Broadband iNEI Grants to fund 5G internet and restore Manu’a cable

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Commerce Department has awarded $9.5 million in Rescue Plan Act funds, under “Broadband iNEI Grants”, for three projects to support the territory’s efforts to respond to and prepare for future public health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to DOC, the Broadband iNEI (Information Network for Expansion & Inclusion) Initiative is an island-wide initiative that encourages the immediate transition to all things digital. 

The ASG Oversight Office for ARPA, reported in July last year that a DOC five-member panel has “completed its review of three applications received” for the American Samoa Broadband iNEI Initiative, funded by the territory’s multimillion allocation from ARPA. (See Samoa News edition Aug. 16, 2022 for details.)

The objectives of this ARPA funding is to support projects that will increase internet broadband speeds of up to 100/100 Mbps; to improve broadband services to the most underserved areas in our community; and to make internet rates affordable for the most underserved in our community.

Yesterday, DOC announced the three projects awarded — two for the American Samoa Telecommunications Authority (ASTCA) and one for Bluesky:

•           Manu’a Broadband Continuity: ASTCA was awarded $2.8 million to support the immediate repairs and upgraders to the submarine fiber optic cable. The projects will restore services to the outer islands and add protection to the undersea cables.

•           5G Network Upgrade: ASTCA gets $3.35 million to support the deployment of a 5G network to provide internet speeds of 100/100 Mbps to all residents.

•           5G Network Upgrade: BlueSky awarded $3,35 million to support the deployment of a 5G network to provide internet speeds of 100/100 Mbps to all residents.

“We saw first-hand how critical broadband and internet service was and has been, as the territory went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 public health emergency,” said Commerce director Petti Matila in announcing yesterday the three grant projects.

“Businesses, schools, government agencies, and families across the territory relied heavily on the internet to maintain continuity and some semblance of normalcy as we worked through the pandemic,” she said in a DOC statement.

She also said that the staggering increase in usage brought to light the urgent need to support improvements across the territory’s telecommunications infrastructure, and thanks to ARPA, “we were able to secure grant funds to develop the DOC broadband INEI program”.

The DOC’s Broadband Office administers this project, with details on the department’s website (https://www.doc.as.gov/cslfrf) under AS Broadband iNEI Initiative.