Buenas yan Håfa Adai! In this strategic five-year plan, Guam’s Office of Infrastructure Policy and Development has set a tangible goal — to ensure every islander, no matter their location or income, has access to free high-speed public internet or an affordable private broadband service. It's a straightforward commitment: connectivity for all.
OIPD’s roadmap touches on every facet needed to make this happen, from supporting underserved communities and building a stronger infrastructure to aligning with the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program standards. Together, let's make certain that Guam's digital future is both inclusive and forward-looking.
To effectively implement this plan, we first look at the present state of broadband and digital inclusion in Guam, scrutinizing existing programs, partnerships, and infrastructure. We've carried out a thorough needs and gaps assessment to help us pinpoint where our actions are most needed.
Acknowledging and overcoming obstacles are key aspects of our approach. We understand that barriers—be they technical, geographical, regulatory, or financial—exist. But instead of letting these hurdles hinder us, we're ready to tackle them head-on with creative and sustainable solutions.
Addressing challenging topics such as pricing disparities, service reliability, and the economics of broadband is not just a choice but a necessity for shaping the goals of our five-year strategic plan. This effort also includes planning and implementing free wireless home internet and affordability to ensure that high-quality broadband is accessible to everyone. While critiquing these factors may seem like a delicate balancing act, it's crucial to refine our strategies and identify areas for collaborative improvement. We recognize the irreplaceable role that our carriers play in this endeavor: constructive criticism is not a barrier but a catalyst for a stronger partnership and shared goals in eliminating the digital divide while advancing us all.
The success of our plan hinges on a detailed implementation strategy. This plan includes engaging stakeholders, outlining priorities, scheduling planned activities, and providing a timeline for universal service. To ensure smooth execution, we've included a section on technical assistance to provide necessary resources and support.
While our plan provides a roadmap, its success completely depends on collaboration. We plan to dialogue with the Guam Legislature to craft enabling legislation that will move our goals forward, Mayors to facilitate on-ground execution, Utilities to ensure infrastructural synergy, and Carriers to deliver top-notch service as they’ve strived to do for decades. With the collective insight of all these stakeholders and the community's support, internet service for all is not a wishful thought, but an attainable goal that will place Guam in the forefront of broadband capabilities now and in the future.
With this comprehensive plan, we're committed to delivering a reliable, inclusive, and sustainable digital infrastructure for the people of Guam.
Vision
Powered by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and the momentum of NTIA’s BEAD and Digital Equity programs, we're setting a clear mission for Guam. We aim to ensure every islander enjoys accessible, affordable, high-speed internet, strengthening our ties to the broader digital world while reinforcing our role in America's defense. As we navigate this journey, we're committed to narrowing a digital divide that currently feels as expansive as the Pacific itself.
For Guamanians, the 'digital divide' isn't a distant concept; it's a tangible disadvantage resulting from our remote location, the high cost of internet access, and the missed opportunities these factors create. This divide poses a significant obstacle to equal opportunities across various aspects of life, spanning education, healthcare, and employment. It particularly impacts K-12 students who lack access to crucial developmental tools available to their peers in better-connected areas. In today's world, where remote work and digital literacy are not just possibilities but essential components of daily life, the unavailability of immediate and affordable high-speed internet places our entire community at a competitive disadvantage. Our strategic five-year plan aims to dismantle these barriers and usher in a more inclusive, digitally-connected society.
- Closing the Latency Gap by Bringing the Internet to Guam by constructing a Green, Tier 4 Data Center that will serve as a world-class IXP.
- Invest in both terrestrial and undersea broadband infrastructure that either belongs to Guam’s people or is managed by an entity that can demonstrate its ability and commitment to serve the long-term needs of Guam’s people through increased affordability, improved access, and assured resilience.
- Invest only in broadband infrastructure solutions that contribute to internet resilience, sustainability, and–where possible–upgradability.
- Ensure long-term, affordable gigabit access for all community anchor institutions that serve Guam’s people and culture.
- Promote infrastructure investments and internet policies that ensure a continuously healthy and well-regulated marketplace for participating network service providers.
- Invest in digital equity activities that improve digital literacy and accessibility, high-tech economic opportunities, digital health, digital citizenship, and digital preservation and dissemination of indigenous culture for all Guamanians.
- Develop strategies to bridge the digital divide that denies citizens full access to services, information, and opportunities due to economic disparities in the community.
- Promptly Investigate, analyze, and report to Guam’s people regarding the technical, economic, and social factors that affect their internet access, affordability, and safety.
Guam’s major internet issue is cost. The public pricing of these offerings is far higher than what typical American households pay for both basic and premium levels of service. From a performance standpoint, poor average upload and download rates compared to national standards and large swathes of underserved neighborhoods in Guam are matched by high latencies that interfere with the everyday use of modern, real-time applications. These disadvantages will increasingly hold back Guam’s progress as these applications become an increasing part of global economics and daily life for every Guamanian.
The program defines a population as ‘Served’ with affordable internet access greater than 100 Mbps download, 20 Mbps upload, and below 100 ms latency. Today, this basic level of service is out of reach for most Guamanians – this is no longer acceptable and must be addressed.
We expect to expand on these investments through local opportunities, public-private partnerships, and additional opportunities with NTIA and other federal partners. We anticipate coordinating as a full partner with the Department of Defense as they continue adapting to our unique local security conditions. Guam is the most far-flung land on American soil, an extremely important strategic operating base. It plays a major role in the United States' national security in the Indo-Pacific region.
Immediately after Typhoon Mawar moved past Guam, the island found itself with an almost total collapse of telecom carrier service, disrupting islandwide emergency response and post-typhoon restoration activities. The government is committed to working towards complete recovery from Typhoon Mawar by 2025. We envision a Guam, in five years or less, where affordable qualifying internet service is available for all residents. A Guam with anchor institutions that can afford to serve their communities with gigabit internet and the programming made possible through that internet capacity. A Guam that leads the Pacific in digital equity and opportunities for its people and digitization to help its native language and culture last for many generations. A Guam with internet and communications service that can withstand whatever natural disasters the physical climate may unleash; or threats the global political environment might give rise to. And, finally, a Guam with faster, lower-latency internet for all residents.
By realizing this vision, Guam will be safer, more secure, and more successful as we move towards unparalleled technological advancements in broadband. While the well-being of Guamanians is the primary focus of the Government of Guam, it is worth noting within the context of our federal partners that the well-being of Guam is one of the most cost-effective measures in which the United States can enhance its security position in the world.
Governor Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero, described it succinctly, “Infrastructure is Defense.” Indeed, in the aftermath of Guam’s recent Typhoon Mawar disaster, the criticality of all Guam infrastructure–including its broadband infrastructure–has never been clearer. Apparently (but not assuredly) by coincidence, Mawar swept onto Guam’s shores just as one action by a state actor, China’s attempted hack of key Guam government systems, was discovered. At the same time, another incident of questionable providence, the SEA-US undersea cable service interruption, was in progress as the storm made landfall. While one might consider these events a forewarning about the vulnerability of Guam and its infrastructure, those in positions of responsibility must point out that if there is indeed some future conflict with China, that conflict has essentially already commenced on Guam.
As America rapidly shifts its national defense priorities to deliver an unprecedented military build-up on the island, Guam’s government has had to reassess and reorder its own infrastructure priorities – both to mesh with the defense build-up itself, as well as to plan for new modes of resilience for the local population. In light of the Typhoon, new evaluations and priorities will be necessary.
Both the disaster and the military build-up significantly impacted broadband infrastructure in Guam. The complex and unregulated environment for undersea fiber carriage of internet service from American network backbones makes disaster and resilience planning for civilian internet nearly impossible in an operational theater that recently joined the global threat surface for aggressive acts. The lack of redundant undersea fiber optic cables devoted specifically to serving the population of Guam is a related concern.
From a ground-based standpoint, Guam’s network service providers must unite over shared, foundational security protocols. The state of fierce competition and culture of confidentiality among companies has made collaboration difficult. Yet, our continuous and increasingly cooperative engagement with carriers gives us confidence that this landscape can shift.
In the heart of the Pacific, Guam grapples with challenges that no other U.S. state faces. By leveraging funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, including the NTIA’s BEAD and Digital Equity programs, we are determined to establish a pioneering digital infrastructure that addresses these unique challenges and meets the evolving needs of our community. Recognizing our singular position and the necessity to innovate makes our ambition clear: to ensure affordable, resilient, and state-of-the-art internet access for all, now and in the future. By confronting and addressing these unparalleled challenges head-on, we are setting the stage for Guam to emerge as a beacon in this region, a leader and mentor of digital innovation and resilience, charting a course others may follow.
The ambition of this plan matches the aspirations we hold for the people of Guam. While the strategies we've outlined might evolve, our unwavering belief remains that we can and will achieve our goals.
Goals and Objectives
Develop a Self-Sufficient Broadband Infrastructure:
Internet access is the backbone of modern society. We plan to build an enduring broadband network encompassing a Data Center that is connected to the public-owned middle-mile architecture and which is accessible to all Internet Service Providers through public-private partnerships that can improve network latency, meet the needs of the unserved and underserved, and address affordability while offering consistent, reliable internet connectivity.
Deliver Affordable, High-Speed Internet:
We believe in an equitable digital future where everyone has access to the Internet, irrespective of their financial circumstances.
Free Public Islandwide Service:
Experts from nearly all carriers have expressed that our goal of providing public universal connectivity to every home is a tangible goal we can achieve sooner than many anticipate. The determining factors will be selecting the right technology and the necessary investments to bring this vision to life.
Elevate the Internet Speeds Across Guam:
We're dedicated to delivering not just any internet access but fast, efficient, and reliable connectivity. By continually assessing and improving our internet speeds, we'll ensure Guam stays connected at a pace that matches the rest of the world. We will tackle Guam's unserved status due to high latency, meaning better real-time access, better experience, expanded work opportunities, and enhanced telemedicine.
Nurture a Skilled Workforce:
Maintaining a reliable broadband infrastructure requires a dedicated, skilled workforce. We will create job opportunities by collaborating with local vocational institutions, institutions of higher learning, and government entities, to set up training cooperatives to build workforce capacity as Guam sets the groundwork to build its internet infrastructure’s long-term workforce.
Facilitate Participation in the Digital Economy:
The digital economy is a powerhouse of opportunities, from e-learning to e-commerce. By offering comprehensive digital literacy programs, we are equipping every resident of Guam with the necessary skills to participate and benefit from this digital revolution.
Navigate Regulatory Challenges:
Regulatory processes can often seem like a daunting labyrinth. We are committed to actively liaising with policy-makers and regulatory bodies to ensure our broadband expansion plans move forward smoothly, unimpeded by unnecessary obstacles.
Champion Equitable Access:
Our mission is to ensure that everyone in Guam has equal access to high-quality, high-speed internet. No one should be left behind because of their location, financial status, or other factors.
Adhere to Federal BEAD Program Requirements:
Federal funding comes with its own set of prerequisites. We are prepared to comply meticulously with the BEAD program. Our commitment to transparency and accountability will guide our actions as we bring the vision of a digitally connected Guam to life.