ST. JOHN — The Virgin Islands Next Generation Network (viNGN) said in a Tuesday release that it would stop providing free internet service to the nonprofit organization, Love City Community Network (LCCN), a service viNGN said was provided following Hurricane Irma, to help individuals connect with loved ones.
According to the viNGN release, on April 6 LCCN agreed with viNGN to end its disaster relief Internet services on St. John on May 7, 2018. viNGN said that as agreed by all parties, the LCCN network will be completely deactivated and placed in a stand-by, non-active mode in the event of another natural disaster.
After Hurricane Irma, the non-governmental organization (NGO), made a legal short-term business agreement with viNGN to provide free and temporary broadband bandwidth to St. John. This temporary agreement allowed public WiFi for St. John citizens in response to the disaster, and allowed the local ISPs to restore their secure Internet networks, viNGN said.
According to the release, NGO and viNGN temporary agreement ended on February 8, 2018, whereupon the nonprofit organization, LCCN, inherited NGO’s temporary disaster relief mission.
To further help LCCN with its St. John mission, viNGN never charged LCCN for broadband bandwidth, according to the release.
viNGN thanked LCCN on behalf of NGO and St. John citizens, for what viNGN said was the entity’s temporary Internet disaster relief Internet service.
In summary, St. John citizens using LCCN’s Internet on the VINGN network will have until May 7, 2018, to contact one of their local ISPs to schedule a business or home Internet device installation, viNGN said. After May 7, the LCCN network will be completely deactivated and placed in a stand-by, non-active mode in the event of another natural disaster, the release concluded.
Tags: Love City Community Network, vingn, virgin islands next generation network