Guam News - Guam News

Guam - Speaker Judi Won Pat and Senator Aline Yamashita have announced that IT&E has reached agreement with the Guam Public Library system to provide Internet service to library branches.

READ the release from Senators Won Pat and Yamashita below:

Speaker Judith Won Pat, Ed.D., and Senator Aline A. Yamashita, Ph.D., Chair and Vice Chair of the Committee on Education, Public Libraries, and Women's Affairs, celebrate the success of a public private partnership between local communications company IT&E and the Guam Public Library System (GPLS) that will bring Internet connectivity to public library branches.

Library branches in Agat, Dededo, Barrigada, Merizo and Yona will be energized with wireless broadband this month through a generous donation from IT&E.  The service will be provided free-of-charge until September.  The seven-month donation is part of IT&E’s outreach program to stimulate broadband adoption.

“ Providing the opportunity to prosper to all families is important,” says Sen. Yamashita.   “Equipping our public libraries— a place where all are encouraged to be— helps this cause.  I applaud and appreciate IT&E for being community stewards and good corporate citizens.”

Since March 2011, Sen. Yamashita has been involved with the broadband effort, working closely with the National Broadband Mapping Project coordinators in Washington, D.C. and Guam, One-Economy Corporation of Washington, DC, and Dan Ho Kumapaniya to reach out to communities and critical-needs agencies in order to collect data for Guam for inclusion in the National Broadband Map.   

"Broadband is no longer a luxury in our lives," says Sen. Yamashita.  "We use it everyday and in every aspect as it delivers not only entertainment and connections to our family and friends, but information and lifelines between individuals and health, social, educational and emergency services."

On Friday, 08 March 2013, at 11:30 am at the Nieves M. Flores Memorial Library, Hagåtña, Speaker Won Pat and Sen. Yamashita will join GPLS employees, community members, IT&E, and the Guam Broadband Mapping team in celebrating the return of broadband service to the libraries.