64 December 2015 - Business View Caribbean
network connecting community anchor institutions
with reliable high-speed Internet services, and acquir-
ing over 3,000 miles of undersea cable to Florida and
New York; the Public Computer Centers (PCC) grant
program which provides free access to computers, pe-
ripherals, and contemporary software in libraries and
community centers; and the Sustainable Broadband
Adoption (SBA) grant which funds efforts to provide
digital literacy and job skills training, increase broad-
band subscribership, and stimulate job growth within
the Virgin Islands.
Now that the grants have all been awarded, and the
build-out of its 100 percent, fiber optic, broadband net-
work is complete, viNGN is open for business - provid-
ing middle-mile, broadband connectivity in the Virgin
Islands. Coverdale explains: “We work hand-in-hand
with all of the last-mile providers - the Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) who build the connectivity to each in-
dividual business and residence. They’re the retailers
who actually contract with each individual user. So, we
cannot go directly to people’s homes. We can send our
service through people’s homes but we work with ISPs
to be able to do that.”
Of course broadband access is not free, and since
viNGN is the only game in town, all ISPs must connect
to it if they want to offer their customers the higher
Dr. Coverdale at School Rocket Launch
