Jamaican Commerce and Technology Minister Phillip Paulwell announced yesterday a $308 million (US$5 million) plan to provide free Internet access in poor communities across the island.

This, apparently, isn't just so that they don't miss out on the SPAM. The plan appears to be to improve the quality of life for people through using the internet service to pay for traffic fines and national insurance payments.

It's a nice initiative, let's hope it lives up to the promise. It could serve as a nice example of how the Digital Divide can be crossed for many a developing and even developed country.