Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society

Category: articles

Miscellaneous computer related articles, opinions and essays by fellow TTCS members.

  • How to join the Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society

    How to join the Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society

    Membership in the Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society is open to anyone interested in computers regardless of the level of their computer experience or the type of hardware or software they use.

    We have regular meetings, mailing lists, podcasts, and our website and presence on Facebook and onTwitter . We also hold membership in several international organisations and advise on technology issues in Trinidad and Tobago and the region.

    To join, please fill out our membership form

  • Data Protection Act 2011

    Data Protection Act 2011

    The Data Protection Bill 2011 was introduced in the House of Representatives in January 2011.

    The Bill “seeks to protect the privacy of personal and private information of individuals which is entered into electronic format” and “to ensure that protection is afforded to an individual’s right to privacy and the right to maintain sensitive personal information as private and personal.”

    The Bill also establishes an Office of the Information Commissioner to monitor the administration of the Act to ensure its purposes are achieved.

    Several concerns were raised by the Opposition and the Bill went into committee stage in the House of Representatives with several changes made.

    In the Senate, more concerns were raised by Independent and Opposition Senators and the Bill went into the Committee Stage in the Senate with amendments made.

    The House of Representatives approved the Senate Amendments and the Bill was Assented on June 22 2011. It was proclaimed on January 6 2012 given the need for Part I and sections 7 to 18, 22, 23, 25(1), 26 and 28 of Part II of the Data Protection Act 2011 to come into operation.

     

     

     

  • Electronic Transactions Act 2011

    The Electronic Transaction Bill 2011 was introduced in the House of Representatives on January 19 2011.

    The Bill seeks “to give legal effect to electronic documents, electronic records, electronic signatures and electronic transactions”

    Several concerns were raised by the Opposition and the Bill went into committee stage in the House of Representatives with several changes made.

    In the Senate, more concerns were raised by Independent and Opposition Senators and the Bill went into the Committee Stage in the Senate with amendments made.

    The House of Representatives approved the changes and the Bill was assented on April 28 2011.

    Parts I, II, III and IV of the Electronic Transactions Act was proclaimed on January 6 2012. Part VII of the Act was proclaimed on January 18 2012.

    Electronic Transactions Bill 2011 (PDF ; 241K)

    Electronic Transactions Bill 2011 (PDF ; 158K) –  after amendments in the House of Representatives and the Senate

    Electronic Transactions Act 2011 (PDF ; 181K)

    Parliament’s website on the Electronic Transactions Bill / Act 2011 showing the Hansard of the sessions when the Bill was discussed in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

     

  • Interception of Communications Act 2010

    The Interception of Communications Bill 2010 was laid in the House of Representatives by the Minister of National Security, Senator Brigadier John Sandy.

    The Bill seeks to “provide for and about the interception of communications, the acquisition and disclosure of data relating to communications, the acquisition of the means by which electronic data protected by encryption or passwords may be decrypted or accessed and other related matters.”

    From the text of The Interception of Communications Bill 2010 :

    This Bill seeks to provide the legal framework within which public or private communications, which are being transmitted by means of a public or private telecommunications network, can be lawfully intercepted. An interception of communication is lawfully done only when it is done pursuant to a warrant issued by a Judge on an application by an authorized officer. Consequently, it is an offence for a person intentionally to intercept a communication being transmitted without an order of the Court. In general, a warrant would be issued only to investigate, prevent or detect a specified offence, and would be valid for an initial period of ninety days, but may be extended by the Court for two further periods, each for ninety days. The Bill also makes provision for an oral application for a warrant in urgent circumstances, subject to certain safeguards. Finally, the Bill provides that the content of a communication or communication data, which is lawfully obtained, is admissible as evidence in any criminal proceedings.

    The introduction of the bill follows a statement by the Honourable Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on November 12 2010 in the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament House of Representatives of concerning the unregulated interception of communication of several individuals by an agency of the state,as well as the Special Anticrime Unit of Trinidad and Tobago (SAUTT).

    The Bill went into Committee Stage in the House of Representatives. The Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago was invited by the Parliamentary Committee for its comments and the Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (TTCS) forwarded some comments on the Bill to the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago on November 23 2010.

    Amendments to the Bill were made in the House of Representatives and the Bill went to the Senate where it also went into Committee Stage and further amendments made.

    The Bill was assented to in December 3 2010 and proclaimed by the President in mid December 2010.

    On December 7 2010, a Bill titled “Interception of Communications (Amendment) Bill, 2010” in the Senate. This Bill seeks to amend Clause 26 in the Interception of Communications Act 2010 to add “, subject to negative resolution of Parliament,” after the word “Order”.

    Clause 26 of the Interception of Communications Act would therefore now read

    “The Minister may by Order, subject to negative resolution of Parliament, amend any of the Schedules to this Act.”

    The Schedules to this Act documents the Application for a Warrant, the Statutory Declaration in support of an application for a warrant, and the form to notify the Minister of National Security.

    The Interception of Communications (Amendment) Bill 2010 was passed in the Senate on the same day (December 7 2010) and was subsequently introducted and passed in the House of Representatives on December 10 2010. It was assented to on the December 20 2010.

  • Laptops in Schools (2010)

    In June 2010, the Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society put together some comments regarding the laptops-for-children program (in which every child going on to secondary school will be provided with a laptop) that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago was proposing to implement for September 2010. These comments were forwarded to the Ministry of Education.

    Read TTCS comments on Laptops in Schools Programme (PDF ; 190K)

     

     

  • Trinidad and Tobago Wi-Fi hotspots

    Person using laptop (stock photo from pexels.com)

     

    The following is a list of venues such as restaurants and hotels (in no particular order) where internet access via Wi-Fi is known to be available to patrons and visitors to these estabishments. Details on how to configure your laptop to connect to these Wi-Fi networks should be obtained from the restaurant/hotel. Some restaurants/hotels may charge a fee for Wi-Fi internet access. [A map (volunteers needed to update this) is also available to clarify locations.]

    (Last updated: 14 September 2016)

    Public WiFi Hotspots

      • Bmobile’s Bzone
        TSTT offers WiFi hotspots at various locations for free to bmobile and Blink Broadband customers. See the list of Bzone locations throughout Trinidad and Tobago. Bmobile and Blink Broadband customers must register at http://bzone.tstt.co.tt/ to access Bzone hotspots.

    TTWifi

        An initiative by the Trinidad and Tobago Government to provide free WiFi Internet access to public spaces, beginning with WiFi Internet service on several Public Transportation Service Corporation (PTSC) buses. See the

    TTWifi page

        for the list of locations and their

    FAQ page

      .

     

    Hotels

    • Piarco Airport, Trinidad
    • Kapok Hotel
    • Hilton Hotel, Trinidad
    • Crowne Plaza Hotel, Trinidad
    • The Normandie Hotel, Trinidad
    • The Chancellor Hotel, Trinidad
    • Cara Suites, Trinidad
    • Marriott Hotel, Trinidad
    • Paria Suites, Trinidad

    Libraries

    • National Library Building, Port of Spain
    • Carnegie Public Library
    • Point Fortin Public Library
    • St. Helena Public Library
    • Sangre Grande Public Library

    Restaurants

    Several

  • Data Protection Bill 2009

    The Data Protection Bill 2009 was introduced in the House of Representatives in January 2009 which was identical to the Data Protection Bill 2008 that lapsed in the previous session of Parliament.

    Following concerns raised by the Opposition, the Bill was referred to a Joint Select Committee in February 2009. The Joint Select Committee Report was laid on May 15 2009. However, the Bill lapsed with the end of the Parliament session in January 8 2010.

     

  • Electronic Transactions Bill 2009

    The Electronic Transactions Bill 2009 was introduced to the House of Representatives in January 2009.

    Following concerns raised by the Opposition, the Bill was referred to a Joint Select Committee in February 2009. The Joint Select Committee Report was laid on May 15 2009. However, the Bill lapsed with the end of the Parliament session in January 8 2010.

  • Data Protection Bill 2008

    The Data Protection Bill 2008 was introduced to the House of Representatives in November 2008 but the bill lapsed in Dec 2008 with the end of the Parliament session.

     

  • Draft National E-business policy of Trinidad and Tobago (July 2008) and TTCS comments

    The Ministry of Public Admin (MPA) has released a “Draft National Policy on Electronic Business for Trinidad and Tobago” around July 2008 for comment.

    According to this document, the aim of the policy is :

    To develop a vibrant and sustainable e-Business industry that will contribute to the transformation of Trinidad and Tobago’s economic paradigm towards one that has a significant knowledge base, through:

    • Strengthening the Nation’s infrastructure;
    • Clarifying market place rules;
    • Developing networks;
    • Increasing participation;
    • Developing the Nation’s human resources; and
    • Developing the Nation’s R&D and Innovation Capacity.

    The objectives of the draft national policy :

    This policy framework intends to identify actions that the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (GoRTT) will need to take in order to create an economic, infrastructural and human resource environment in which e-Business opportunities can thrive. These actions will be taken in collaboration with the private sector, academia, NGO’s and citizens. In this regard, the proposals herein are structured to minimize the direct intervention of Government in taking these proposals forward. This is to encourage increased competitiveness of the ICT sector in Trinidad and Tobago.

    The deadline for comments was October 13 2008 and required comments to be submitted online at http://ebusiness.fastforward.tt/business/townhall

    The TTCS submitted the comments after having a wiki page to document answers respond to the questions in the draft policy, followed by a F2F meeting on October 11 2008.

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