‘Internet for all’ could change how Guam, NMI connect to the world
BY OYAOL NGIRAIRIKL Journal Staff
The federal government is investing $65 billion to ensure everyone throughout the U.S. states and territories are connected to the internet in a way that will change how consumers purchase broadband or mobile services.
David Gibson, CEO of IT&E, said there may no longer be a need for people to purchase plans from local telecom companies if high-speed internet will be as widely available and as low cost as federal programs aim them to be.
“As bandwidth becomes more ubiquitous, in other words it’s just there, which is good, the market is going to transform … from buying services to more of customer experience,” Gibson said.
Gibson, who arrived in Guam about two months ago to take the helm at IT&E, said that customer experience will come down to “who is doing the best billing or who has the highest uptime.”
“I think in general … the days of just buying bandwidth that is attached to a dollar will change,” he said.
David Gibson, CEO and president of IT&E; in front of a tower near the IT&E Harmon office. Photo by Oyaol Ngirairikl
President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s “Internet for all” initiative aims to do more than subsidize the cost of internet services for some via programs like the Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides discounted internet services for qualifying households. Biden’s larger initiative is providing the infrastructure through grants. It also provides digital literacy to help ensure people know how to access the internet to use it for work, education and telehealth purposes at schools, homes, senior citizen and community centers, hospitals, libraries and other facilities.
Such an expansive sweep of programs is expected to lead to a metamorphosis in Guam’s telecom industry — taking Guam further from the days of RCA telephone booths and beyond the current internet connection to homes and mobile phones via data subscriptions.
Gibson said in the next five years the federal initiative will push Guam from being an underserved location to the “premier telecoms center west of California.”
“Guam is just beginning to see change. We are in the early stages of evolution as it relates to telecom,” he said. “And if you’re an America organization that wants to do business in Asia, historically, your beachhead is Hawaii… I see that moving here. I think that edge of domestic commerce is going to move westward.”
For example, he said, a business in Taiwan or Hong Kong that wants to do business in the U.S., the buildup of telecom infrastructure will make Guam the place “where you’d naturally relocate.”
There are three new primary programs under the president’s initiative being implemented in Guam with the overarching goal of making internet accessible to all residents. The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment, or BEAD, program is a $42.5 billion nationwide program that aims to ensure the infrastructure, whether fiber or 5G connectivity, is available at a low cost to homes, schools, hospitals, clinics, community centers and other areas. Guam is getting $156 million and the Northern Marianas Islands $81 million to fulfill that aim.
On March 29, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced that Guam can apply to receive $2.1 million “to empower individuals and communities with the tools, skills, and opportunities they need to benefit from meaningful access to high-speed Internet.” This amount is part of the State Digital Equity Act’s $1.5 billion program to help ensure that residents gain access to and are able to use the internet that the BEAD program lays the hardware for.
"President Biden is committed to ensuring everyone in Guam and across America has access to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service," said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. "Commerce’s work building high-speed Internet infrastructure is only part of the equation. Families in Guam need the tools and skills required to make the most of that Internet connection, and that’s the $2.1 million opportunity we’re announcing today. President Biden’s digital equity initiative will make the promise of the Internet come alive for everyone in Guam, no matter where they live or what their background is."
A similar press release was issued April 1 for the NMI, saying local officials also can apply to receive $2.1 million.
Another effort was awarded to IT&E to improve infrastructure and broadband connectivity in southern Guam. GovGuam launched an $11.4 million project, awarding IT&E the contract to construct new fiber and 5G installation to improve coverage in southern Guam.
The $11.4 million Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program project was authorized by the NTIA and awarded to Guam’s Department of Administration and subawarded to IT&E for the Guam Southern project.
Geoff Jordan, director of the Broadband Infrastructure Program, NTIA, said the project will help connect hundreds of families in the southern villages to affordable and reliable internet service.
Currently, IT&E teams are micro trenching in the Piti area for buried fiber optic cable and 5G installation for the Guam Southern Buried Fiber Optic Cable and 5G Project. The new broadband system will increase the current availability of broadband services to residences, businesses, and community anchor institutions in southern Guam, government officials said. This increased availability includes the minimum broadband speeds of 25 Mbps for downloads with 3 Mbps for uploads to 4,900 locations and at least 100 Mbps for downloads with 20 Mbps uploads to more than 1,500 locations.
IT&E will deploy a mixed system that includes expanded fiber infrastructure and new radios and antennas on IT&E’s existing wireless towers. Two buried, interconnected yet physically diverse rings of fiber totaling 72.7 miles will be constructed with 26 wireless towers across the South that will be upgraded for 5G capabilities to quickly deliver internet to homes. Following the completion of the buried Middle Mile, IT&E plans to extend high-speed broadband services to all of the locations in the Southern Guam region through a mix of Fixed Wireless Access, Fiber-to-the-Home, and Fiber-to-the-Building.
Gibson told the Journal the project is expected to be completed in 2025. Once completed, he said the project will connect more than households, “it’s about connecting dreams, opportunities, and limitless possibilities.”
“This fiber and 5G project represents our commitment to bridging the digital divide, ensuring that every household on the island can access the gateway to knowledge, services, and a brighter future,” Gibson said.
He told the Journal that the federal initiative will help with the brain drain that Guam has seen. “Other areas in the U.S., rural areas, have the same challenge,” he said, adding that such connectivity will help turn that tide. “This infrastructure allows for people to come back here and be able to work. I think it’s going to be very impactful.”
Melissa F. Bettis is acting special assistant for the Office of Infrastructure, Policy, and Development, which will research, create plans and help with the implementation of the federal initiative to provide faster, more reliable and cheaper internet services throughout Guam.
She said by April 21, Guam will have submitted a plan for the federally funded Digital Equity program expected to bring more contracts to local telecom companies. Guam’s Digital Equity Plan aims to ensure the availability and affordability of faster broadband services, enhance access to online resources for all, promote digital literacy, and bolster cybersecurity awareness.
Up to this point, it was the larger companies that were able to build internet capacity by investing in fiber cables or purchasing bandwidth. In just the last decade, there’s been hundreds of millions of dollars invested into Guam’s telecom infrastructure. And even with the federal initiatives, local companies continue to invest in their networks. The three primary areas of investment are found in undersea cable landings, fiber connectivity and wireless infrastructure.
In 2022, more than $35 million spent in an FCC 2.5GHz Band auction by the island’s big three, according to Guam Business Magazine files, the Journal’s sister publication. The licenses allow the providers to offer increased speed for mobile users while maintaining good coverage.
Guam’s big three providers came out as follows:
TeleGuam Holdings LLC, dba GTA, won three licenses for $16,565,000
Docomo Pacific Inc. won three licenses for $1,260,000
PTI Pacifica Inc. (of which IT&E is a subsidiary) won nine licenses for $17,690,000
More recently, GTA has signs announcing its own investments into Guam homes and villages with fiber cables that are “coming soon.”
Gibson said the IT&E network also continues to expand, pointing to IT&E’s 260 rack data center that’s going to be live in July. The group is continuing to building fiber optic network underground “even though it’s more expensive that’s the resiliency, that customers are going to require.”
Gibson added that IT&E is diversifying product portfolio as the group looks forward to adapting with the changing needs of the community in Guam and the NMI.
“We continue to invest in our towers and upgrading our capacity. In fact, we just signed a lease (for) a new tower in Tinian. And we’re upgrading a second tower in Tinian,” he said. The work is being done now as the economies slowly recover from the COVID pandemic and typhoons that have wreaked havoc on the economies, he said.
“Guam is turning around, and CMNI is still struggling. For IT&E, we’re trying to create value … for when people come back,” he said, referring to projections of locals returning home as economies improve and internet connectivity allows not only remote working but more job and new business opportunities. mbj
There are three new primary programs under the president’s initiative being implemented in Guam with the overarching goal of making internet accessible to all residents. The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment, or BEAD, program is a $42.5 billion nationwide program that aims to ensure the infrastructure, whether fiber or 5G connectivity, is available at a low cost to homes, schools, hospitals, clinics, community centers and other areas. Guam is getting $156 million and the Northern Marianas Islands $81 million to fulfill that aim.