Some 1200 residents of Kangaruma, Tassarene, and Isseneru in Region Seven are now accessing high-speed internet connectivity, the Department of Public Information (DPI) said in a press release on Monday.
According to the DPI release, this achievement was made possible after the Office of the Prime Minister, through the National Data Manage-ment Authority (NDMA), successfully installed the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite internet services in the three Middle Mazaruni communities.
DPI said that residents in these communities will now be able to browse the internet to access government services and attend online classes including persons who are pursuing their tertiary education remotely through the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE), University of Guyana (UG), and the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) scholarship programme.
Residents in these areas, DPI said, can also pursue careers in the medical fields, as the government is providing free online courses offered by US-based online course provider, Coursera Inc.
DPI said that the government, through the Office of the Prime Minister, has been working to equip information and communication technology (ICT) hubs with the LEO service. This project directly responds to the disparities in internet access between coastal and hinterland communities and will effectively bridge the digital divide. By 2024, the Office of the Prime Minister, through DPI, said it aims to deliver high-speed internet connectivity to over 250 hinterland, riverine and remote villages of Guyana. Already, over 170 communities are internet secured. DPI said this undertaking is part of the broader WiFiGY programme, which aims to expand public internet access across the nation.
