Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Dept. of Commerce has awarded $9.5M in ARPA funding to local internet service providers — ASTCA and Bluesky American Samoa. The funds are to support the territory’s efforts to respond to any future public health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic, which underscored the importance of available high speed, reliable and affordable broadband coverage.
“We saw first-hand how critical broadband and internet service was and has been, as the territory went into lockdown do to the COVID-19 public health emergency,” said DOC director Petti Matila.
“Businesses, schools, government agencies, and families across the territory relied heavily on the internet to maintain continuity and some semblance of normalcy as we worked through the pandemic. The staggering increase in usage brought to light the urgent need to support improvements across the…
