Bala Balakrishnan, Liberty’s USVI general manager. Photo Credit: LIBERTY USVI
Liberty announced Tuesday that it plans to bring its fiber-to-the-home construction standard to the U.S. Virgin Islands in the coming years. The company said it is also unifying its operations in the territory under its brand and launching a new campaign highlighting the benefits of combining home and mobile internet services with Liberty.
According to the release, as a result, customers can now acquire both services at all Liberty stores throughout the USVI and subscribe to new combined value offers.
Liberty said the fiber-to-the-home buildout, which is expected to be completed in 2026, will bring an optic fiber broadband connection to all USVI homes and businesses throughout St. John, St. Croix and St. Thomas. The evaluation process is already underway throughout various communities in the territory.
"The fiber network will be built with a combination of corporate funds and the funding awarded to the company through the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) “Connect USVI” initiative. Liberty is committed by the federal program to build 100% of locations in the territory," the company said;
“We are very excited to begin this new phase of our plans to bring ultra-fast fiber internet to the USVI,” said Bala Balakrishnan, Liberty’s USVI general manager. “This fiber optic network will bring multiple advantages to the people of the USVI. Not only will it be more resilient and resistant to natural disasters, but it will also bring residents and businesses more speeds and capacity. The construction process and finished infrastructure will also help generate jobs, enhance the USVI’s position as a technology hub in the Caribbean and drive economic growth in the region.”
Together, Connecting Customers Better
According to the release, all Broadband VI and Liberty services will now be unified and promoted under the Liberty name and logo. The company is now one of the biggest private sector employers in the territory, with 75 employees, 15 of them new hires in 2022.
Liberty said its customers have six points of sales throughout the territory to get broadband and mobile services under one roof, more value in combined offers and products, frictionless digital channels, consistency in service across touchpoints to provide the best customer experience, and constant innovation.
According to the release, under the slogan “The Future is Now,” the rebranding campaign introduces new combined offers that provide special rates with added services that deliver more value to the company’s combined customer base. For example: residential fixed internet customers get a 52 Mbps plan, which doubles to 100Mbps when combined with a mobile service plan.
Mobile Network Enhancements and Continued 5G Network Expansion
With the recent shutdown of its 3G network, Liberty said it upgraded its mobile network, thus adding more capacity and speed to it. The spectrum reallocation from the 3G network has already increased the 5G network’s usage and speeds by over 50 percent, thus improving the overall experience of the company’s customers in the territory, the release stated. Meanwhile, Liberty says it continues to expand its 5G network in the USVI, which has already happened in 60% of all USVI cell sites and should be completed by the end of the year.
“This work is already translating into an instant capacity improvement for our mobile customers, who are already experiencing better network speeds,” stated Victor Vera, senior director of RAN Engineering at Liberty. “By shutting down the old 3G network, adopting new technology, and expanding our 5G network, we are giving our customers an even better overall mobile experience.”
Connecting with USVI Communities
Liberty said it continues to expand its community outreach efforts throughout the USVI. Since November 2020, the company has awarded $215,000 in grants to 19 USVI nonprofit organizations through the Liberty Foundation, Liberty’s corporate social responsibility arm.
USVI organizations that have received funds from Liberty Foundation include the Women’s Coalition of St. Croix, the Family Resource Center in St. Thomas, The Virgin Islands Children’s Museum in St. Thomas, The Children’s Museum of St. Croix, My Brother’s Workshops, YMCA USVI and The Caribbean Centers for Boys & Girls of the Virgin Islands in St. Croix.
The Liberty Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that provide services in education, arts and culture, social well-being and health and environmental protection.
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