LLOYDS, St Thomas — In another major spend from its $31-billion ‘Digital Jamaica’ investment, Digicel allocated $70 million to switch on superfast LTE data and wireless broadband service to residents in Lloyds, Aelous Valley, Heartease, and surrounding areas in St Thomas recently.

The hilly terrain in these areas often proves itself a challenge to delivering reliable service, however, through collaboration with residents and the local authorities, Digicel was able to follow through on its promise of delivering award-winning speeds and coverage to more Jamaicans in the most remote parts of the country.

To welcome the newly improved service that boasts 10-times faster Internet speeds, Digicel executives feted residents in Lloyds Square. Digicel Jamaica CEO Jabbor Kayumov noted, “This is a major investment in creating equal access to high-speed Internet.” He continued, “We want our customers to know that we are listening and responding to their needs. And while the residents are thanking us for delivering First World connectivity to their communities, we thank them for their patience while our hard-working team of engineers put in the infrastructure to make this day a reality.”

The successful installation of the two new cell sites brings Digicel to 99 per cent population coverage for superfast LTE service. Besides mobile services, residents in Lloyds, Aelous Valley, Heartease and surrounding communities also signed up for high-speed, in-home Wi-Fi service.

Among them is Courtney Coley, who is involved in sales and product distribution. He welcomes the faster data speeds and coverage: “The service has been good, especially when I use the Internet, and now I’m even interested in home Internet.

“I can now use my phone from the comfort of my bed and I get to talk to my son in England, girlfriend, and friends!” exclaimed Knoxville Lee, a route taxi operator. Lee, a Digicel customer for over 10 years, believes that the service improvement goes a far way towards enabling the growth of businesses in the fledgling rural township.

Councillor for the Yallahs Division, John Lee noted, “For the kids, it is so much to actually know that they have Internet service direct to their homes, and now their online classes won’t be interrupted.”

He further noted that the improvements will give the communities and their environs a chance to explore digital opportunities for economic growth, which fast, reliable Internet service can provide.