U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS — Governor Albert Bryan Jr. announced that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has received a Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) planning grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration for $1.25 million.
The intended beneficiaries are unserved and underserved groups in the United States Virgin Islands with a focus on rural and unserved populations. The goal of the Virgin Islands Broadband Equality program is to support closing the broadband availability gap and support the development of a five-year action plan.
“One of the cornerstones of the Bryan-Roach initiatives for growing the workforce and promoting a stronger USVI economy is high-speed internet access for all of our residents,” Governor Albert Bryan Jr. said. “As we expand and enhance our broadband access throughout the Territory, we have put the USVI on an equal playing field with the global economy, to help our business community.”
The Governor said the Territory’s growing high-speed internet network already has yielded more efficiency in the delivery of government operations and delivery of services, such as online vehicle registrations, online business licensing and online access to the Government of the Virgin Islands transparency website, which tracks every penny into and out of the GVI.
“This BEAD grant will allow us to reach some of the more isolated areas of our islands and give as many Virgin Islanders as possible affordable broadband access and all the benefits that access brings,” Governor Bryan said.
OMB will oversee the proposed Virgin Islands Broadband Equality project and will coordinate with other agencies to develop a program that includes:
• Initial identification of unserved locations and underserved locations.
• Providing technical assistance to potential subgrantees, including through workshops and events.
• Training for employees of the Territory’s broadband.
• Establishing, operating, or increasing capacity of a broadband office that oversees broadband programs and broadband deployment.
• Asset mapping to catalogue broadband adoption, affordability, equity, access and deployment activities.
• Conducting surveys of unserved, underserved, and underrepresented communities to better
• understand barriers to adoption.
The goal of the program is to close the digital divide and ensure every Virgin Islander can participate in online educational offerings, access telehealth care, and thrive in the digital economy.
The BEAD Program is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and provides $42.45 billion to expand high-speed Internet access by funding planning, infrastructure deployment and adoption programs to increase
The Bryan-Roach Administration is investing in the Territory’s people, infrastructure and future through transparency, stabilizing the economy, restoring trust in the government and ensuring that recovery projects are completed as quickly as possible. Visit transparency.vi.gov