FLOW Says Additional 175 Communities Connected To Fast Fibre Network

Stephen Price
General Manager and Vice President

Press Release From FLOW 

Kingston, Jamaica: September 11, 2021 - As work from home continues and online learning resumes, communications and entertainment provider Flow is reporting that it has connected an additional 175 communities to its fibre fast network since January 2021. These communities are in addition to the over 250 which received the company’s fibre-fast service in 2020. Residents and learning institutions in these communities can now access high-speed internet and sophisticated cable TV services as Flow continues its aggressive fibre network build out across the country.

Stephen Price, Flow’s General Manager and Vice President stated, “We continue to invest to connect even more communities across Jamaica. Since January 2020, we’ve connected over 420 communities to our fibre network which means that more than 90,000 homes can now access the internet via our network. We are doing our part, ensuring that our students and teachers can have a better online classroom experience and that employees are able to maintain their productivity while working from home. It also means that all institutions in these areas can now apply for our fibre-fast service which will deliver a faster and more reliable experience.”

Reflecting on the landscape across the country as it relates to access to fixed connectivity, Price also underscored Flow’s role in connecting the unserved and underserved. “We are focused on nation building which means the digital inclusion of all Jamaicans regardless of their community. As such, seventy-three of the communities connected this year are outside of the Kingston/St. Andrew/ St. Catherine region. For areas where we do not yet provide service, we’ve added additional LTE mobile sites to support connectivity. We recognize, however, that the best experience is on the fibre network and so, as the only provider investing in deploying fixed connectivity into every community across the country, we are committed to adding more communities to our network annually.”

Flow is also demonstrating its commitment as a corporate citizen and is supporting hundreds of schools and students via its Foundation. Under its Internet in Schools Programme, the Foundation upgraded the free broadband service that it provides to over 250 schools. These schools were migrated to the best technology and upgraded to the fastest speeds available to help with the online teaching experience.

Eric McLean, Principal of Mountainside Primary School confirmed the enhanced connectivity that his school is experiencing and stated, "The Internet service is much more stable than before and faster. I can now do my Zoom and Google Meet Sessions without the service dropping."

This sentiment was echoed by Dahlia Thompson, Principal of Galina Primary School in Gordon Town, St. Andrew. "Internet connectivity is much better, and all my teachers are now able to access the Internet. We are most grateful for the upgrade," she said.

The Foundation also donated over 300 tablets to students across the country, in partnership with various non-governmental organisations, to help students access online learning.

Flow is continuing its network expansion programme and will add even more communities to its fibre network as well as LTE mobile sites before the end of the year.

Technician working on the line.

Technician working in the bucket.