Vaz promises Internet for all by 2025

Minister of Technology Daryl Vaz has announced an ambitious plan to have all houses in Jamaica connected to the Internet in just over four years.

Stating that the Government will make access to the Internet a "public good", Vaz yesterday told Parliament that "the aim is to have every household, every community connected by 2025".

Internet penetration in Jamaica stood at 55 per cent in January 2020.

Vaz yesterday said that attainment of nationwide Internet penetration is tied to the establishment of a National Broadband Network, which is projected to cost US$237 million.

"The funding options are being explored but the country can ill-afford to delay or abandon this strategy," Vaz said.

National broadband strategy

He said that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is assisting with the development of a national broadband strategy, which will support the implementation of the National Broadband Initiative. Additionally, businessman Michael Lee-Chin has been appointed to chair a recently formed national broadband task force to ensure that the interaction with the IDB and other stakeholders remains targeted and strategic.

"Given the socio-economic parameters of the country, last mile deployment must have a social focus that will see connectivity to main sites such as schools, health centres, community centres, postal points, local municipalities and police stations across the country. This expansion will see significant expansion in coverage of broadband not just to these institutions but directly to the people of Jamaica," Vaz said.

"This deployment of broadband into the nooks and crannies of Jamaica - deep rural, inner cities, outer cities, urban centres, rural towns - will be the single most impactful intervention to eliminate the digital divide that now exists in our country," he added.