Curaçao Athletes in RIO 2016


After four years, the world is about to be captivated by another memorable season of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, better known as Rio 2016, from 5 through 21 of August 2016. This time around, sport fans will be able to watch the games live at one of the many official designated locations in the host city, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city of Rio which is well-known for its Carnival festival featuring spectacular costumes and samba rhythms, has so many things to offer the visitors during the Olympic season. The public can enjoy the multicultural dimensions of Brazil by means of different parties, exhibitions, plays, concerts, and many other fun and interactive activities organized by the host city and Rio 2016 partners.

The Olympic competitions will take place in 32 different locations in Rio, including five co-host cities: Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Manaus, Salvador, and São Paolo. Fans around the world can also join one another at the various live sites to watch the sporting actions on big screens. Another unmissable tradition is the concept of National Houses. These will be arranged near each official location to provide the public with the opportunity to be closer to their favorite athletes, since they will also be there to celebrate their victories. As you can see, this event is one of the biggest sport events of all times. Among the 10,000 athletes who will participate, only 297 medals will be given out. Hence, it is no surprise that countries are giving their all to support native athletes in order to outshine the other competing countries.

When it comes to sports you may be familiar with names such as Churandy Martina, Andrew Jones, Jean-Julian Rojer, Kenley Jansen, and so on. Without neglecting the numerous other talented locals on our island, we must recognize the progress of another promising young athlete, Liemarvin Bonevacia. This young and dynamic individual is catching the attention of everyone who is following his track and field life. It is surely an honor for Curaçao to have one more “Bon Yu di Kòrsou” participating at the 2016 Olympic Games. He will be competing in the 400M race with the aim to break his own personal record and achieve a new running time of 43 seconds. 

With less than one month away, athletes all over the world are in full preparation to face the best of the best in 42 different sport categories during the Olympic Games. The selection of sports varies from archery to athletics, to basketball and sky jumping. Just like the other participating countries, Curaçao also has a group of athletes who will be competing for the Olympic medals in Rio 2016, and who are currently partaking in intense workouts and preparation. Some of them are still competing in tournaments that will finally determine if they will be actually participating at the games this August.

Travel agencies are overblown by the interest for Rio 2016. If you haven’t booked your flight yet, make sure you do so as soon as possible. In the meantime you can try your luck by participating in the ‘Dream, Believe, Achieve’ campaign sponsored by UTS and FDDK, with a chance to win two free trips to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

The story of Liemarvin (1/5)

Liem4rvin Bon3vacia

One of our own

At the moment Curaçao has three officially confirmed athletes who will compete in Rio 2016 during the Summer Olympic Games. One of them is our talented runner, Liemarvin Bonevacia, born on April 5 in 1989 and raised by Marisol Bonevacia (mother) together with Elvin Bonevacia (father). At a relatively young age Liemarvin started to show a lot of passion for sports activities. It all started with baseball followed by soccer. After a few years of practicing soccer he was introduced to athletics by one of his younger brothers, Maiklin Bonevacia. This was surely a big turning point in Liemarvin’s life. Those who know him know that his life story is in one word truly INSPIRING. Hence, we will be covering several interviews with a few persons who really played an important role throughout his journey. To start off, we recently had a pleasant talk with his family, to be specific, his dear mom, dad, and brother.


Marisol Bonevacia (Mom)
Marisol Bonevacia, whom gave birth to this talented athlete recalls him being very energetic since his younger days. While they were living in the Netherlands, neighbors were annoyed by his continuous running up and down the stairwell. Marisol recalls this with a smile on her face and further indicates she had to go outdoors to let him burn off all of his energy without disturbing anyone.
With regards to his education, Liemarvin had the honor to visit St. Lucia School. He was always the class clown at school. His mother showed understanding and indicated that his deeds were merely part of being a kid. After that he went to high school at Peter Stuyvesant College, which    has now been renamed Kolegio Alejandro Paula.


 Marisol tells the story of Liemarvin’s first experience at high school: The first thing one of his teachers asked him was: “Are you also one of those boys who are going to behave badly causing the school board to dismiss you?” He rapidly reassured the school teacher that he simply because he wants to finish his school and that he is not going to misbehave.
It was not long ago that Marisol was very ill and was admitted into the hospital. Liemarvin and his mom are very close and he missed her while she was away from home. With glassy eyes she told us how Liemarvin visited her every day at midnight. She still does not know how he did it. But he seemed to have worked his way around security.
“I need to go see my mom.” Liem4rvin Bon3vacia
Marisol remembers waking up and seeing his first born standing at her bed saying: “Mom I have come to pray with you; you have to remain strong because I am strong too.”

Elvin Bonevacia (Dad)
It was a touching moment when Elvin, father of Liemarvin, shared with us what he went through on the same day that his first son was welcomed into this world. As sad as it may sound, his boss did not allow him to go to the hospital to experience this special moment with his wife.
“I decided to resign and walked away…”
Elvin Bonevacia
Without thinking twice he immediately submitted his resignation letter and went straight to his newly born son. This courageous act certainly proves once more that the love of a parent goes beyond one’s imagination. Elvin talks about how much alike the two of them are; they both have  much perseverance. He admits that Liemarvin has proven to have even more determination than himself since he has been overcoming barriers all around the world.

 
Yumailkin Bonevacia (Brother)
Elvin never doubted in his son. Every time Liemarvin went to school, Elvin had some serious talks with him. He constantly reminded Liemarvin that he can do anything he sets his mind on, especially at school, as long as he stops joking around. Elvin noticed that Liemarvin started to perform better at school from the time that he started to run.
As for Rio 2016 he is convinced that Liemarvin will take either the first or second place. He is blown away by his son’s continuous perseverance and he is sure that he will make it big time.





Yumaiklin Bonevacia, Liemarvin’s little brother describes his brother as a jokey pal who is very open and ready to give a helping hand as long as it contributes to a positive cause. Yumaiklin told us how it all started. Each of them was practicing a different sport. Their mom was not happy with the many bruises Liemarvin was getting while practicing soccer in the  Victory Boys team.
“Na atletiek tin yen ko’i mira…” Yumaiklin
Given the circumstances, Yumaiklin asked his oldest brother to join him on the athletic team and joked about the pretty things he would be able to admire once he was there. This is how an innocent joke resulted in an encouraging journey.

When Liemarvin and Yumaiklin were little kids, their mother kept them separate because of Liemarvin’s behavior at the time. She acknowledges the fact that Liemarvin was a quick learner and actually had no problem with his classes. The only issue was his attitude.
Rudsel Martina was one of the first who stood by Liemarvin and made him aware that if he wanted to move forward in life and achieve his goals, he needed to become serious about it and change his attitude and behavior. It is after these empowering moments that Maiklin began to notice how his brother changed and became the person he is today.
From the bottom of his heart, Maiklin’s deepest desire is for his brother to return home with the first place Olympic medal. He has faith that he will give his utmost to break his own personal record and the Olympic record.

While remaining in anticipation of Liemarvin’s race in Rio 2016, we will conduct several interviews with a few of the most important people in his life. We have definitely learned that he is not only one of our own, but he is also a true example for many youngsters out there. Regardless of his behavior as a kid, he chose to follow the right path. And as a result, look where he’s heading to: RIO 2016!

Watch the video interview.

Connected on the GO ==>



Nowadays most people want to be “online” as much as possible: to check on status updates, to upload videos or to follow the news as soon as it is on. This can easily be done via a Wi-Fi connection, and the great thing about Wi-Fi is: no additional charges. Then again, how would you manage when being on the road, waiting at your doctor’s office or if there is no electricity? Besides, you don’t want to wait to update your status or to share that beautiful picture you just took until you are in Wi-Fi range, right? No need to panic.

Activate a datapackage and stay connected even when there is no Wi-Fi connection available. This is called being “free”: not bound to one location or place in order to be and/or stay connected.

First things first: Choose the right package; the one that fits your personal needs.
No idea which data package would fit you best?

Start by checking the packages your provider has to offer and match your budget with your data needs. If you have no idea how much data you might need, check your data manager. Most devices have a built-in datamanager; otherwise you can download one easily. This “app” will keep track of your data usage and provide a good view of how much data is being used and for what (which “apps” e.g. YouTube, FB, Twitter).

Important note: make sure your device settings are set to avoid unnecessary datausage such as auto-play (in FB). You can also set your device to only download updates when connected to a Wi-Fi service, unless you approve differently. Get to know your device and your usage in order to fully enjoy the possibilities of being connected on the GO!

xDSL vs. Fiber

The average internet consumer has no idea of the differences between the technologies xDSL and fiber optics that are used to provide internet access. This is quite understandable because wear mostly concerned about the end result, such as available bandwidth, latency, stability, maximum download speed and lately also maximum upload speeds.  The traditional web surfer (most of them are just surfing the internet and downloading webpages content to the PC/Laptop/Tablet/Smartphone) has changed to also being heavy up-loaders also, as he/she uploads or is streaming his/her content onto the internet (Youtube, facetime, webcam, dropbox etc. etc.). This behavior change has put additional emphasis on the upload capability of one’s internet connection. Upload speeds are becoming more and more as important as download speeds.
The truth is that while DSL and Fiber can both provide you with high-speed capabilities, these services are very distinct. Read on to discover the pros and cons of each one.
DSL vs. Fiber Internet
A Digital Subscriber Line or DSL connection is offered through the ISP (internet service provider) and uses the existing copper wire of your phone line to deliver high speed internet access. Often the ISP’s offer internet access services that support a certain download speed and a different upload speed (i.e. 32/3 Mbps). This is called Asymmetric DSL. This technology has evolved since the first implementation in 2005 on Curacao from ADSL via ADSL2+, subsequently VDSL to VDSL2, which UTS has currently deployed in the copper infrastructure. New evolved DSL technologies are available, such as vectoring and bonding;all to enable the ISP to offer higher bandwidths. The maximum obtainable speed in a DSL infrastructure relies heavily on two main parameters such as the quality of the copper wire-line infrastructure and the distance covered between the DSL modem in household and the DSL core network. The maximum supported speeds therefor various between 1 Mbps to 80 Mbps depending on distance and copper-line quality.

In order to enable ISP’s to offer higher bandwidth that are not influenced by environmental factors and consequently offer stable bandwidth, Fiber Optics is more and more used in the deployment of high-speed, high demanding broadband networks.

While xDSL (x can be A;Asymmetrical or V;VeryHighBitRate or S;Symmetrial) may not be as fast as a Fiber connection, a xDSLconnection is incredibly faster than ordinary dial-upand still suits the needs of most domestic users just fine.

xDSLis offered at a relatively affordable rate and is bundled with a standard telephone service. xDSL Internet requires a DSL modem and professional installation by an ISP technician, as a copper line must be available in your home or office.

A Fiber based connection is offered through the ISP that is using fiber optic cables to deliver the high speed internet access. Due to the fact that fiber optics networks are not influenced by factors such as distance or fiberglass quality, it offers the ISP unique properties enabling the ISP to offer Super-Fast, Reliable and Stable internet access.  Super Fast and Stability are properties that influence the customer experience very positively.

The process of installing fiber-optic Internet is usually more intrusive and takes more time than xDSL. That’s because unlike xDSL which uses your home’s or office’s existing phone line, fiber-optic Internet requires that a specific fiber optic cable be run to your home or office. Fiber Internet Access harnesses the speed, clarity and power of light through a dedicated 100% fiber optic connection to your home. A fiber optic cable transmits light signals that send TV, Internet and phone services directly to your home at incredible high speeds and quality levels. Because the fiber optic line connects straight to your home, it is a FTTH (Fiber To The Home) service. And with this advanced FTTH technology, it can deliver superior performance with remarkably high-quality TV and blazing-fast Internet with Gamer Certified speeds. (low latency)

Fiber Internet is carried by a strand of lightweight, thin, optic fiber via modulated light. Ye… we know those are a bunch of ‘high-tech’ terms, but it’s simply a thin fiber as thin as a human hair made of pure glass that can carry digital information over impressively long distances.
Just like xDSL, Fiber internet is usually installed by a professional.
 Reliability
xDSL Internet is considered reliable, but compared to Fiber, xDSL speeds vary due to a number of factors including network configuration, your location, line quality and length. xDSL internet is conducted by electricity through copper cable, copper is very sensible to environmental/climate changes. For example if it gets wet or humid the electrical flow may be hindered and this automatically affects your internet connection, speed and stability.

Fiber-optic is generally considered reliable. Fiber internet is considered a passive system, which means power does not need to be applied within the system network. So, because the conductor is glass, it does not generate electricity In other words fiber is immune to interference that can be caused by nearby power lines or high-voltage electrical equipment etc. Plus, with fiber-optic, there is less chance of your computer sustaining lightning related damage.

Speed
xDSL offers speeds that can accommodate the needs of most home or businesses. For example VDSL2with vectoring and binding can offer download speeds of up to 100+ Mbps on a healthy line in a distance of approximately less than 100m from the DSL Core network. Upload speeds of 1.5 to 30 Mbps are common; all this depending of the above mentioned conditions. The reality is that those households are connected to the DSL Core with variations in distance.

Another factor that influences the user experience is “latency”. Latency is the delay incurred during the sending/receiving and processing of data between two parties. In general latency is expressed in ms(milliseconds) and can range from 6to 100 ms (tested on UTS connections).The overall latency is influenced by the location of the internet server you are trying to reach or communicate with. Gamers of online multiplayer games are very sensitive to latency during their online gaming experience. If they press their trigger to shoot their online enemy with a latency of 200 ms and their online opponent has a latency of 10 ms, his bullet will be reach the opponent must faster.  Low latency gamers tend to always win from high latency gamers.


VDSL2 has a reputation of being fast, but Fiber internet supports even higher bandwidths and speeds. Plus, Fiber internet allows the user to send data over much greater distances while maintaining speed and latency. Fiber-optic Internet offers download speeds ranging from 2 Mbps up to 1Gbps, and upload speeds from 2Mbps to 10Mbps. The unmatched speed of Fiber internet allows every connected member to download, upload, stream and share files simultaneously without compromising performance.
Availability
Fiber-optic Internet is not yet available in as many neighborhoods as xDSL, but its availability is expanding. xDSL is notoriously accessible. In fact, its availability is one of its greatest advantages over fiber; especially in Curacao where we already have an existing copper wire underground infrastructure that has been implemented in nearly all neighborhoods. The network infrastructure of UTS is continuously modernizing. As part of this modernization, fiber optic will be available in all neighborhoods in the near future. Areas such as Jan Sofat, Zuurzak, Recompansa, FKP Nabij Vetter, Harmonie, are examples of neighborhoods that already have been upgraded enabling them to make use of Fiber Internet already.
Summarizing xDSLvs Fiber Internet

Internet Access    Download    Upload    Reliability    Stablity
xDSL    Up to 80Mbps(*)    Up to 60 Mbps    +    +
FTTH    Up to 1Gbps (**)    Up to 1 Gbps    +++    ++++

(*) depending on distance between DSL modem and DSL Core network
(**) Technical feasible but pending commercial availability.if50Mbps cost 149/month what would 1Gbps should cost?

Keep yourself informed via our “TECH SMART Blog"

-Broadband team-



Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.992.5
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/how_bad_do_we_really_have_it_bandwidth_caps_around_world
http://www.polywater.com/icefree3.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2012/08/21/will-google-fiber-waste-28-billion/
http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats14.htm
http://science.opposingviews.com/consistency-speed-dsl-vs-cable-12998.html
http://www.broadband.gov/broadband_types.html
http://www.businessbee.com/resources/news/technology-buzz/cable-vs-fiber-internet-service-right-business/

In 2015… We’ve GROWN!

A New Year means new opportunities for: Networking, meeting clients, expansions, learning from previous mistakes and so on… A New Year simply means new opportunities to grow.

During the year of 2015 UTS has grown in so many different ways: We’ve
•    Enjoyed networking
•    Improved our approach toward clients
•    Introduced new technologies
•    Digitalized our services and simplified our processes
•    Reduced our customers waiting time in our stores

With all the new technologies available nowadays, companies are having a tough time to stay on top of these developments, while also focusing on targeting their clients directly with their products & services. Clients are also becoming more demanding and know exactly how they want to be served. All these developments have challenged us to look for new and improved ways to continue to shape our products and services to accommodate our customer’s needs.  We’ve had to go back to the drawing table, spending lots of time and energy in simplifying the services that matter the most to our customers.

The coverage of our Chippie network has been significantly improved by having added new and modern base stations. We’ve also introduced top of the line mobile services called: 4G LTE.

Customers waiting time has also been an aspect that we’ve improved on. Customers that visited our UTS Stores the past year have surely experienced the difference. We’ve managed to lower the waiting time from 1 hour and up to under 30 minutes. We have also noticed the waiting time of our call center and have therefore increased our staff. We realize that increasing our staff alone is not enough and therefore UTS will continue to invest in upgrading our staff through continuous training.

Investing in new technologies allowed us to offer new and improved services. With services like Fiber Internet Connection we continue to be ‘on top of the game’ and assure that our services offer the highest compatibility in the new digital era.

By digitalizing our services and improving our processes we increased customer satisfaction. During 2015 we conducted our customer research called: ‘Bo opinion ta konta’ to help us understand what you as our customer need and want. Methods like the one mentioned above are still ongoing, because we realize that our customers change; and so must our way of doing business.

Improving our approach towards customers wasn’t an easy task. It took lots of efforts of each and every UTS employee, especially our frontline staff. We realize that we still have a lot to learn and improve, but we celebrate the fact that our social media pages (Especially our Facebook page) has grown in ‘Likes’/ followers and engagement. They are a constant source of technical and technological information for our customers, but also a way for us to interact with our customers answering questions and or suggestions rapidly.
The general UTS e-mail address (info@uts.cw) process has also been brushed up to ensure that our customer satisfaction rate will increase.
Last but not least, by means of this article, we are also introducing our Blog called: ‘TECH SMART’. Through this Blog we strive to keep you up to date on a constant basis with valuable information, with the sole purpose to give you more options to receive the information that you are looking for.

In 2016 we aim for more of these notable achievements. We will ensure that all our achievements of 2015 will continue to be present in 2016 and will be improved when necessary. By means of hard work and dedication, we aim to accomplish our 2016 strategic plan in order to be the trendsetter as your mobile, fixed and internet provider in Curacao and our region.
We hope that we can continue enjoying your support in 2016.
Wishing you lots of positivism, determination and joy in the New Year.
And more importantly: Lots of UTS.

5 ways to improve your Wi-Fi signal


I’ve worked for quite some time as a helpdesk officer and one thing is for sure, when it comes to Wi-Fi troubleshooting, is that troubleshooting wireless routers seem like a baffling exercise.  This is only until you realize that there are really just two main factors to consider—coverage and speed.

Yes, you can have one without the other. For example; if you notice that online videos are slow to load or are constantly having to buffer before playing no matter how close you are to the wireless router, than your most probably having internet speed issues (considering that your PC is working properly). If your internet experience improves gradually as you come closer to your wireless router, then applying these 5 simple suggestions might help you fix the Wi-Fi coverage issues you are experiencing.

1.    The first thing you would definitely want to do is position your router out in an open space.
2.    You would also want to lift your router above the ground for a better signal penetration.
3.    You should keep your router as far away as you can from other electronic devices.
4.    Point the antennas in different directions
5.    Check your router signal and re-adjust if needed.

Follow these steps to improve your signal strength, and feel free to share this article and leave comments. We would love to hear from you if any of our suggestions was useful to you.

-    Neftali Girigoria    -

What to do if you lose your smartphone

Few things can make people completely freak out as losing their cellphone. In this modern age smartphones are used for so much more than just making phone calls. Just the thought of a stranger having access to all of your personal information, is unthinkable.

Follow these guidelines to possibly find your phone if you ever lose it:

1st method:

Check nearby locations
Start checking the accustomed places you usually leave your phone. For example woman bags, the place you usually charge your phone and other similar places. Check also under car seats or wherever you've been sitting that day, as phones easily slip from your bag or pocket under a seat.

Call your cellphone
Use a friend's cellphone or a landline to dial your phone. If your phone is nearby, you'll hear it and can retrieve it. Alternatively, perhaps someone will answer it and can tell you where it is.
Ask people around you and recall your previous steps.

Ask if anyone in your family or circle of friends has seen––or borrowed––your phone. It's worth asking, you never know!

Send a text to your lost phone
This will let anyone who might have access to your phone know that it is lost, or the SMS notification sound may help you find it if it’s nearby. The message could say; "Help! I lost this phone. If you find it please call 511-1111. Blessings will be instantly awarded!"

2nd method: Track it down by using modern apps (only applicable for smart phones)

This is an easier and faster way, but requires you to have subscribed to one of our data plans so that your phone could have access to the internet.

Use Find My iPhone to track your lost iPhone.
If you have an iPhone, use Apple’s Find My iPhone service or third-party apps such as GadgetTrak. To use Find My iPhone, you will need to access the service from the iCloud website, or another iDevice that you are logged in on. You can see the iPhone on a map, and you can lock or wipe it from your computer.

If you activate ‘Lost Mode’ on the lost iPhone, the device will be ‘Activation Locked’. This means that until someone enters the Apple ID and password that locked the phone, it cannot be used, even when the factory reset is performed. Activation Lock is enabled alongside Find My iPhone, and is enabled automatically on iOS 8.

Use the Android Device Manager to find a lost Android phone.
Visit google.com/android/devicemanager in any web browser. You will need to log in with your Google account. The Android Device Manager website is a service provided by Google that allows you to track your phone using Google Maps. You can also remotely wipe your phone’s data if you have the correct box ‘checked’ on your phone.

Use the Windows Phone website to find a lost Windows phone.
Windows Phone users can visit the ‘Find My Phone' section of the Windows Phone website (windowsphone.com). There you can track and remotely wipe your phone.
You will need to log in with your Microsoft account.

3rd Method:

Report it
Visit the nearest police station and report it. You might be lucky, somebody could have been kind enough to have handed it in!

Contact us
Visit the nearest UTS Store with a police report and your SIM PUK code.
Request to block your SIM or to make a SIM-swap. This will keep someone from making unauthorized calls with your SIM card.

Prepaid Users: Do not dispose of your PUK Code. This will help us verify that you are the owner of the lost SIM. (In case you don’t remember the PUK, we will offer other verification methods.)
Postpaid users: Have your ID at hand when you visit a UTS Store.
After office hours: Visit our UTS Security office located at Sta. Rosaweg 13 (situated in the UTS Directory Service building) to report your stolen phone and SIM as soon as possible to prevent others from using your call credit or using your postpaid account.

Learn from your experience ;-)

If you haven't already installed a helpful app to locate your lost phone, do so once you've found your phone or purchased a new one. Examine your password strength, and evaluate if you really need to have important accounts always ‘logged in’ on your phone. Keep a record of your phone’s IMEI number and SIM PUK code.

If you are a prepaid user, request your account to be created on your name. This way we can always use your ID to verify that you are the owner.
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