MINISTER of Industry, Commerce, Science and Technology, Phillip Paulwell, has called for greater internet use among Jamaicans, noting that he was disappointed at the low level of subscribers.

"I must say as minister this is my area of disappointment - the level of internet usage in Jamaica, and the number of subscribers. We need to get this moving rapidly," he stated.

Minister Paulwell, who was speaking on Thursday at the opening of a two-day Internet Service Providers (ISP) workshop themed: 'Strategies for Operating a Competitive ISP at the Courtleigh Hotel in Kingston, pointed out that Jamaica could not claim to be a member of a knowledge-based society if its internet subscription was 10 per cent and below.

"It is not going to happen," he emphasised, adding that, "the penetration rate for internet access has remained behind those found in more dynamic markets".

He attributed the low figures to the "relatively low fixed line penetration, the absence of many alternatives and the high price of Internet access," noting that of the island's approximately 130,000 internet subscribers, only 10 per cent had high- speed access over wire and wireless facilities.

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