The Virgin Islands has been awarded about $1.4 million for mapping the territory’s existing broadband network and planning expansion of its telecommunications facilities, according to a statement issued Sunday by Government House.

The federal stimulus money will allow the territory to begin a process to provide reliable broadband services to the territory’s residents and businesses, Gov. John deJongh Jr. said in the statement.

The funds are funneled through the National Telecommunications Information Administration of the Department of Commerce under its Broadband Technologies Opportunity Program. In May 2009 deJongh hosted all of the existing telecom and broadband service providers, as well as the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority and the University of the Virgin Islands’ Research and Technology Park, to begin the effort which led to this award.

The meeting outlined the government’s vision in its application to the Broadband Technologies Opportunity Program and got from those stakeholders information about their networks to give to the NTIA as part of a national broadband map. The information will form the basis for developing the plans for expanding the territory’s broadband infrastructure, deJongh said.

Local service providers participating in the meeting included Innovative Communications, Choice Communications, Broadband VI, Clear Signal Network Solutions, ADM Wireless, AT&T Cellular, and Sprint Cellular.

Along with better communication services, the initiative offers another potential economic boost to the territory by giving it better infrastructure with which to attract financial services firms and other business users of high speed data facilities, said Julito Francis, Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity.

"We are only at the beginning of a very intense process, but the communication between local market participants was key to this recent award,” said Francis.

The OEO is the lead entity within the Virgin Islands Government which coordinated the information for the application.

Following a competitive bid process, Stratum Broadband of Boston was contracted to assist the OEO with the grant application and develop the engineering and business strategy. The base data on mapping should be completed in February and submission of a second grant application for funds to build the network will likely take place.

"A properly planned and executed broadband network deployment provides the infrastructure that will allow us to not only improve our health-care delivery apparatus but can be expanded to emergency management capabilities, distance learning approaches, educational options, but also broaden and expand our model for economic development in order to foster business and job opportunities,” Francis said.