DARLISTON in Westmoreland is the latest community to benefit from free public Internet service under the Universal Service Fund's (USF) Community Wi-Fi Programme.
The secured hot spot was officially launched during a ceremony at the Darliston Transportation Centre on Wednesday.
The USF's Community Wi-Fi Programme is designed to provide Internet access to 189 underserved and unserved areas across Jamaica. More than 100 community hot spots have been launched so far.
Principal of St John's Primary and Infant School in Darliston, Kareen Malcolm expressed gratitude to the USF for installing the Wi-Fi hot spot, and pledged that the community will take care of the facility.
"This Internet [service] will be beneficial to the young and the old. Students will be better able to access online lessons, and information will be more readily available to the community," she said..
"We extend a big thank you to the Universal Service Fund for affording this community with the much-needed commodity, free of charge. The community of Darliston receives this service gratefully and will certainly use it in a positive and productive way," Malcolm pledged.
Chief executive officer of the USF Daniel Dawes, in his remarks, said the hot spot in Darliston is the third installed in Westmoreland Eastern.
The other communities in the constituency that have received the service are Bethel Town and Whitehouse.
The USF was scheduled to launch a hot spot at Whithorn in the parish on Thursday.
Director of projects at the USF, Kwan Wilson, in giving an overview of ongoing projects, said that the entity continues to connect schools, libraries and other public buildings.
He noted that the entity provides funding through E-Learning Jamaica for the provision of tablets for students and teachers.
"We also fund… the development of e-learning labs which are placed in high schools across Jamaica," he added.
Wilson said that under the Connect Jamaica Programme, the USF continues to bridge the information gap by providing high-speed Internet to the island's town centres.
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