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Governor Togiola signs documents to bring first undersea fiber optic cable to American Samoa
Governor Togiola Tulafono signed on Wednesday, May 21, documents that’ll facilitate bringing in the multi-million-dollar Pacific Rim East (Pac Rim) undersea fiber optic cable to American Samoa.
To carry out the Governor’s desire to keep the Fono members in the loop about the project, a special gathering was held at Sadie’s in Malaloa where several House members and Senator Tuaolo Vaivao Manaia were present to hear the first ever technical presentation for the fiber optic cable project.
“In an effort to ensure that the people’s representatives are apprised of the project, I have made our technical experts available to answer any and all questions that the Legislature may have,” said the Governor.
The event was hosted by the Governor’s Office and carried out by the technical team that will implement the fiber optic. The group consisted of Thomas Sorenson of Alcatel-Lucent, Craig Walton of Telecom New Zealand, and John Hibbard and Doug Nielsen of Hibbard Consulting.
(It is Hibbard Consulting who will be managing the fiber optic cable that will be landed at Fogagogo and connected to the Blue Sky site in Ili’ili which will be used as the main center for distribution to the private sector, government and others. Alcatel-lucent will be bringing in the vessel to pick up the Pac Rim cable which is currently 100 miles off the territory at a depth of about 15,000 feet).
While in the territory, the group will be meeting with various government agencies to iron out necessary permits dealing with land use and environmental issues, as well as locals who may be subcontracted for the project.
The presentation focused on the main tasks involved with the venture, and covered several technical areas of the project including the actual tasks involved in redeploying the Pac Rim East Cable to land in Pago Pago, the route the cable will take to reach the Territory’s shores, and the many benefits that American Samoa may expect to see as a result of the cable project.
“The submarine fiber optic cable is the most significant economic development project in the last several decades,” Togiola said. “The sea of change that this project represents is absolutely tremendous.”
The Governor explained that American Samoa has, until now, been dependent on the canneries “for as long as we can remember;” but with this new initiative, “we will move from a labor intensive manufacturing industry into a technology driven industry. This is where technical skills are required, and this is where the better paying jobs are.”
Togiola said our people will have the best opportunity to make the most of this market within our region, and “we must take advantage of this amazing opportunity.”
The Governor described the fiber optic project as “a major priority” of this Administration. “The possibilities alone for distance health, learning, and business applications alone are impressive,” he said. “You add to that the increased capacity for establishing and growing technology-based businesses and government, and the possibilities are limitless!”
Local lawmakers were able to engage in a question and answer session with members of the technical team, following the presentation. The session turned into a facilitated discussion where Fono members were able to express their concerns over the project and voice their support and explore specific initiatives where their lawmaking powers may be useful to the project.
“I am very happy that the Fono members were available to review and discuss their issues and questions with our technical team,” the Governor said. “This project has been in the works for a little over two years, and now that the documents are signed, the goal of bringing fiber optic to the Territory is within view.”
He added, “I believe that we are on the cusp of a technology explosion in our islands because we have worked so hard on this project with our partners. And having the support of the Fono and the community in general is the key to carrying out the rest of this very important project.”
The vessel is expected to bring the cable to American Samoa later this year in November, and the work is expected to take 30 days or so. Depending on weather conditions, American Samoa should be connected to the cable during the first quarter of 2009.
The fiber optic cable will provide faster and better internet connection, voice capability, and data transfer for various areas like tele-health and remote distance learning.
The parties involved in the Pac Rim cable project include ASG, Telecom New Zealand, Merchant Capital (an investment and merchant banking company based in Alabama), and Elandia Incorporated (parent company of Blue Sky Communications).
The government has already forked out $6 million for the project - $3 million came from the $20 million ASG Retirement Fund loan, and another $3 million was from the Interior Department’s FY 2008 Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) for ASG.
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