By Emmanuel T. Erediano
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
TO implement a federally funded project under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, a $31 million broadband subgrant agreement between the CNMI government and IT&E was signed Wednesday.
The project aims to benefit 10,000 households by providing access to a “100% underground, climate-hardened, end-to-end fiber optic network.”
The total cost of the project is approximately $53 million, with about 60%, or $31 million, funded by the CNMI government through the Broadband Policy and Development Office. The remaining 40%, or nearly $22 million in matching funds, will be invested by Micronesian Telecommunications Corp.’s IT&E.
Gov. David M. Apatang and IT&E Chief Executive Officer David Gibson signed the subgrant agreement in the presence of IT&E Executive Director Velma Palacios, IT&E Government Relations and Community and Customer Service Senior Manager Janice A. Tenorio, other members of the company’s leadership team, and the governor’s Special Assistant for Broadband Policy and Development Glen Hunter.
Apatang thanked the National Telecommunications and Information Administration for its support in making the project possible. He said one of the priorities he raised with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials was strengthening telecommunications infrastructure in the CNMI.
“This is a great project for all of us,” the governor said, expressing hope that the next time the islands are struck by a typhoon, “we will have very reliable communication.”
Gibson thanked the governor and Hunter, saying he did not believe the IT&E family would be signing the subgrant agreement without their support and advocacy for buried infrastructure across the Commonwealth.
He acknowledged the difficulties CNMI residents are currently facing but said the BEAD program represents an investment not only for today, but also for future generations.
Gibson said the Commonwealth is undergoing significant economic redevelopment and that becoming the westernmost part of the United States with a fully digitized fiber network could become a major economic driver for the CNMI.
He said the improved infrastructure could attract residents who work remotely and are seeking reliable telecommunications services.
“So I think it’s only going to add appeal to the Commonwealth, and we are really excited to be part of that project,” Gibson said, while also thanking the IT&E team for coordinating the effort.
“It wasn’t an easy task,” he added.
“We are really excited as we enter halfway through our 21st year here in the CNMI. This is a great way for us to reaffirm the fact that we are going nowhere, we are committed to the Commonwealth, and we are going to continue to invest,” Gibson said.
He added that the investment represents the single largest capital investment IT&E has made as a company.
Palacios also thanked the governor and Hunter for their leadership in advancing the program.
“I think it is important for us,” she said, adding that she brought the entire IT&E leadership team to demonstrate full support for the project over the next four years.
“I am very proud of our team here because as we continue to recover and restore our services, we need to speed things up after signing BEAD, and our next focus is to begin the project,” she said. “That’s the directive right now, and everybody is excited.”
“It’s all about resiliency, and as you can see, our network sustained Super Typhoon Soudelor, Super Typhoon Yutu, and now Super Typhoon Sinlaku because we have buried infrastructure,” Palacios added. “We will continue providing that resilient infrastructure to homes across the CNMI so everyone has the access they deserve.”
Emmanuel “Arnold” Erediano has a bachelor of science degree in Journalism. He started his career as police beat reporter. Loves to cook. Eats death threats for breakfast.
