The Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) has noted in a press release dated July 1 2016 that Mobile Number Portability (the ability to change mobile service providers without changing your phone number) has not launched in Trinidad and Tobago on July 1 2016 as was previously announced by TATT on April 1 2016

According to TATT’s press release on July 1, 2016 :

Mobile service providers have not completed their inter-operator and
other testing in keeping with their revised implementation date notified to the Authority of July 1st 2016….

…We have been advised by the two mobile operators that number
portability testing is expected to continue well into July with potential
completion in early August. Once testing is completed successfully a
“go live” date can be established.

There have been several delays in implementing Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in Trinidad and Tobago.

On August 28, 2014, TATT announced MNP would launch by February 26 2015

On November 19 2015, TATT announced a launch date of March 31 2016 for MNP

TATT signed a contract with porting provider Porting XS on Tuesday February 16 2016 with the intent to make Mobile Number Portability a reality on March 31 2016.

On March 31 2016, TATT announced that MNP will be launched by July 1 2016.

There was no mention on whether fixed number portability scheduled for September 2016 would be delayed.

Related documents:

• TATT’s Number Portability FAQ dated March 3 2016
• TATT Number Portability Implementation Plan posted September 20 2012
• The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society posted comments to TATT on its then Draft Implementation Plan on Number Portability for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on May 31 2011

Adobe Flash has a security update. According to the Adobe security bulletin dated July 12 2016:

“Adobe has released security updates for Adobe Flash Player for Windows, Macintosh, Linux and ChromeOS.  These updates address critical vulnerabilities that could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.

Many conferencing solutions (like Adobe Connect) and Flash games use the Flash plugin. So if you have Adobe Flash installed, UPDATE ASAP!

However, consider uninstalling Flash if you’re not using it. If you were only using Adobe Flash to watch YouTube videos, YouTube now defaults to HTML5 instead of Adobe Flash for playing videos in Google Chrome, IE 11, Apple Safari 8 and Mozilla Firefox. So you can uninstall Adobe Flash if you are using these browsers (and not worry about keeping Adobe Flash up to date).

The latest update bumps the latest version of Flash Player for Windows and Mac OS X to version 22.0.0.209.

To determine what version of the Adobe Flash player you have on your Windows, Macintosh or Linux system, visit
http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/

To download an offline version of Adobe Flash Player for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux without any adware or bundled third-party offers, visit
http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html

(Sadly, Adobe will be removing http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html page mid 2016 which will make it harder to get an ad-free installer. Another incentive to uninstall Flash?)

Windows users should take note that

• the Flash Player in Microsoft Internet Explorer v9 and earlier versions of Internet Explorer,
• the Flash player in web browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Safari.
• the Flash player in web browsers in Chromium and Opera.

are separate installs. You should install and update versions of Adobe Flash for ALL three browser variations if you have all three browsers installed.

For Internet Explorer v10 and Internet Explorer v11 (for users for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows 8), these browsers have Adobe Flash Player built-in and users should update their Internet Explorer browser versions.

For Microsoft Edge, the default browser in Windows 10, this browser has Adobe Flash Player built in and users should update their Edge browser.

Google Chrome browser users has Adobe Flash Player built-in and users should update the Google Chrome browser to the latest version.
See https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95414 on how to do so.

The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO), with the support of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) and hosted by the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT), will hold the Broadband Caribbean Forum on 14 – 15 July 2016 at the Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain, Trinidad.

This two-day conference will address key topics such as

• Creating a digital Caribbean
• Devising and implementing National Broadband plans
• Digital inclusion initiatives and innovations
• The value of Caribbean data
• Overcoming regulatory challenges in the Single ICT space
• Global satellite broadband developments
• Digital entertainment and Pay-TV opportunities
• Improving broadband penetration and infrastructure development

You can view the Caribbean Forum 2016 Agenda (PDF ; 1.4MB) and more information about the Broadband Caribbean Forum event (including how to register) can be found on the Caribbean Forum Event Page.

The 12th annual Caribbean Internet Governance Forum (CIGF) organized by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) will be held from August 10-12 2016 at the Radisson Fort George Hotel and Marina in Belize City, Belize.

(Update August 10 – The CTU’s CIGF event page at http://www.ctu.int/12th-caribbean-internet-governance-forum/ has a provisional agenda and persons will be able to watch and participate online via Livestream at http://livestream.com/internetsociety/cigf16 ; see also https://www.ttcs.tt/blog/12th-caribbean-internet-governance-forum-cigf-from-august-10-to-12-2016-in-belize-how-to-watch-online/ )

The Caribbean Internet Governance Forum (CIGF) is a regional, multi-stakeholder forum initiated by the CTU and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat in 2005 to coordinate a regional approach to Internet Governance. The forum has since met annually and the primary products of its work have been the formulation of a Caribbean Internet Governance Policy Framework (currently at v2), the proliferation of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) and capacity building in Internet Governance Principles across the Caribbean.

The 12th CIGF will provide a regional platform to discuss and clarify issues of Internet governance of Caribbean and global prominence (such as Net Neutrality, Cyber-security, Privacy) towards building consensus on appropriate Caribbean approaches. It will also contribute to realising a new thrust, announced at the 10th CIGF in The Bahamas, to enhance Internet governance expertise and capacity at the national level in the Caribbean through the development of local multi-stakeholder structures. This would facilitate national implementation mechanisms for regionally derived/harmonised approaches. The 12th CIGF will also conclude the work of identifying appropriate amendments for incorporation into Issue 3.0 of the Caribbean Internet Governance Policy Framework as well as formulate action plans for identified projects for regional implementation e.g. re IPv6, DNSSEC.

The CTU’s CIGF event page at http://www.ctu.int/12th-caribbean-internet-governance-forum/ is blank for now but will be updated with specific information related to registration, accomodation and agenda details in the near future.

The The Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority (TTCAA) has posted draft regulations regarding the operation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or drones in Trinidad and Tobago.

View/Download the TTCAA Draft Regulations on UAV/Drones (PDF ; 23 pages ; 341k)

According to an article in Newsday newspaper, dated June 15 2016 :

PERSONS who operate drones without a licence, will be fined $350,000 and imprisoned for five years, according to proposals drawn up by the Civil Aviation Authority to regulate unmanned aircraft systems. Persons will also be banned from using drones over private and public property, without permission.

However, usage for recreational purposes is allowed as long as the drone is less than 750 grams. Usage will also be permitted in some cases, such as under the auspices of clubs or the supervision of a pilot.

Also noted in the article is the TTCAA two consultation meetings on the draft regulations, one was on Thursday June 16 and another is scheduled on Tuesday June 21 at 5pm at the TTCAA’s offices at the Caroni North Bank Road, Piarco.

Adobe Flash has a security update. According to the Adobe security bulletin dated June 16 2016:

“Adobe has released security updates for Adobe Flash Player for Windows, Macintosh, Linux and ChromeOS.  These updates address critical vulnerabilities that could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.

Many conferencing solutions (like Adobe Connect) and Flash games use the Flash plugin. So if you have Adobe Flash installed, UPDATE ASAP!

However, consider uninstalling Flash if you’re not using it. If you were only using Adobe Flash to watch YouTube videos, YouTube now defaults to HTML5 instead of Adobe Flash for playing videos in Google Chrome, IE 11, Apple Safari 8 and Mozilla Firefox. So you can uninstall Adobe Flash if you are using these browsers (and not worry about keeping Adobe Flash up to date).

The latest update bumps the latest version of Flash Player for Windows and Mac OS X to version 22.0.0.192.

To determine what version of the Adobe Flash player you have on your Windows, Macintosh or Linux system, visit
http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/

To download an offline version of Adobe Flash Player for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux without any adware or bundled third-party offers, visit
http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html

(Sadly, Adobe will be removing http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html page by June 30 2016 which will make it harder to get an ad-free installer. Another incentive to uninstall Flash?)

Opera and Chromium browser users, you’ll have to download the flash player installer from http://www.adobe.com/go/getflash.

Windows users should take note that

• the Flash Player in Microsoft Internet Explorer v9 and earlier versions of Internet Explorer,
• the Flash player in web browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Safari.
• the Flash player in web browsers in Chromium and Opera.

are separate installs. You should install and update versions of Adobe Flash for all three browser variations if you have all three installed.

For Internet Explorer v10 and Internet Explorer v11 (for users for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows 8), these browsers have Adobe Flash Player built-in and users should update their Internet Explorer browser versions.

For Microsoft Edge, the default browser in Windows 10, this browser has Adobe Flash Player built in and users should update their Edge browser.

Google Chrome browser users has Adobe Flash Player built-in and users should update the Google Chrome browser to the latest version.
See https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95414 on how to do so.

The Minister of Finance, Honourable Colm Imbert presented the 2016 Mid Year Budget Review in the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament on April 8 2016.

In his presentation, the Minister announced plans to impose a 7% duty on online purchases of goods and services through the Internet to take effect by September 2016.

Here’s the excerpt from the Mid Year Budget Review 2016

Returning to our overall revenue situation, we must now find ways and means of creating new revenue streams. To bolster the revenue picture and support ongoing efforts to conserve foreign exchange, the Government intends to introduce the following measures, among others viz:

i) A levy of 7% on online purchases of goods and services through the Internet from retail companies resident overseas, that are not subject to taxation in Trinidad and Tobago, such as for example, Dell, Walmart, Staples and Amazon. This is not a new concept and there is well established precedent for a tax of this nature in countries such as the USA, UK and New Zealand. Online purchases are now a significant area of foreign exchange demand, which is putting a strain on our reserves, since credit card transactions are settled almost immediately. This tax is intended to help manage the increase in foreign exchange outflows from online purchases, reduce revenue leakage and assist local manufacturers and service companies to compete with overseas retailers. This measure is scheduled to take effect by September 2016 and it will require discussions with the banks and credit card companies to make it work.

This would be in addition to Custom duties and VAT paid by consumers for goods and services bought online.  Online purchases however, include not just physical tangible items shipped to you (from Amazon, Walmart, etc) but for intangible things such as mobile app purchases from the Apple Store and Google Play, video services like NetFlix, ebooks, software subscriptions to cloud services from vendors like Adobe, Microsoft (although Microsoft might be exempt) or online software purchases from software stores like Steam.

Adobe Flash has a security update. According to the Adobe security bulletin dated April 7 2016:

“Adobe has released security updates for Adobe Flash Player for Windows, Macintosh, Linux and ChromeOS.  These updates address critical vulnerabilities that could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.

Adobe is aware of reports that CVE-2016-1019 is being actively exploited on systems running Windows 10 and earlier with Flash Player version 20.0.0.306 and earlier.  Please refer to APSA16-01 for details.

Many conferencing solutions (like Adobe Connect) and Flash games use the Flash plugin. So if you have Adobe Flash installed, UPDATE ASAP!

However, consider uninstalling Flash if you’re not using it. If you were only using Adobe Flash to watch YouTube videos, YouTube now defaults to HTML5 instead of Adobe Flash for playing videos in Google Chrome, IE 11, Apple Safari 8 and Mozilla Firefox. So you can uninstall Adobe Flash if you are using these browsers (and not worry about keeping Adobe Flash up to date).

The latest update bumps the latest version of Flash Player for Windows and Mac OS X to version 21.0.0.213.

To determine what version of the Adobe Flash player you have on your Windows, Macintosh or Linux system, visit
http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/

To download an offline version of Adobe Flash Player for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux without any adware or bundled third-party offers, visit
http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html

(Sadly, Adobe will be removing http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html page mid 2016 which will make it harder to get an ad-free installer. Another incentive to uninstall Flash?)

Windows users should take note that

• the Flash Player in Microsoft Internet Explorer v9 and earlier versions of Internet Explorer,
• the Flash player in web browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Safari.
• the Flash player in web browsers in Chromium and Opera.

are separate installs. You should install and update versions of Adobe Flash for ALL three browser variations if you have all three browsers installed.

For Internet Explorer v10 and Internet Explorer v11 (for users for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows 8), these browsers have Adobe Flash Player built-in and users should update their Internet Explorer browser versions.

For Microsoft Edge, the default browser in Windows 10, this browser has Adobe Flash Player built in and users should update their Edge browser.

Google Chrome browser users has Adobe Flash Player built-in and users should update the Google Chrome browser to the latest version.
See https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95414 on how to do so.