The Virgin Islands Next Generation Network, the government-owned entity building a fiber-optic network and public computer centers with mostly federal funds, has selected BroadMap LLC to map and verify V.I. broadband service areas and manage technology planning for several related broadband projects, according to viNGN. The announcement follows a competitive bid process.

One of the main purposes for the federal grants financing viNGN is to increase the number of residents who have access to and are using broadband internet services, and the work that BroadMap will be doing will help measure that progress, according to Kevin Hughes, viNGN vice president of sales and marketing.

"It’s more than just building the network. The whole idea is to get more people using the network," Hughes said Tuesday afternoon. BroadMap is going around the territory, inventorying internet service providers, measuring their signals and counting their customers, he said.

"They are taking a snapshot now, at the beginning, and will take a snapshot as we go along and a snapshot at the finish, when we expect to see more utilization," Hughes said.

BroadMap will work on three fronts, according to viNGN:

– the aforementioned survey snapshot of broadband service. Once completed, every business, including those seeking to relocate or expand operations in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and every resident of the U.S. Virgin Islands will be able to ask and see whether their location can get broadband internet.
– with technical planning assistance to determine whether Smart Grid applications to let the V.I. Water and Power Authority remotely monitor the power grid can be implemented in the territory with its current broadband capacity and shared anchor tenant network. This also covers support for a national public safety initiative to provide high speed cell phone-based wireless broadband support to police, fire and emergency medical personnel at mobile locations.
– on street address normalization, working in conjunction with efforts that are already under way by the office of the Lieutenant Governor for planning of residential address assignment in target areas.

“BroadMap has demonstrated a depth and breadth of expertise in GIS and emerging technologies,” said Larry Kupfer, chief operating operator of viNGN, in a statement Monday. “These joint efforts will improve the education, health, safety and well-being of U.S. Virgin Islanders and help attract new economic opportunity.”