The U.S. Virgin Islands’ communications networks were badly damaged by two historic hurricanes, Irma and Maria, which ravaged the islands in September 2017. Hurricane Irma produced the most damage to Viya’s network on the island of St. John. Viya began its restoration efforts with hotspots and, shortly after, service in Cruz Bay, but there is much more work to be done to fully restore the network on the island.
Chief Executive Officer Alvaro Pilar said, “Love City Community Network (LCCN), a non-profit Internet service provider that was created in the wake of Hurricane Irma by fellow communications experts, addressed an immediate need for telecommunications that Viya could not provide at the time, due to the decimation of our plant in St. John.”
“This non-profit organization has been able to provide Internet service to hundreds of business and residential customers that now rely on them for their communication needs. Today, I am proud to announce that Viya, the true local service provider, will join with LCCN to keep St. John connected,” said the CEO.
Love City Community Network currently serves most of St. John, including the following areas: Cruz Bay, Contant, Pastory, Gifft Hill, Susannaberg, Lovango Cay, Peter Bay, Maria Bluff, Fish Bay, Bordeaux Mt. and Coral Bay. Future sites include Ajax Peak and East End.
“Viya is committed to fully restoring service to St. John, and we are working feverishly to rebuild a more robust network. In the interim, we look forward to working closely with LCCN to ensure that there are no additional service interruptions. We want to thank the St. John community for their resilience and patience during this restoration period,” Pilar said.
