THE U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration has announced that it has awarded $80.7 million in grant funding to the CNMI to deploy affordable, reliable high-speed internet service to everyone in the Commonwealth.
President Joseph Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo made the announcement at the White House, Tuesday in the presence of other federal government officials, state officials and representatives, including the CNMI’s special assistant for broadband policy and development, Glen Hunter.
The Internet for All initiative is a key component of President Biden’s “Investing in America” agenda.
The grant enables the CNMI to use funds from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to administer programs within the Commonwealth that connect all of the “unconnected” and to give everyone the skills, devices, and access they need to make the most of affordable, reliable high-speed internet.
Gov. Arnold I. Palacios on Tuesday said, “The $80 million grant allows all residents, businesses, agencies, and organizations in the CNMI expanded access to more affordable, high-speed internet that connects them to information and to the tools and resources they need to thrive in their jobs, their studies, business growth, or their organizational missions.”
“We are thankful to the Biden-Harris administration, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the NTIA for the historic funding support for broadband access,” he added.
Hunter, for his part said, “I would like to specifically thank Governor Palacios and Lt. Governor Apatang for their vision and leadership on this issue.”
“Their commitment to putting a focus on broadband within this administration has directly resulted in this momentous funding opportunity for the Marianas,” he added.
The CNMI Broadband Office is in the process of developing a five-year action plan to identify areas that need improved broadband access and adoption. The office will develop strategies to address these needs, and the federal funds will be used to execute various facets of the plan.
“We believe that this funding will help us make significant progress in closing the digital divide in the CNMI,” Hunter said.
He likewise thanked U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan for ensuring that the CNMI was included in these funding opportunities.
“In working collaboratively with the Congressman, I am confident we can continue to build on federal funds available for broadband development and digital equity programs,” Hunter said.
“This monumental broadband funding opportunity was a direct result of collaboration between all facets of both public and private sectors not just in the CNMI but in the territories and the federal government,” Hunter said.
Under the leadership of Palacios and Apatang, Hunter said the CNMI is able to bring all parties to the table to ensure that the Commonwealth was able to maximize federal funding allocation.
He said the local internet providers, IT&E and Docomo Pacific, were instrumental in ensuring that CNMI data was accurate “and we owe them a huge debt of gratitude for handling that process.”
“We are also grateful to the NTIA and FCC officials as well as our counterparts in Guam, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands. I am also deeply appreciative of the governor’s office staff, including those from the Office of Planning and Development and the Office of Information Technology for their guidance and contribution to the work that was invested to secure this grant,” Hunter added.
Glen Hunter
