Post Office branches now offer a free service where counter staff can print the nearest internet access points to customers’ homes.
The Post Office, Online Centre Foundation and other partners have for the first time brought together the information about internet courses across the UK to create a single database. 11,800 Post Office branches can now link to that system, insert a postcode into their registers and print the nearest five addresses of free or low cost internet access and training points.
Paula Vennells, chief executive, Post Office, said, “There are millions of people who are missing out on the benefits of being online. Our ‘Get Connected’ campaign, which is part of our commitment to the charity Go ON UK, is an exciting development where people who don’t have access to the internet will be able to find a facility to get online.”
The internet points range from libraries to business centres, and provide either training or simple access. 99 per cent of people live within three miles of their nearest Post Office outlet, with 93 per cent within a mile.
The Post Office has been instrumental in helping create this first national database of over 5,000 online centres and access points. The national database is managed by Online Centres Foundation, working closely with the Post Office and other organisations to collate the learning centre information.
Other partners contributing venue information to the database alongside UK online centres are the Scottish Library and Information Council, the Welsh government’s Communities 2.0 digital inclusion programme, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, Libraries NI, and Go ON NI.
