National Telecommunications and Information Administration Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment or BEAD Program officials and regional broadband program officials pose for a photo with Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang during a proclamation signing ceremony for Digital Inclusion Week on Monday at the administration building.
COURTNEY Dozier, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration deputy director for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment or BEAD Program, said: “[Our] job is to connect everyone to high-speed affordable internet access for the next couple of years.”
“So, we are here talking with the leadership, and we are excited to think about what that means here in the CNMI as well as in Saipan and the other islands and figure out the different opportunities for your leadership to leverage [federal] money,” Dozier added.
The CNMI Broadband Policy and Development Office, headed by Glen Hunter, recently secured a federal allotment of $81 million from NTIA.
CNMI-BPD has also submitted its BEAD Five-Year Action Plan to the NTIA that aims to improve internet services in the Commonwealth by “outlining strategies for enhancing internet accessibility and affordability for all members of the CNMI community.”
Asked how the funding will help each household, Dozier said, “Right now everyone in the CNMI is considered unserved. This money, first and foremost, will…ensur[e] [that] every location has access to affordable internet if they want to get it. Right now, there are places even if you wanted to subscribe to a service, you cannot physically get it.”
“We will be working with the CNMI leadership to deploy fiber, wireless network, to make sure everyone has access if they want it, and then further investing… to figure out what that access means, making sure it’s affordable, making sure they know what to do with it when they have it, and figuring out how to leverage all the different services that will be coming…online on the island,” the visiting NTIA official said.
“The [CNMI] will administer the funds, they will be working with all the providers, to ultimately build the networks. The public can get involved by making sure that the broadband office here in Saipan knows whether or not they have access to internet. That’s how the public can most help, but the BPD office will be working with providers to get the network built, in addition [to] all the different kinds of support services to figure out how folks can best leverage the network once they have it,” Dozier said.
She said the BEAD program’s goal is to provide access to high-speed, affordable internet. “The program will be making sure that you get access to fiber or fixed wireless connection, so it’s not affected by the weather…or any of those things — this is direct service to your home or business,” she added.
Also visiting the CNMI with Dozier are NTIA Regional Director for Alaska and the Territories Tim Stilzeg, NTIA Director of Digital Equity Program Angela Bennet, NTIA Director of Technical Assistance Amanda Martin, and NTIA Pacific Territories Federal Program Officer Ethan Lake.
On Monday, at the administration building, they joined Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang who signed a proclamation designating Oct. 2 to 6, 2023 as “Digital Inclusion Week.”
Digital Inclusion Week aims to “raise public awareness and encourage community initiatives to enhance broadband access and bridge the digital gap so that all Commonwealth residents can lead more prosperous, educated, and healthy lives.”
“It’s about the network,” Dozier said. “We really want to make sure folks leverage that network, [and learn] how they are using it to better the workforce…, to engage with our higher educational institutions, or K-12 institutions, and really making sure that we are meeting with equity as we build the network, and thinking about what it can do for folks when they have access to high-speed affordable internet.”
Also attending the proclamation signing were Carlo Carino, and Melissa Bettis of the Guam Broadband Office, Andrew Berquist of the American Samoa Broadband Office, American Samoa Chief Information Officer Ray Tulafono, CNMI Special Assistant for Public Transportation Alfreda Camacho Maratita, CNMI Labor Secretary Leila Staffler, CNMI Director of Courts Sonia Camacho, judiciary staff member Martha Standish, Northern Marianas Technical Institute Chief Executive Officer Jodina Attao, Joeten-Kiyu Public Library staffers Joey Songsong and Omar Manacop.
As an agency under the U.S. Department of Commerce, NTIA serves as the President’s principal adviser on telecommunications policies pertaining to the United States’ economic and technological advancement and to regulation of the telecommunications industry.
NTIA’s programs and policymaking focus largely on expanding broadband internet access and adoption in America, expanding the use of spectrum by all users, and ensuring that the internet remains an engine for continued innovation and economic growth.
