100 Schools to be Connected to Wide Area Network

Another 100 schools are to be connected to the Government’s wide area network by August 2022 under the National Broadband Initiative which will see Jamaica achieving universal Internet access.

The schools are located in the Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA) and the parishes of St. Catherine, Clarendon and Manchester.

Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Hon. Daryl Vaz, who made the disclosure during his contribution to the 2022/23 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on May 10, informed that the remaining 241 schools will be connected by the end of the financial year.

“It is important for us to note that connecting schools in this manner opens up a new world of possibilities in the delivery of services in the education sector, making more seamless, activities such as central monitoring and management of closed-circuit television cameras on school campuses,” he said.

Mr. Vaz noted that connecting schools to the Government’s network will also allow for central monitoring and management of schools’ wi-fi systems; and reliable access to high bandwidth applications such as video conferences.

“Additionally, approximately 700 other educational institutions will have their services provided for by a commercial provider. Four hundred and forty-one of these schools are already in the process of having new services provisioned, courtesy of a successful procurement undertaken by the Ministry of Education and Youth,” he said.

In the meantime, Minister Vaz further informed that under the National Broadband Initiative, connection of Parish Courts and Municipal Corporations to the Government’s network via fibre is to be completed during the financial year.

Additionally, the development of a National Broadband Strategy is to be accelerated; and following the completion of due diligence, the procurement process regarding the National Broadband Network is to commence by the end of the financial year.

The National Broadband Initiative, which is expected to be implemented at a cost of US$237 million, aims to have every household and every community connected to the Internet by 2025.

The specific objectives of the initiative are to achieve universal access and boost adoption and usage of the Internet; improve quality and coverage of key services, such as health and education and, more broadly, public services; guarantee affordability; promote entrepreneurship and local content creation; create new business models; boost Information and Communications Technology (ICT) exports and increase competitiveness.