clearance of goods or directly to customs in
the same way that VAT and customs duty are currently
collected.
To assist in the implementation of this measure the
Government will ensure that the Customs and Excise
Division is provided with the resources necessary to
strengthen their capability to inspect and assess packages
generally and specifically from Courier Companies.