Golden Spring Wi-Fi hotspot theft won’t derail programme – USF boss
Published:Wednesday | March 16, 2022 | 12:08 AMAsha Wilks/Gleaner Writer
DESPITE THE theft of the community Wi-Fi hotspot in Golden Spring in February, the Universal Service Fund’s chief executive officer believes that the 120 hotspots erected out of a total of 189 targeted locations for access points to be deployed will not require security precautions.
On February 16, perpetrators made off with the equipment which was installed for the following day’s launch, in the West Rural constituency.
In a recent Gleaner interview during the Jones Town community Wi-Fi launch, CEO Daniel Dawes reaffirmed that the $7.5 million value equipment could not be used for any other reason than what the burglars had in mind.
He further stated that no security measures, such as placing tracking devices on the equipment, were necessary because the theft experienced in Golden Spring was seen as a one-off attack.
Dawes said the police are currently dealing with the matter which is expected to be resolved in short order.
“So far, to date, it is not a major problem, just that one incident,” he said, noting that this is why the police have been on board and involved in the initiative’s launch of community Wi-Fi hotspots islandwide.
The CEO also expressed that he is hopeful that this will be the only case of theft as the “community connect” project continues.
However, as the fiscal year comes to an end on March 31, 2022, giving way for the new financial year to commence on April 1, Dawes has raised concern that despite hard work and determination from the USF team, the project may not be completed in the set time frame.
This owing to areas like St James, Hanover and St Elizabeth that, since the start of programme launch last year, have not been in receipt of any of the three access points that should be implemented in each constituency.
“We are on the ground [and] we are trying to push out as much as we can,” said Dawes, who also lamented that the USF have had issues in the past with providers of the equipment and as a result have had to make alternative arrangements.
During the launch of Friday’s community Wi-Fi at the Jones Town Primary School, which benefited one of three areas in the St Andrew Southern constituency, Senior Superintendent Michael Phipps, who is the head of the Western Kingston Police Division, expressed that the deployment of the internet access was a “ray of hope”.
“What I am seeing here today is really a step in the right direction. I’m really really moved by it,” he said, expressing that the installation would benefit both the students and the wider community.
The superintendent also recalled the earlier trials that occurred after the pandemic struck the island in March 2020, when officers had to share their internet connection from a number of stations, including Admiral Town, Trench Town, and Denham Town, with children who were unable to attend online school.
He therefore wished for locals to use the service to empower themselves, but also hope that it would improve citizens’ communication skills with police officers in order to help reduce crime and violence in the neighbourhood.
“Access to Wi-Fi now is something that is very welcoming to these communities because oftentimes they tell you that hey don’t want to make personal contact but with the access to Wi-Fi, it means that there is a bridging of the gap,” he said.
“So, I’m hoping that the community at large will really use this opportunity to communicate more with us and to let us know what are the issues that lead to the crime and violence in communities within Kingston Western division,” he added.
not take place
Dawes expressed confidence in his address that, regardless of the theft in Golden Spring, the members of Jones Town would not engage in the same illegal act.
“My only request of the members of Jones Town: Please take care of the facility... I shall not forget we went over to Golden Grove ... and the Thursday we went to launch, somebody, some no-good somebody went and stole one of the access points. I know this experience will not take place in Jones Town,” he said.
In the near future, the USF reported that it will work with HEART TRUST/NSTA to ensure that internet facilities will be used for the training of young people in the respective communities, as well as collaborating with the United Nations Development Programme, which has agreed to help resurrect a number of community access points.