Internet para Todos – Red Nacional Internet 2.0 (Panama)
Panama
Panama's government-run free public Wi-Fi network, coordinated by AIG across ~36 public entities, deployed 1,320 access points nationwide from 2017 …
Good practice
Imported
★ 68
★ 96
★ 68
★ 48
Universal Service Fund Community Access Points & Public Wi-Fi Programme
Jamaica · Kingston · See the Jamaica profile · See the Kingston profile
Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 29% 88/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice
Jamaica's Universal Service Fund has built 300+ Community Access Points and 400+ public Wi-Fi hotspots across all 14 parish capitals, serving 150,000+ weekly users, despite recurring multi-billion-dollar shortfalls and criticism over resort-town rollout equity.
188
Community Access Points completed (2014)
400+
Public Wi-Fi hotspots (2025)
150,000+
Weekly Wi-Fi users (2025)
Details
- Promoter
- Universal Service Fund (USF) Jamaica
- Period
- 2005–present
- Keywords
- community access points, public Wi-Fi, rural connectivity, digital inclusion
Context
Jamaica's statutory levy-funded Universal Service Fund (USF), established in 2005, builds Community Access Points (public computer labs) and public Wi-Fi to extend internet access to underserved communities; by 2023 all 14 parish capitals had free public Wi-Fi.
Results
By September 2014, 188 CAPs had been completed (J$626M); by September 2025 over 400 hotspots served more than 150,000 users weekly, at an annual cost of roughly J$2.3 billion. The USF ran a J$2.8 billion deficit the prior fiscal year with a further J$2.08 billion shortfall projected for FY2025/26. No independent third-party evaluation was found, and Internet Society Jamaica has publicly flagged that expansion has prioritised tourist zones and that the network lacks child-safety filtering.
Implementation
Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.
Commonly funded by
National / regional programmes
Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.
Do you run this practice? Claim it — verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.
Data sources
Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.
- C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-07-03
- Universal Service Fund (USF) Jamaica — accessed 2026-07-03
- USF Jamaica official site — accessed 2026-07-03
- Jamaica Information Service: government investment in internet access — accessed 2026-07-03
- Jamaica Observer: USF to establish more Community Access Points — accessed 2026-07-03
- Jamaica Observer: USF targeting islandwide CAP upgrades (2025) — accessed 2026-07-03
- Jamaica Gleaner: Jamaica's costly bet on public Wi-Fi — accessed 2026-07-03
- Jamaica Gleaner: all parish capitals outfitted with free public Wi-Fi — accessed 2026-07-03
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