LIME gets Wireless Internet green light

Telecommunications provider LIME has been given the green light to begin supplying more than one hundred learning institutions around

St. Vincent and the Grenadines with wireless Internet.{{more}}

The deal was sealed when Sehon Marshall, Chairman of the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC), and General Manager of LIME Angus Steele signed an EC $5 million contract under the Universal Service Fund (USF) at a special ceremony on Tuesday, June 7, at the National Insurances Services conference room in Kingstown.

Under the agreement, LIME will install and maintain hardware and software and Internet connectivity at 107 schools.

An upbeat Angus Steele, addressing the gathering, said that winning the bid to provide the wireless and other capabilities was important to his company, as well as the other parties involved, as it supported his company’s broadband expansion strategy, through its Next Generation Network.

“It also supports government’s broadband support strategy of increasing the intellectual capacity of our people and towards making our nation an ICT center of excellence.”

Steele said that because of this project, this country is poised to leap ahead in the OECS in the area of Internet and communication technology.

NTRC Chairman Marshall, also speaking at the signing ceremony, said that the project falls in line with the government’s initiative of One Laptop Per Child and that the project and initiative must be used hand in hand for them to experience optimum success.

“But more than that, a number of persons within those same communities are now able to access Internet at those educational

institutions.”

“The Internet is a tool that must be recognized for its importance and significance in today’s world, and while like everything else, it has its disadvantages, it has numerous advantages that can be derived from those wise uses of the Internet.

Marshall said that he was certain that the project will be of benefit to all the persons to whom the service will be

available.

Also speaking at the ceremony were Dr. Jerrol Thompson, Director of Telecommunications and Special Projects in the Prime Minister’s Office, and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education Nicole Bonadie Baker, who all congratulated LIME on winning

the bid.

LIME was the successful bidder of the first phase of the Universal Service Fund, when in October last year they were

contracted to supply

software and hardware services to the country’s Learning Resources Centers and Golden Years Centres.