The new service delivers 1 Gigabits per second (Gbps), which is 25 times the amount it received from the local telcom provider. It will be receiving high speed broadband internet access at no additional costs. They own the beach manhole and cable landing station as a result of its public capital investment.
The focus now turns to finding the opportunities for using the fibre connectivity.ĭenzil West, Director of DITES and the project manager for the SFCP shared that the Government of Montserrat is the first beneficiary of the strengthened network. He said they will be using the learnings for the other projects to be rolled out in the months to come under CIPREG. Martin Parlett, Director of the Programme Management Office in the Ministry of Finance said the execution of the project despite the pandemic is a real life model for project and risk management. It is also very rewarding to have reached the end of the journey on schedule, in spite of the challenges introduced by Covid-19.” Martin Parlett, Head of Programme Management Office I want to welcome Montserrat to an interconnected empowered future and to thank the Government for choosing SCF as their preferred partner in this important infrastructure development. Valery Bijou, CEO of Southern Caribbean Fiber said, “SCF is very proud of achieving this milestone with the reinstatement of Montserrat on the map of submarine cables in the Caribbean and the resulting internet connectivity. With submarine fibre optic cables the backbone of the internet, and used for over 99% of all international voice and data traffic, the connection of a new subsea fibre cable system means the people of Montserrat can now look forward to reliable, fast and secure connection to the internet. This connectivity has been tested whenever there are storms, and amplified the island’s vulnerability to being completely cut off from the outside world. Montserrat has been relying on microwaves linked between the island and Antigua for internet, cable, mobile and landline services since the fibre optic cables were removed 25 years ago. Denzil West, Director of DITES and project manager. Under the project, funded by the UK funded Capital Investment Programme for Resilient Economic Growth (CIPREG), fibre optic cables, connecting Montserrat to Antigua and Guadeloupe have been successfully installed and are ready for operations. (A celebration will be held once it is safe to do so.) The long-awaited connectivity for Montserrat via subsea cable is now a reality thanks to the Government of Montserrat’s collaboration with Southern Caribbean Fiber (SCF), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Digicel Group, and its subsidiary SCF Montserrat.
On Thursday, without the fanfare it rightfully deserves, officials formally announced the completion of the Montserrat Subsea Fibre Optic Project. These ideas and more are within reach now that the Subsea Fibre optic cable has been lit up. How about Montserrat as a source for fresh original content for the Diaspora and streaming services? The data is received in real time and they analyse and discuss what this means with primary school students in Canada. Or, volcanology students in New Zealand watching a scientist collect samples from the Soufriere Hills Volcano live as part of their daily class. Imagine Montserrat being the home of a relay station transmitting data from earth to satellites orbiting the earth.