Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

USVI ISP wins $84M FCC contract to supply affordable 1Gig internet

USVI ISP wins $84M FCC contract to supply affordable 1Gig internet

A USVI Internet Service Provider (ISP), Broadband VI has won an $84.5 million federal bid to buildout phase 2 of the Connect USVI program, whose aim is to provide affordable voice and broadband services for 10-year periods with speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second downstream.
The bid, awarded through the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, is part of the commission's $691.2 million every-decade program that aims to aid the USVI and Puerto Rico in meeting its broadband needs.

For Puerto Rico, $504.7 million has been allocated in phase 2 through the Uniendo Fund, while the USVI has been allocated $186.5 million over the next ten years through the Connect USVI fund — with broadband winning the first $84.4 million bid of phase 2.

"Each winning applicant that is authorized to receive Stage 2 Fixed support will be required to offer voice and broadband services meeting the relevant performance requirements to all fixed locations associated with the minimum geographic area for which it is the winning applicant," said the FCC.

For the St. Thomas-St. John District, the program identifies 25,201 potential customers costing a total of $36.8 million for the buildout and 20,838 customers on St. Croix for a total buildout cost of $47.5 million.

Broadband VI will be provided with $10.9 million in the first twelve months, with $5.9 million allocated for the St. Croix buildout and $4.9 million for the St. Thomas-St. John District. The second twelve months sees the amount decreasing to $5.4 million, with St. Croix and St. Thomas-St.John allocations at $2.9 million and $2.4 million respectively, according to documents obtained by the Consortium. The first payment to Broadband VI will be issued in July, according to the FCC.

“We are excited about today’s action by the FCC,” said David Zumwalt, Broadband VI’s chief operating officer.

“The FCC’s Connect USVI application and vetting process was rigorous and time-consuming, and we thank the FCC for entrusting us with the very serious job that lies ahead, which will benefit our fellow Virgin Islanders for years to come. We expect our network will boost and diversify our local economy, create jobs and promote educational opportunities.”

The FCC said each support recipient must complete construction and begin offering retail service to at least 40 percent of the locations in an area by the end of the third year of support; to at least 60 percent by the end of the fourth year; at least 80 percent and by the end of the fifth year, and to 100 percent by the end of the sixth year.

"A support recipient is deemed to be commercially offering voice and/or broadband service to a location if it provides service to the location or could provide it within 10 business days upon request," the FCC said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×