KINGSTON, Jamaica – The community of Brown’s Hall in St Catherine is benefiting from free Wi-Fi, through the Universal Service Fund (USF) initiative to increase internet service across communities.

The service was officially commissioned on November 8 at a ceremony held at the Brown’s Hall Primary School, where members of Parliament for St Catherine West Central, Dr Christopher Tufton, described the development as a “true partnership”.

“It demonstrates the positive relationship between the people and the Government, in a tangible way, to empower an entire community. It means that you are now empowered as citizens of Brown’s Hall and the immediate environment, and as a primary school,” Dr Tufton said.

Several primary-school children in the area were presented with tablet computers by the USF, and the member of Parliament underscored that the communities are now able to access internet service without being charged personally.

“This you can use to be empowered because the devices and the access can be highly motivational, because when you see, you learn, and you are exposed, that is a very positive thing. This is a real and substantive partnership,” he told the audience.

The USF has completed 189 community Wi-Fi hotspots across the island, and by the end of the financial year the number will reach 316.

An agency of the Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport Ministry, the USF is also tasked with installing Community Access Points (CAPS) across the island.

CAPS are internet service facilities being established in collaboration with community organisations and funded by the agency to advance the Government’s Universal Service Obligation, ensuring that computers, associated equipment, and internet access are provided free of cost at the facilities to allow Jamaican residents to access the Internet.

-JIS