THE National Broadband Initiative which is expected to cost US$237 million for its execution as Government seeks to create universal Internet access is to be owned and managed by the private sector through a publicly listed special purpose vehicle (SPV), chair of the task force Michael Lee-Chin has divulged.

This way, he said, Jamaicans will be able to own a part of the infrastructure expected to fast-track economic recovery efforts, as Government moves to bounce back from the devastation caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Lee-Chin, billionaire businessman and chairman of Portland Holdings, was giving a breakdown of the plans to roll out the National Broadband Initiative at yesterday’s Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology press briefing at the ministry’s offices in St Andrew.

“My goal, my dream, my aspiration is to see every single Jamaican own a piece of the rock because only when you own can you create wealth. So, in terms of ownership, we will be striving to have the national broadband infrastructure owned by the private sector through a publicly listed SPV. We want it to be publicly traded so pension funds and every single Jamaican can own a part of the national broadband infrastructure,” said Lee-Chin.

The idea, he said, is to allow Jamaicans to control the capital investment needed to maintain the asset to the standard necessary to be globally competitive in a digital world.

“Every Jamaican will be able to share in the benefits and ownership of such a critical asset. This is a project that we have embarked on, and I am confident that with the implementation team that we have put together we’ll bring it home.

“It is our chance to make Jamaica a reference centre in the region and show the world that when we all move in the same direction, without losing sight of what is ahead on the horizon, we can do great things that will outlast us,” he insisted.

He said if the focus is not on Jamaicans, capital will not come to the country.

“Therefore, our development, our future will be stymied and we can’t afford that. So we’re depending on the incumbents to say, ‘Yes, we will put capital in Jamaica to make sure that Jamaica’s technology infrastructure is world-class and continues to be world-class.’ I don’t think that’s happening right now. So putting the infrastructure in a publicly traded company, owned by Jamaicans, means that we take control of how much money we spend [and] when we spend it,” he noted.

He said once the company has been established, its board of management will decide the direction in terms of 5G or 6G.

In the meantime, Technology Minister Daryl Vaz noted that this is the largest single investment Government will be making in terms of information and communication technology infrastructure in the country.

In a breakdown of the US$237-million price tag, he said it will cost US$20 to 35 million to bring connectivity to unserved and underserved areas.

This, he said, will contribute to the deployment of more than 1,500 kilometres of optical fibre as an immediate response in light of the pandemic.

Vaz said this aspect of the roll-out is to ensure that there is continuity of learning for the student population.

At the same time, Universal Service Fund (USF) is expected to provide $20 million for a second dedicated channel for PBCJ for 24/7 educational content.

The USF is also expected to make available the community access points to support technology in education and distance learning.

“The last mile deployment to community centres, police stations, health centres, local municipalities is estimated to cost between US$40 to US$100 million. More than 1,000 public locations will be connected. Coverage at these points would be between a low of 59 per cent for health centres to a high of 100 per cent for local municipalities. This deployment will have a social focus with the aim of connecting not just public institutions but Jamaicans everywhere.

“All of this will require a significant enabling environment to include cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection, a data strategy, policy, legislative and regulatory frameworks. Jamaica will need the tremendous support of the international community and will seek to leverage the knowledge, expertise and experience of our donor community to ensure that we are moving with speed and focus,” said Vaz.