Cheech Chirag Facebook post including Daryl Wade working on St. John
(via Univision.com News) Daryl Wade, Chief Information Officer for the Virgin Islands Next Generation Network, Inc. (viNGN) was instrumental in reconnecting St. John to the world within a week after devastating Hurricane Irma with high-speed Internet and free public Wi-Fi.
St. John had also been disconnected from the U.S. Virgin Islands power grid, and with stiff curfews and port closures in place, the situation was immediately dire.
Alongside St. John IT professionals, Daryl worked to provide free temporary broadband services to several key locations in the main town of Cruz Bay including a pharmacy, while establishing hotspots that allowed the public to communicate with loved ones, apply for disaster relief, and manage personal affairs online. The access points are now part of Global Disaster Immediate Response Team (DIRT), a non-government organization established in 2010 that fills critical needs in disaster-ravaged areas around the world.
Since that time, power has been restored to most of St. John, and viNGN partner ISPs have already begun reconnecting their customers. The struggle to normalcy continues on St. John and in the rest of the United States Virgin Islands. Visit InformUSVI.com for official updates on all restoration efforts throughout the territory.
- Read the full article: Free wifi networks to avoid being “forgotten” by the United States at Univision.com
Virgin Islands Next Generation Network, Inc. (viNGN) 