Digital Access To Be Increased

Expansion of the GovNet infrastructure will continue this fiscal year, says Minister of Science, Energy and Technology, Hon. Daryl Vaz.

Making his contribution to the 2022/23 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on May 10, Mr. Vaz said the expansion and buildout supports the Government’s drive to increase digital access.

He pointed out that eGov and the National Works Agency have been spearheading the buildout and expansion of the GovNet infrastructure.

Mr. Vaz added that this is being done with funding support from the Universal Service Fund (USF) and the Spectrum Management Authority (SMA).

“In this regard, eGov has developed the specification for the core networking equipment. The procurement of said equipment, through the IDB, is near completion,” he shared.

He said that the Ministry anticipates the full delivery of the equipment in August 2022, having experienced delays due to supply chain and logistics issues brought on by the (COVID-19) pandemic.

Additionally, he noted that the Government of Jamaica sites earmarked for the hosting of equipment, as per the GovNet design, is 95 per cent complete.

Meanwhile, the Minister said that in the 2022/2023 financial year, eGov will focus on the further advancement of the GovNet infrastructure.

This will be done through the buildout of the fibre network in the Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA); the buildout of the network core by receiving, installing and configuring the networking equipment; the laying of the fibre cables across the KMA; and the connecting of the 50 entities on to the network.