RESIDENTS of Liguanea and its environs, in St Andrew, now have improved Internet access at the Liguanea Post Office, where the service and other related activities have been upgraded at a cost of over $200,000 by the LIME Foundation.

The upgrading entailed the provision of additional computers and software, and network accessories; a printer; and furniture; as well as general refurbishment of the Internet café.

Users of the facility are now better able to surf the Internet, and send and receive e-mails; as well as copy, scan, photocopy, and print documents. A key feature of the provisions will be significantly lower user rates for senior citizens.

The undertaking resulted from a renewal of the public/private partnership between telecommunications provider LIME and the Postal Corporation of Jamaica.

Speaking at the facility’s official opening on World Postal Day last Thursday, Science, Technology, Energy, and Mining Minister Phillip Paulwell described the venture as a “significant investment”.

“It is good when you can come into a post office and…with the click of a mouse, instead of sending a registered mail, you send an e-mail to (your) friends and family wherever they are, and wait for an instant response. We believe that access to data services and the Internet are of paramount importance,” he stated.

For his part, Postal Corporation of Jamaica Board Chairman Lance Hylton said that the café’s reopening is one of the strategies being undertaken to expand the agency’s services.

“Now more Jamaicans will have access to shop online and have their items delivered by the post. For small business persons and the self-employed, they can easily use these services to support their own economic activities,” he said.

Chief Executive Officer of LIME Garfield Sinclair noted that the Liguanea Post Office project forms part of the company’s mission to deliver 100 per cent Internet connectivity to Jamaicans, within the shortest time possible.

He said that approximately $11 billion is currently being spent under the firm’s Mobile Network Upgrade and Expansion Programme, and Broadband Expansion Project, to achieve this target.

“Small but effective projects, like the Ligunea Post Office ‘Link’, are part of that bold mission. The Link will help to close the smaller gaps that will complete the overall connectivity picture. Our vision is to establish increased touch-points for children and adults who are still not able to access the Internet with relative ease,” he pointed out.

Sinclair said that the Liguanea Post Office café is the third Link facility that the LIME Foundation had opened over the past 12 months, adding that two others are scheduled to be opened soon.

State Minister for Science, Technology, Energy, and Mining and Member of Parliament for South East Andrew, where the facility is located, Julian Robinson, noted that with significantly lower rates and benefits to seniors, the post office will become an attractive option for them and other persons to use.