A new Digicel cell tower was commissioned on Saturday in Coomacka, Region 10 by Minister of Public Telecommunications Catherine Hughes, Chief Executive Officer of Digicel Gregory Dean, Chairman of the community Dexter Harding and other officials.
A statement from the Department of Public Information (DPI) said the tower is expected to serve Coomacka and also the surrounding communities.
Hughes delivering the feature address described the establishment of the cell tower as a step in the right direction by Digicel. The Minister noted that “Digicel did not go to all these lengths just to bring you cell phone service, you will get a whole package. Great cell phone reception and most of all, the possibility of strong reliable internet connectivity.”
Internet connectivity, Hughes noted, is where the Ministry of Public Telecommunications will play its role.
The Minister stated that to date, there is internet connectivity in 92 secondary schools and 56 ICT Hubs have been commissioned across the country.
She also revealed that very soon primary schools will also be connected to the internet. The partnership with Digicel and other such companies the Minister said, allows the government to be able to provide internet connectivity to more and more communities across the country.
“Now we can reasonably say that we are ready to work hand in hand with the residents of Coomacka and Old England and we are ready now to set up an ICT Hub that will service your community, an ICT Hub that will provide free internet access,” she said, according to DPI.
According to the residents, the request for a tower was made a year ago, since the community receives little or no cell signal.
Sybil Edmundson who has been living in the community all her life said “this is really and truly a blessing to Coomacka. For the years we have been on and off with signal, not getting signal and in case of emergency, no phone calls to get out to call the ambulance. This really is a blessing to us and we are grateful.”
