Connect with us

Caribbean News

Want out of WhatsApp? DigicelTCI recommends Bip!

Published

on

#TurksandCaicos, February 3, 2021 – A desperate scramble to regain millions of users who migrated from WhatsApp over fears of privacy infringements may be futile for the company, which has billions of subscribers and it may have been just the jolt mobile phone users needed to shift to a better product; At least that is what the team at Digicel Turks and Caicos believes and over the weekend, Magnetic Media was introduced to the benefits of Bip.

“Bip is the better alternative; Bip is secure and Bip also has ten-way video calling which WhatsApp doesn’t have, and it has an auto translate feature which allows you to be able to speak to someone in another language,” said Addison Stoddard, CEO of DigicelTCI.

Stoddard said Bip is clean, adding the company has no need of your private information as a user; he called the WhatsApp postponement of the January roll-out of what many have described as a more invasive privacy policy to March an attempt to “claw back” after the market got skittish about WhatsApp.

WhatsApp is owned by Facebook, which also owns Instagram.

Media reports say this of the WhatsApp policy change:  “WhatsApp’s new privacy policy reveals that personal data of users, including phone number, IP address, contacts, status, groups (including group name, group picture, group description), payments or business features, profile photo and timestamp, will be shared with third-party websites such as Facebook.”

For many islanders the prospect of privacy invasion is frightening.  A roving social media message had warned about the new policy and it whipped-up Magnetic Media’s interest in the Digicel-endorsed Bip application.

Among the interesting features touted on the free app, which earns the rating of 4.6 stars is that it offers HD quality audio and video; allows one to do the same things and enjoy the same sort of icons which we are accustomed to on WhatsApp but there are more options including games and synching information to the app including weather . 

Bip allows creation of groups and translates my English text to other languages including French, Spanish, Turkish, Italian, Mandarin, Arabic, German and Russian.

Recognizing the superiority of Bip in terms of what it allows a user to do and what it offers to the diverse marketplace, Digicel on October 20, 2020, during its worldwide announcement of being the Caribbean’s first ‘Digital Operator’ announced Bip as one of its all-included apps.

“We have allotted data with all of our applications so when you activate a prime bundle you get like 30GB with Bip.”

Drexler Smith is the new marketing man for Digicel in Turks and Caicos; he believes Bip users love the secret messaging feature which allows messages to disappear automatically.

“I think the best feature is the secret messaging; you can actually set messages to disappear after three, five and ten seconds.”

Bip has been downloaded 65 million times, and with the blunder by WhatsApp over changes in its privacy policy, Bip has attracted 8 million new users worldwide; including me.

Digicel executives are not surprised by the surge in users of Bip.  Relaying to Magnetic Media in an over-the-Bip three way interview that, “It far surpasses any other communication app when it comes to mobile devices.”

And one does not have to be a Digicel customer to get Bip; however, Digicel customers who are also prime bundle subscribers get the app as one of a eight in a suite which gives huge capacity including movies and music; without putting a run on mobile data.

“You don’t use up your normal data for Bip,” said Stoddard, “because Bip has its own data allocation.  If you have a 30-day play that has 6GB of data to be used for everything else, your emails, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and whatever else that you do.  So, we give you 30GB of data to be used on Bip.  We give you 30GB of data to be used on PlayGo, which means you can watch TV on PlayGo.  You also have 30GB of data, extra, to use on SportsMax so each of our apps have an additional data allocation specific for that particular app and that has nothing to do with your regular data.

In fact, internet reports say developer of Bip, Turkcell, which is a Turkish telecommunications company was already winning the race as the most downloaded messaging app in the Middle East and Eastern Asia.  Now, the developer of Bip is reaping soaring global popularity; interest is up enormously worldwide.

Reviews of the app are largely positive; recommending the app for quality video calls, group video chats and privacy.  Criticisms are largely linked to challenges if a phone number is changed and the user wants to re-install Bip; there are lags in messages to reboot Bip.

“There are a lot of touch points on Bip.  Simply, it is a new way to communicate and a secure easy way to have free of charge communication, it can translate in 106 languages, you can utilize games and let’s not forget about the secret messaging feature.”

Turks and Caicos (and some Caribbean) users, in my person Bip contacts folder number 64 individuals and the cool sound the app makes when a message comes in is for me, an adorable feature too.

While using Bip will absorb the mobile data for non-Digicel subscribers, it is good for consumers to have this full run-down of Bip, which can be downloaded from both the App Store or Google Play for free.

Caribbean News

New Tilapia Hatchery Slated for Completion Later This Year

Published

on

#Kingston, Jamaica, March 27, 2024 – The new tilapia hatchery under construction in Twickenham Park, St. Catherine, is slated for completion towards the end of 2024.

The 12,000 sq. ft. facility, being built at a cost of approximately $574 million, is intended to address the major issue of shortages in good-quality seed stock for fish farmers islandwide.

Manager for the Promoting Community-based Climate Resilience in the Fisheries Sector Project, Selena Ledgister, says the hatchery’s establishment is critical for securing a sustainable fisheries sector.

“Construction is on in earnest and we are looking before the year is out – which would be by around September or October – to complete the building part of it. The Project will be supporting the purchase and installation of the recirculating aquaculture system. This system will provide over five million advanced fries (young fish) per year, using the recirculating aquaculture system,” she told JIS News.

The bio-secure climate-resilient modular hatchery, being developed in partnership with the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), will feature a solar standby generator, plumbing system, rehabilitated guard host and administrative building.

Mrs. Ledgister said the hatchery, to be built and operated under environmentally friendly conditions, will impact the lives of fish farmers islandwide.

“I believe we have over 120 aquaculture farmers, and that number is growing; so, this will benefit the industry significantly. The hatchery is also expected to cushion the demand for fish. Fish farmers will also get the supply of advanced fries to restock their ponds. This is a significant impact that the Climate Resilience Project, as well as JSIF, will be creating for the Jamaican fish farmers,” she said.

 

Contact: Twila Wheelan

Release: JIS

Continue Reading

Caribbean News

Trust Fund for Poor Children Born On or After August 6, 2022

Published

on

#Kingston, Jamaica, March 27, 2024 – Children born on or after the 60th anniversary of Jamaica’s Independence, who are wards of the State or beneficiaries of the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH), will be eligible for the Jamaica 60 HOPE (Hope, Opportunity, Prosperity and Empowerment) For Children Trust Fund.

Jamaica celebrated its Diamond Jubilee on August 6, 2022.

In his contribution to the 2024/25 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on March 21, Prime Minister, the Most. Hon. Andrew Holness, said the purpose of the Fund is to help to close the wealth gap and address the issue of intergenerational poverty by creating a trust account specifically catered to vulnerable children.

“The HOPE for Children Trust Fund will provide each eligible child with a long-term savings account funded through annual contributions from the Government. Parents, guardians or other donors will also be able to make deposits into the account for the future benefit of any specific child,” Mr. Holness said.

The accumulated funds, including interest, will be accessible on or after the child’s 18th birthday, for specific purposes such as education, purchase of a home or commercial property or investment in a business.

“The central idea behind the programme is to provide children with a lump sum to start them in life upon attaining adulthood. Our initial target is a lump sum of between $600,000 and $800,000, to be available on the 18th birthday of any eligible child,” Mr. Holness said.

He noted that the Government will also explore alternatives to establish and manage the Fund, adding that it could form part of the National Insurance Fund or be administered by private insurance companies.

“This is, I believe, a ground-breaking initiative to truly grapple with inequality in the society. From a historical perspective, there are many households who have no endowment in Jamaica, meaning that they can’t look towards anything bequeathed to them from their family. There is no asset being passed down to them from generation. The only way that they are able to create any wealth is through their labour, through the dint of their effort – literally pulling themselves up by their bootstraps,” Mr. Holness said.

The Prime Minister emphasised that as the economy grows, the Government has a responsibility to take instrumental and decisive steps to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and correct structural inequalities.

“The intention here is great, the amount may be considered small, but it is the first step in the right direction to truly create a more equitable society,” Mr. Holness said.

 

Contact: Judana Murphy

Release: JIS

Continue Reading

Caribbean News

Port Royal Museum to Open in May

Published

on

#Kingston, Jamaica, March 26, 2024 – The long-awaited Port Royal Museum is expected to be opened in May of this year, with the first exhibit set to be unveiled at the event.

Construction of the two-storey facility, which will be the first fit-for-purpose museum erected in Jamaica, was done at a cost of $788 million with funding from the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ).

Major work on the building was completed in December 2023, with finishing touches and furnishings left to be done.

Director of the National Museum Jamaica (NMJ), Dr. Jonathan Greenland, told JIS News in an interview that the new museum will replace the older and much smaller facility at Fort Charles.

“It didn’t touch all the subject areas… so we lobbied for the Port Authority to collaborate with us and develop a museum in Port Royal, and so they’ve actually constructed a huge building with restaurant facilities, lots of parking, multifunctional space and meeting rooms, shops and everything that a modern museum should have,” he said.

The museum will also be fully accessible to members of the disabled community with wheelchair ramps and an elevator.

Dr. Greenland added that the location of the museum is also of notable significance to the history of the sunken city.

“Right on the spot where the museum is going to be, there was a rebellion of the enslaved workers from the dockyard. The leader of the rebellion or uprising was a skilled bricklayer and when you look at the walls around the whole area where the dockyard used to be, he was probably involved in building that,” he said.

He further pointed out that the museum will present a new opportunity for the NMJ to attract even more visitors and facilitate cultural tourism.

“We’re very excited…. and you know Port Royal is a very interesting place and the history is fascinating. We always had loads of visitors from all around the world without doing any marketing whatsoever, and this is going to be a whole different level of merchandising, marketing and tourism. This is fascinating history and it’s going to be quite dramatic,” Dr. Greenland told JIS News.

 

Contact : Jermi-Lee Nelson

Release : JIS

Continue Reading

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

TRENDING