The American Samoa Telecommunications Authority and Hawaiki Submarine Cable have signed an amendment to their agreement for the installation of a spur connecting American Samoa to the Hawaiki cable and the provision of international capacity to the mainland.
A press release from ASTCA says the contract amendment was successfully negotiated by the parties over the last few weeks and will boost the partnership between Hawaiki and ASTCA, including an updated funding plan based on a mix of local and federal financial resources.
ASTCA Executive Director Puleleiite Liamatua Tufele Jr. said at today’s cabinet meeting that the president and representatives of Hawaiki Cable are now in the territory for the signing of an amended agreement.
He said when Hawaiki Cable is launched the bandwidth capacity for American Samoa which is now at 10 gigabites will increase to 200 gigabits.
According to the ASTCA press release, one of the key outcomes of the agreement is the provision of 200 gigabits of internet bandwidth, more than 150 times the current capacity available in the territory.
This gives ASCTA access to large volumes of capacity at very competitive costs and enables ASTCA to outsell capacity to its Pacific neighbors at the lowest price.
This would help position American Samoa as a hub for broadband connectivity in the Polynesian region, said the statement.
Hawaiki will start the cable laying operations in the second week of October and plans to install the American Samoa spur, already being manufactured and loaded into the cable ship, in the first quarter of 2018.
The Hawaiki cable system is expected to be in commercial service in June of next year.
Governor Lolo Moliga said at today’s signing, “This project is exciting for our territory. It will help to bridge the digital divide and allow American Samoa to truly participate in the digital economy, as well as taking advantage of e-health and e-education initiatives to improve opportunities for our people.”
ASTCA Executive Director, Puleleiite said the amended agreement will allow ASTCA to fulfill the intentions and original plans of the BLAST project which was to provide an internet experience for American Samoa residents that’s comparable to that in the mainland.
ASTCA is targeting a speed of 25 megabits per second to each home, a goal which Puleleiite is confident ASTCA can achieve.
He assured, “We will not raise the price for internet to our customers but we will look to add better value and additional service plans for our customers when the time is right.”
CEO of Hawaiki Remi Galasso said, “Hawaiki is the only submarine cable system under construction to propose to Pacific island countries and territories direct connectivity to the mainland United States.
“We support ASTCA ‘s strategy to become a hub for the Polynesian region and are extremely pleased to bring Hawaiki Cable and its associated benefits to American Samoa.”
The company CEO added that it was a real pleasure to sign the amendment today and to pursue the close working relationship it has with ASTCA.
He was grateful to ASTCA and especially to the governor of American Samoa for his vision and persistence in pushing this project forward.
Puleleiite had told KHJ News in an interview last month that the former ASTCA Board of Directors had signed a 25 year lease with Hawaiki Cable. Today’s press release doesn’t give any details of the amended agreement.
