ASG sets Broadband Core Working Group to implement strategy and funding

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — To ensure that American Samoa obtains millions of dollars in new broadband infrastructure federal funding from the U.S National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), ASG has setup the Broadband Core Working Group (BCWG), with their first meeting held last week Thursday.

The 10-member BCWG, selected from “across ASG whose relevant expertise is necessary”  — this group, was announced in a May 27 memorandum from the Governor’s acting chief of staff Jason Mitchell, to cabinet members, who were requested to support the working group and other sub-groups that may be established as part of this initiative.

“This is a monumental opportunity for American Samoa to transform itself and implement a Broadband strategy and funding approach that will bring American Samoa to par or above other states such as California, Texas and Hawai’i,” Mitchell wrote in the memo.

“We have an extraordinary amount of work and task[s] ahead of us. We have to move fast and we have to get this right the first time,” said Mitchell, who is the Governor’s Chief Legal Counsel.

He explained that BCWG will concentrate on:

•           a core “initial” strategy in securing funding for specific areas on or before June 30;

•           developing a strategic roadmap of specific areas/ projects to focus resources — both internal and external — during the planning, proposal and submission period; and

•           ensuring grant proposals are technically sound, robust complete and has a competitive edge against proposals submitted by States and other territories.

Mitchell notes that the starting point will be to leverage the Broadband Strategy document issued early this year by ASG’s Commerce Department.

Mitchell noted that there are critical submission dates and deadlines in July for American Samoa to continue to be in the NTIA funding queue and to receive initial “planning” funds. For example, approximately $25 million — at minimum — is allocated to American Samoa of which, $1.25  million is specifically allocated for planning.

“This is just one example of initial funding for “planning” purposes,” he said and noted that BCWG will need to dedicate a minimum of 2-3 hours per week to develop strategies and initiate planning discussions.

According to Mitchell, most off the planning and strategy discussions “will and are based” on data, needed to be pulled from various sources such as ASG-DOC, American Samoa Power Authority, American Samoa TeleCommunications Authority and others as they pertain GIS and demographics.

“Further discussions on how we move to GIS “physical address numbers” will also need to be actioned with and by DOC and others to make sure all broadband data submitted or utilized by ASTCA, ASPA, Bluesky and other agencies reference the same physical address — and GIS latitude/longitude — for both individual homes, businesses and government offices,” he said.

And this will ensure all submitted data to the federal government is consistent and accurate, he said.

For background information, cabinet directors were informed by Mitchell that in May this year, NTIA launched the program to fund Broadband infrastructure as part the Biden Administration’s initiative to help “close the digital divide and ensure that all Americans have access to reliable, high speed and affordable broadband.”

Funding is provided in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, the U.S Federal Communication Commission’s Universal Service program and the U.S Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service broadband program.

And the NTIA funding is based on three areas that directly benefit American Samoa, with the first-one — Broadband Equity, Access & Development (BEAD) Program — in which $42.45 billion is provided for states and territories.

According to the NTIA online publication, BEAD is a federal grant program that aims to get all Americans online by funding partnerships between states or territories, communities, and stakeholders to build infrastructure where we need it to and increase adoption of high-speed internet.

Furthermore, BEAD prioritizes unserved locations that have no internet access or that only have access under 25/3 Mbps and underserved locations only have access under 100/20 Mbps.

The second NTIA program, which benefits American Samoa, is the Digital Equity Act, which provides $2.75 billion to establish three grant programs that promote digital equity and inclusion. And the three grant programs aim to “ensure that all people and communities have the skills, technology, and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of our digital economy,” according to NTIA.

And the third NTIA program — which Mitchell said provides benefits for American Samoa — is the Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program, that provides $1 billion to reduce the cost of bringing high-speed internet to unserved and underserved communities. (Details of the three programs online at www.ntia.gov).

The ten members of the ASG’s BCWG include ASG’s ARPA Oversight executive director Keith Gebauer, Office of Disaster Assistance and Petroleum Management director Lisa Tuato’o and DOC deputy director Michael McDonald. Other members in the group are IT mangers within various ASG entities.