Four months after the Jamaican government allocated $800 million to repair community free Wi-Fi networks destroyed by Hurricane Melissa, the Universal Service Fund (USF) has already committed 80 percent of that budget to restoration work, with 60 percent of damaged sites now fully operational, according to top USF officials. The update was shared by USF Chief Executive Officer Charlton McFarlane in an exclusive interview with Jamaica Observer last Friday, delivered immediately after McFarlane led a handover ceremony for $4.3 million in new information technology equipment to the Trelawny Municipal Corporation in Falmouth.
The donation, which includes three laptops, 12 fully configured desktop computers with monitors, and two professional printers, comes as the Trelawny local government rebuilds core administrative operations after the Category 5 hurricane devastated its headquarters at the historic Falmouth Courthouse. Nearly all existing office devices were destroyed in the storm, forcing the corporation to relocate its day-to-day services to temporary container-based workspaces on the same property as the local Roads and Works Department.
McFarlane emphasized that the pace of fund commitment, reached in just four months, represents a notable milestone for the program, as the agency prioritizes strict, compliant procurement protocols for all restoration contracts. The effort has been concentrated on seven western parishes that bore the brunt of Hurricane Melissa’s impact: Trelawny, St James, Hanover, Westmoreland, St Elizabeth, St Ann, and St Mary. To date, 17 damaged Wi-Fi sites across Trelawny have been brought back online.
Rather than simply rebuilding the networks to their pre-storm specifications, the USF has redesigned the infrastructure to withstand future extreme weather events, aligning with the government’s “build back better” resilience framework. The old network design relied exclusively on underground fiber-optic cables, which are highly vulnerable to wind, flood, and storm-related damage. The updated system adds satellite connectivity as a redundant backup, ensuring service remains online even if primary infrastructure is disrupted by severe weather.
A second key upgrade is the integration of solar power with battery storage as a secondary energy source. McFarlane explained that this means the Wi-Fi sites will remain operational even if the main Jamaica Public Service power grid goes down during a storm, giving residents a reliable connection to call for emergency assistance, report outages, and access critical information when they need it most.
Falmouth Mayor and Trelawny Municipal Corporation Chairman Councillor C Junior Gager welcomed the donation, noting that the local government was facing severe budget constraints in the post-hurricane recovery period and could not have afforded to replace the damaged devices on its own. Amid widespread budget cuts to cover recovery costs, the $4.3 million donation has filled a critical gap that was slowing the return of regular public services for local residents.
Gager expressed sincere gratitude to both the USF and the national government for the timely support, saying the investment would help streamline operations across all municipal departments, including Roads and Works, Poor Relief, the Mayor’s Office, and the accounts section. “We have suffered a lot of damage here, and the truth be told, at this time we couldn’t afford this $4.3 million. We have been cutting spending across the board, but you came on board with such a generous gift. I want to thank you, I want to thank the Government. I believe we are moving in the right direction,” Gager said, adding that the upgraded equipment would remove major bottlenecks that prevented residents from accessing the services they need.
McFarlane echoed that the donation and broader Wi-Fi restoration program are core to the USF’s mission of supporting resilient, community-centered recovery. “We are building back stronger, and this is just one of the partnerships that we believe is in keeping with us building back stronger,” McFarlane said. “I hope today that the devices you get will serve to enhance your work, and by enhancing your work it will improve your ability to provide services to the people, because at the end of the day, that is what this work boils down to. We look forward to more partnerships to support recovery across the island in the months ahead.”