STATEMENT TO PARLIAMENT: UPDATE ON THE NATIONAL BROADBAND PLAN

1st October 2021 in News

Madam Speaker,

Thank you for affording me this opportunity to provide an update to this Honourable House on the agenda to build a national broadband infrastructure to achieve the goal of universal access to the internet by 2030.

This Honourable House will recall that within that broader national framework is the implementation of a 100 Day Plan – so called because it was developed and presented to the Parliament within the first 100 days of my ministerial appointment to the portfolio of Science, Energy and Technology.

Let me remind the Parliament that this 100 Day Plan is the ICT COVID-19 response, while the national agenda for broadband will build on the 100-Day Plan and will involve much more extensive work to include policies, legislation, regulations and significant infrastructural investments by both government and the private sector.

This House will recall details about both the 100 Day Plan and the longer term National Broadband Initiative in my December 15, 2020 presentation and my Sectoral Presentation on May 18, 2021.

Madam Speaker, today I will:

Provide an update on the three initiatives that I announced in my December 2020 presentation, the:
1. Digital Television Network
1. Expansion of the Government fibre optic cable and microwave infrastructure; and
1. Expansion of Public Wi-Fi hotspots;

Update the Parliament on what I termed as the COVID-19 Response in my December Presentation which includes the prioritization of ‘the communication needs of schools”; and

Present a status report on the commitment that I made in my Sectoral Presentation in mid-May of this year regarding the provision of technological solutions such as the Tablets in Schools Roll-Out Project, Tablets for Teachers Programme and Own Your Own Device Programme;

I will also, Madam Speaker,

Present an update on the longer term National Broadband Initiative;

Provide information on the financing of the various components of the 100 Day Plan 1, Phase 1; and

Present, given the magnitude of what is required to be done and the multi-sector, multi-agency approach that is necessary, information about the management of the effort and the partners that are involved.

Status on three initiatives announced in December

Initiative # I: The Digital Television Network

The intention of this initiative was to provide the Public Broadcasting Corporation of Jamaica (PBCJ) with the capacity to broadcast digitally over the air using digital television technology. The primary aim of this initiative was to enable PBCJ to transmit over the air multiple channels of educational content on a 24/7 basis to allow students without internet access to be able to access educational content via their television, even if the television is not a smart TV.

Given the complexity of implementing a Free to Air Digital Television system before the full implementation of the Digital Switch Over and supporting standards and regulations, the PBCJ Free to Air Digital Television capacity proposal will now be executed as part of the longer term National Broadband Initiative.

However, in the interim, the Universal Service Fund (USF) has provided funding support of more than Twenty Million Dollars ($20M) to the PBCJ to increase the number of playout channels that will be available on subscriber cable television networks, and particularly those operating in rural communities. This in turn means that students living in rural communities with cable television subscriptions will have access to more educational content through their cable service.

Initiative # II: Expanding the Government Fibre Optic Cable and Microwave Infrastructure

The second initiative I spoke of, involved expanding the Government owned fibre optic and microwave communication infrastructure outside of the Kingston Metropolitan Area to all parishes. Madam Speaker, I think it is important to emphasize for this Honourable House that what we are trying to achieve by this initiative is no mean feat.

Extending the Government’s fibre optic backbone to all parishes

A fibre optic cable gap analysis was done to identify areas across the country where there is currently little or no access to private dark fibre strands, which the government could seek to leverage. The analysis indicates that roughly two hundred thousand (200,000) meters of new fibre optic cables must be installed between the parishes of St James and Portland along the North Coast Highway. Another one hundred thousand (100,000) meters must be installed along sections of the South Coast to repair/replace damaged cables. And, an additional three hundred thousand (300,000) meters of new fibre optic cables must be installed from each Municipal Corporation into the interior of each parish to facilitate connections to select government entities such as public educational institutions.

At present, the government, with the assistance from the private sector has expanded its fibre optic footprint to provide connectivity to the parishes of St. Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, Westmoreland, St. James, St Thomas and St. Ann.

We have a commitment from a private Internet Service Provider (ISP) that it will provide fibre connectivity to the parishes of Trelawny and Hanover before the end of October. The parishes of St. Mary and Portland will be connected when the fibre optic cables are installed along the North Coast Highway.

I have met with the team at the National Works Agency and have received assurance that the installation of the fibre optic cables along the North Coast Highway will be fast tracked; I am advised that the tenders for these works are being developed with a view that these cables will be in place by December 2021.

Simultaneous installation of Microwave and fibre optic communication systems

And, while we are working to extend the fibre optic infrastructure, simultaneous efforts to install the microwave backbone is taking place. Contracts for the main microwave backbone radios are to be awarded by end of this month.

The Microwave network will provide backup connectivity in the event the fibre optic cables are damaged. The microwave network will also enable fixed wireless connectivity to remote sites such as schools; and has a capacity of 1.5 Gigabit with the ability to scale as needed.

Madam Speaker, I just want to indicate to this Honourable House that one of the biggest risks that we now face to the expansion of the fibre optic and microwave backbone, is the disruption to the international supply chain because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has resulted in significant delays in the delivery of accessories and equipment, including routers, which are critical to the execution of the work.

So that when we are talking about timelines for completion we are now required to factor in significant delays which affect not only the government’s activities but also those of private sector contractors and partners who are working alongside us.

Notwithstanding, we have made commendable strides; we have:

Expanded the connectivity between rural cable operators and PBCJ to facilitate the transmission of 24/7 educational content to students living in rural communities served by the rural cable operators. We had 18 of 44 rural cable operators on board at the time of the presentation in December. Since then, we have added six more, serving an estimated three thousand (3,000) households.

Expanded fibre optic cable and microwave connectivity to Municipal Corporations and Parish Courts. So far we have connected the Municipal Corporations and Parish Courts of the St. Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland Municipal Corporations and Parish Courts by fibre. We have provided microwave connectivity to all Parish Courts to provide redundant connections in the event of cable damage. The Municipal Corporations will be similarly connected to the microwave backbone, when the microwave radios are installed.

Initiative # III: Expanding Public Wi-Fi Hotspots

Madam Speaker, when I announced this initiative back in December, I said that government was unable to provide access to the internet to all homes and that this community Wi-Fi Hotspot initiative would allow for easy access for residents in these communities. This community component of the public Wi-Fi intervention complements the original effort of the USF to provide free Wi-Fi at major sites.

Recall, Madam Speaker, that I asked my colleague Members of Parliament to provide a list of three locations within their constituencies that they believe should have public Wi-Fi Hotspots. This initiative is being spearheaded by the USF in conjunction with eGov Jamaica Limited (eGov) and the National Works Agency (NWA). All one hundred and eight nine (189) communities have been selected based on the submissions of MPs.

We are proceeding with the implementation in four phases. Addendum 1 has a list of communities and the status under each phase. Phase one consists of 28 communities. All 28 sites will be fully deployed by the end of September. Phase two consists of 32 communities which are expected to be fully deployed at the end of January 2022. Phase three, involving 60 communities, is at the procurement stage and full deployment is projected for the end of the fiscal year; while phase four with the 69 remaining communities is at the site inspection stage with full deployment expected by the end of the first quarter of 2022/2023.

Madam Speaker, allow me to name the communities in phase one:

No	Project Name	Constituency	Member of Parliament	Status
1	Jacques Road	South Eastern, St. Andrew	Robinson, Julian	Completed and online
2	Parade Gardens Community Centre	Kingston, Central	Williams, Donovan	Completed and online
3	Mile Gully Town Centre	Manchester, North Western	Phillips, Mikael	Completed and online
4	Chen young Community Park	Clarendon, South Western	Cousins, Lothian	Completed and online
5	Islington (Hill Side Primary and Infant)	St. Mary, Central	Guy, Dr. Morais	Completed and online
6	Claremont Branch Library	St. Ann, South Eastern	Hannah, Lisa	Completed and online
7	Bamboo Primary	St. Ann North Western	Lee, Krystal	Completed and online
8	Moneague Branch Library	St. Ann, South Eastern	Hannah, Lisa	Completed and online
9	McIntyre Community Centre	Kingston East & Port Royal	Paulwell, Phillip	Infrastructure in place. Awaiting JPS energization and testing
10	Brooke Avenue	St. Andrew, Western	Hylton, Anthony	Infrastructure in place, Awaiting JPS energization and testing
11	Kellits Square	Clarendon, North	Sibblies, Dwight	Fibre terminated at location. Awaiting installation, and energization (GEI & JPS approvals) of enclosure to complete and conduct testing
12	Lluidas Vale	St. Catherine, North Western	Graham, Hugh	Fibre terminated at location. Installation and Inspection were conducted
13	Fellowship Site	Portland, Eastern	Vaz, Ann-Marie	Fibre terminated at location. Awaiting installation, and energization (GEI & JPS approvals) of enclosure to complete and conduct testing
14	Hope Bay	Portland, Western	Vaz, Daryl	Fibre terminated at location. Awaiting installation, and energization (GEI & JPS approvals) of enclosure to complete and conduct testing
15	Windsor Properties	St. Ann, North Eastern	Smith, Marsha	Fibre terminated at location. Awaiting installation, and energization (GEI & JPS approvals) of enclosure to complete and conduct testing
16	Bombay District	Central Manchester	Crawford, Rhoda Moy	Fibre terminated at location. Awaiting installation, and energization (GEI & JPS approvals) of enclosure to complete and conduct testing
17	Lionel Town	Clarendon, South Eastern	Charles Jr., Pearnel	Fibre terminated at location. Awaiting installation, and energization (GEI & JPS approvals) of enclosure to complete and conduct testing
18	Balaclava Town Centre	St. Elizabeth, North East	Sloley, Delroy	Fibre terminated at location. Awaiting installation, and energization (GEI & JPS approvals) of enclosure to complete and conduct testing
19	Alligator Pond	Manchester, Southern	Chin, Robert	Fibre terminated at location. Awaiting installation and energization (GEI & JPS approvals) of enclosure to complete and conduct testing
20	Kellits Square	Clarendon, North	Sibblies, Dwight	Fibre terminated at location. Awaiting installation, and energization (GEI & JPS approvals) of enclosure to complete and conduct testing
21	Grange Hill	Westmoreland, Western	Wilson, Morland	Fibre terminated at location, awaiting installation, and energization (GEI & JPS approvals) of enclosure to complete and conduct testing
22	Cookes Street	Westmoreland, Central	Wright, George	Fibre terminated at location, awaiting installation, and energization (GEI & JPS approvals) of enclosure to complete and conduct testing
23	Seaforth	Eastern, St. Thomas	Charles, Dr. Michelle	Fibre terminated at location. Installation is being done today
24	Duckenfield	Western, St. Thomas	Robertson, James	Fibre terminated at location. Installation is being done today.
25	Portmore Garden – Phase 2	St. Catherine, South Eastern	Miller, Robert	Pending fibre infrastructure
26	Dela Vega – Hill Top	St. Catherine, Eastern	Daley, Denise	Pending Fibre infrastructure
27	Facey District	St. Catherine, North Eastern	Morrison, Kerensia	Pending fibre infrastructure
28	Newlands	St. Catherine, East Central	Terrelonge, Alando	Pending fibre infrastructure

Madam Speaker, I did indicate as well in that December presentation, the intention to increase the number of public Wi-Fi-Hotspots under the original programme. Seven (7) additional sites will be established in Falmouth, Savanna-La-Mar, Morant Bay, Lucea, Spanish Town, Port Maria and Black River by the end of this Financial Year. Contracts have been awarded for three sites and procurement initiated for the remaining four sites. Jamaica will have a total of twenty (20) public Wi-Fi sites across the country by March 31, 2022.

Update on COVID-19 Response – Connection to Schools

Madam Speaker, at the heart of the COVID-19 response is connectivity to our schools. This is the proverbial elephant in the room. Let me say at the outset that the last step in this effort which is the actual connection of schools is not where I would have liked it to be, but significant amount of work has been done to put in the infrastructure to allow for connectivity.

From what I outlined earlier, the harsh reality is that time has caught up with us because of our collective failure to make sustained and strategic investments in the country’s fibre optic cable infrastructure that would have allowed us to meet the demand of a digitally enabled school system, with or without COVID-19.

Let me share with this Honorable House our recent assessment of public school internet service to highlight the internet service gaps that exist.

Of the 980 Public Schools, more than three hundred and ninety-nine (399) have poor internet service and two hundred and twenty (220) are without access to internet service for varying reasons chief among them is the lack of communication infrastructure in the communities where the schools are located. This means that over six hundred public schools or three- quarters (3/4) of our student population, estimated to be more than six hundred thousand (600,000) students, are impacted by poor quality or no internet service.

Three-tier Connectivity Plan for Schools

We have therefore developed a three -tier connectivity plan for public schools (with forty-eight (48) Places of Safety also included in the plan). We are no longer going to allow each connected school to negotiate individually with service providers. Instead, schools are grouped based on their enrolment and bandwidth requirements and service providers are required to create a private data network for each group.

Each group of schools will be connected to the government’s backbone over which they will get access to the internet and data services. This type of network service gives the Government the ability to share a single source of internet to the various groups of schools and eliminates the need to manage over nine hundred (900) individual internet service contracts; providing instead for a single internet service contract for all schools.

Additionally, it will allow the Government the ability to monitor the performance of each school internet service in real time. Most importantly, the Government will have the ability to centrally filter content to make sure that students are not exposed to illicit and inappropriate material.

Madam Speaker, let me briefly describe the three tiers of the school connectivity plan.

Tier 1 involves public schools with enrolment between 100 to 400 students and requiring 10 to 40 Megabits per second of bandwidth. A tender is currently out for local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to provide Wide Area Network service (fibre/microwave) for these schools and we are almost at the closing period for bids. Approximately, six hundred and sixty-one (661) schools are a part of this tender. The projection is for implementation to be completed by the end of this school term. Approximately sixty-six thousand, seven hundred and thirty-five (66,735) students stand to benefit, if all schools are awarded.

Tier 2 covers approximately schools located in rural and deep rural communities with enrolment of up to 400 students requiring 10 to 40 Mbps. These schools are located in communities that lack fibre or microwave communication infrastructure. The satellite internet service provider is required to provide a private network on which the various groups of schools will access their internet service. A Web Portal will also be provided to allow the Government to monitor the performance of their internet service in real time.

Madam Speaker, the bids for the Satellite Service tender will close in a few days. Implementation is expected by the end of this school term. Approximately four hundred and eighty (480) public educational institutions are a part of this tender and more than fifty-four thousand three hundred and ninety-five (54,395) students are intended to benefit.

Tier 3 schools are those with enrolment between 500 and 2000 students and require bandwidth of 50 to 400Mbps. These schools experience some of the greatest difficulties in accessing quality internet service and represent the largest segment of the student population. Some of these schools are paying thousands of US dollars per month with the help of alumni to ensure reliable access to the internet; as bandwidth usage increase for these schools increases on average between 50 to 100% each year.

Madam Speaker, these schools will now be connected directly to the government’s backbone. These connections will enable upload and down load speeds of 1 Gigabit providing the schools with additional capacity for many years to come.

Madam Speaker, we have identified two hundred and forty-four (244) of these schools across the fourteen (14) parishes. These schools have a combined student population of approximately two hundred and seventy-seven thousand three hundred and ninety-one (277,391) students.

Parish	Top Priority	Enrolment	Bandwidth Range	School with Highest Bandwidth
Kingston / St. Andrew	67	80909	101-361	Excelsior
St. Catherine	55	56544	112 -360	Old Harbour
Clarendon	23	28411	100-317	Vere Technical High
Manchester	15	17120	111-271	Manchester High
St. Elizabeth	12	13651	101-266	St. Elizabeth Technical
Westmoreland	13	15256	102 – 271	Petersfield High
Hanover	6	6790	104-273	Rusea’s High
St. James	12	12631	111-287	St. James High
Trelawny	6	6320	105-213	Muschett High
St. Ann’s	13	16530	103 -337	Ocho Rios High
St. Mary	9	9176	121-251	St. Mary High
Portland	6	6602	100-256	Port Antonio High
St. Thomas	7	7451	102-205	St. Thomas Technical High
Total	244	277391

Once connected, these schools will no longer be required to pay a monthly recurring cost for their internet service.

Madam Speaker, we have completed fibre connectivity to forty-five (45) of these high bandwidth schools. Of the forty-five (45) schools, twenty-one (21) are accessing the Internet service at the required bandwidth. The remaining twenty-four (24) schools and are awaiting the installation of equipment to activate the fibre cables.

We anticipate that these twenty-four (24) schools will be able to have internet access by the middle of October; with an additional forty (40) more schools to be added by the end of November.

The NWA is currently procuring qualified fibre optic cable contractors to aid in the installation of fibre optic cables to these high bandwidth schools in each parish. We expect to see an acceleration of fibre connectivity once the procurement is finalised.

Madam Speaker, I am therefore putting the education sector on alert that we are approaching the end of important procurement activities that will allow the pace of implementation to move very quickly.

Of note, Madam Speaker, as well, is that the connection of these high bandwidth schools will increase the penetration of fibre optic cables into many communities that have no access to the internet. These schools will therefore serve as anchor institutions to enable local ISPs to access spare fibre strands to expand their services to unserved and underserved communities.

Madam Speaker, I just want to point out, because I do not want any to accuse me of not knowing my mathematics, the numbers I mentioned above add up to more than the nine hundred and eighty (980) schools and forty eight (48) Places of Safety, that I mentioned.

The reason Madam Speaker, is that while we have designed our connectivity plan in tiers, timing is a very big factor and so while there are some schools that can be connected via fibre/microwave, because of the time it may take to get fibre/microwave to those locations, satellite connectivity may prove to be a faster option and so we have built in some overlap which the procurement process will address to ensure that we will have our schools connected in the fastest possible time with the best infrastructure that allows us to address the education sector’s immediate needs.

Sectoral Presentation Commitments – Building a Brighter Future

Madam Speaker, I now turn briefly to address a commitment I made in my Sectoral Presentation.

Provision of Technological Solutions

Madam Speaker, the Government has committed continued support to the education sector for the provision of devices to teachers and students. By way of reminder:

Forty thousand tablets (40,000) were procured at a cost of nine hundred and eighty-two million dollars ($982M) and distributed to students in the Programme for Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) under the Tablets in Schools Roll-Out Project.

Twenty-six thousand (26,000) tablets were procured at a cost of eight hundred and nine million dollars (809M) for teachers in public schools, under the Tablets for Teachers Programme.

Fifteen thousand (15,000) laptops were procured at a cost of one billion three hundred million dollars (1.3 billion) for students in PATH Programme.

Seven hundred and twenty million dollars (720M) was earmarked for the Own Your Own Device to assist thirty-six thousand (36,000) students to purchase a device. This initiative is continuing in this financial year.

Madam Speaker, the expenditure across these initiatives amounted to more than three billion and three million dollars (3.03B) in the last fiscal year.

Madam Speaker,

As I indicated in my Sectoral Presentation, these initiatives will continue in this financial year.

The procurement is at an advanced stage for twenty-five thousand (25,000) tablets for grades 1-3 students on PATH at a cost of more than seven hundred million dollars ($700M);

The Own Your Own Device initiative has seen approximately twenty-five thousand (25,000) students benefiting so far in this fiscal year valued at approximately seven hundred and thirty million dollars ($730M);

The three hundred and thirty million dollars ($330M) earmarked by the Ministry of Finance & the Public Service (through the Constituency Development Fund) will provide some seven thousand five hundred (7,500) devices to approximately one hundred (100) students in each constituency during this school term; and

Five thousand (5,000) laptops will be procured for teachers at a cost of four hundred and fifty million dollars ($450M).

Madam Speaker, we expect to put fifty-five thousand (55,000) devices into the hands of students and teachers in this fiscal year at a cost of approximately two billion three hundred and four million dollars ($2.304B).

These initiatives require significant procurement which must be carried out in keeping with the Public Procurement Act.

National Broadband Initiative Update

Madam Speaker, this Honorable House will recall that I announced my intention in my Sectoral Presentation to request of the Cabinet and Parliament to designate the National Broadband Initiative as a national development project and that the procurement is to be treated as a priority.

Madam Speaker, this is still the intention.

However, we are working to develop not only a national broadband network but a comprehensive National Broadband Strategy, which looks at all the factors that will support the viability of the network, once implemented, and the use of same by all segments of the population.

Last year, the National Broadband Task Force and the Ministry, with keen support from our international development partner, the Inter-American Development Bank, identified the key inputs/elements required to support not only the implementation of the Strategy but, also, the actual broadband network.

Since May of this year, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has come on board to help us to complete our assessment of the best way to expand, finance, operate and maintain the network itself. So far, stakeholder consultations have been held with regulators; government entities; and private sector telecommunications and utility providers.

From these consultations, along with other data we have provided, we expect that the IFC will be able to provide its recommendation on the best option to ensure that we will have a sustainable, island wide, open access network.

In this regard, later this week technical officers from my Ministry, the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service; Regulatory Authorities; as well as representatives from the National Broadband Task Force will be having preliminary discussions with the IFC team on these options and it is expected that by the end of the year, we will have a complete assessment, which will help us to chart the way forward.

Additionally, our partners from the European Union have come on board and will be providing us with a Consultant to assist us in putting together the other necessary elements of the broadband strategy.

The goal, Madam Speaker, remains to have a truly digital society by 2030.

Financing of the Initiative

As I said in my Sectoral Presentation quoting a former Prime Minister, “it takes cash to care”. Recall Madam Speaker that I indicated to the Parliament that 100 Day Plan would be fully funded by the Government of Jamaica. It is a coordinated effort by all segments of the government.

Name of MDA	Funding $
Ministry of Finance and the Public Service (Consolidated Fund)	1.8B (broadband infrastructure, PBCJ expansion of channel and public Wi-Fi Hotspots)
Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology (and its Agencies)	844 M (devices for students and teachers and microwave backbone upgrade)
Ministry of Education, Youth and Information	450M (Tablets for Teachers) 750M (Own Your Own Device)
Ministry of Finance & the Public Service (CDF)	330M
Ministry of Justice	27 M
Other Ministries	5 M (each)

Management and Partners

Madam Speaker, at the outset of this presentation I mentioned that the work to expand the national fibre optic and microwave infrastructure, connect our schools and select public entities and to work towards the broader goal of universal access requires significant collaboration and cooperation across sectors and ministries, departments and agencies with both technical, strategic and financial advice.

Let me therefore commend the:

Members of the National Broadband Task Force, led by the Hon. Michael Lee Chin
Infrastructure sub-committee of the National ICT Advisory Council, led by Mr. Keith Duncan
Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, led by my colleague Minister, Fayval Williams, whose Ministry also plays a critical part in some of the initiatives I have discussed here today
Ministry of Finance and the Public Service
Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation
NWA
eGov
USF
eLearning Jamaica Company Limited
Office of Utilities Regulation
Spectrum Management Authority; and
My Ministry, the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology

for the effort in taking us to where we are. Let us not underestimate the magnitude of the work that is to be done and the challenges that have been presented in carrying out this work in a pandemic.

Madam Speaker,

The Government of Jamaica, cannot, working on its own, achieve universal access. Strategic partnerships with the private sector and development partners are indispensable. Let me therefore thank the players operating within the private ISP network space for agreeing to the integration of the government’s network, with their own and in the manner in which we have designed our various initiatives. Two of the three largest ISP networks have been successfully integrated.

I wish to also thank the many rural cable operators for partnering with PBCJ to provide educational content to students in rural Jamaica. I also acknowledge the operators of the highways for allowing access to their dark fibre which was critical for the expansion of the broadband backbone.

Madam Speaker,

We also appreciate the support afforded to us by the Inter-American Development Bank and more lately the work of the IFC which I mentioned earlier.

Conclusion

Madam Speaker,

In concluding, I want to invite my colleagues to contemplate the strategic implications of what this fundamental shift to universal access to the internet will mean for the country but, also specifically, what it means for the education sector and for education outcomes.

Let us understand this: no amount of increase in teacher contact session will result in the recovery of lost time attributed to COVID-19. We must chart a different path.

Madam Speaker, with these initiatives, therefore: