Creating a 100-seat Call Center — thereby providing jobs — and setting up five business centers territory-wide, are two of the interesting projects the American Samoa TeleCommunications Authority is proposing to be funded with its fiscal year 2015 budget of $16 million, which is the same amount budgeted for FY 2014.

A handful of lawmakers plan to ask for more details on these and other ASTCA proposed funding expenditures when the Fono reconvenes later this month, with the goal of having the details before budget hearings are scheduled.

According to the budget document, the “All Others” budget item has the largest expenditure at $6.87 million; followed with personnel costs at $4.88 million (compared to $4.57 million in FY 2014); equipment at $2.09 million:  $1.02 million for materials and supplies and the rest for travel and contractual services.

For All Others budget category, the big expenditures are: $1 million to cover electricity expenses and $4.08 million in telephone and communication expenditures, which include the new ‘inter-country’ undersea cable to sell broadband capacity from the O3b satellite project, the budget document says.

As previously reported by Samoa News, ASTCA is targeting the end of September 2014 to cut-over services for its O3b. (See Samoa News edition, July 11, for the latest update on the O3b project.)

CALL CENTER

To take full advantage of its fiber optic capabilities, ASTCA says it has made plans to build a 100-seat call center creating over 300 jobs for the community. Requiring the expertise to set up the process for a call center, ASTCA  has allocated $65,000 under Contractual Services for call center experts.

Under Equipment budget category, ASTCA is also allocating $285,250 for the Call Center, saying that with the advent of FTTH (Fiber-to-the-Home) project, operators and other employee positions will become obsolete.

To save these jobs, the positions need to be re-defined in order to add-value to ASTCA’s operations. Also, the project will ‘migrate’ traditional jobs into ‘high-tech’ opportunities, thus averting RIF — or reduction in workforce — and unnecessary furloughs.

“ASTCA proposes funding to build and structure a 100 seat ‘call center’ to serve both its inbound and outbound calls, creating new revenues, retooling its workforce capabilities, and ‘adding-value”. Funds are earmarked for transitional training, hardware and software development to fully implement this project,” ASTCA explains in its budget proposal.

BUSINESS CENTERS

Under contractual service, ASTCA is allocating $50,000 to hire a qualified architect to design a “unified structure of business centers” territory-wide. The Authority says it plans to build five business service centers.

Under Equipment budget item, ASTCA is proposing $318,100 to build the five internet cafe and business office centers to serve the community throughout the territory: Fagatogo, Nu’uuli, Ta’u, Ofu and Tafuna.

“These centers will allow customers to buy phones and devices, retrieve and pay bills and serve as community centers with WiFi and internet Cafe capability,” ASTCA states.

EQUIPMENT

Some other interesting projects being proposed under the Equipment budget includes allocating $650,000 for ‘broadband capacity expansion — Phase II’.

ASTCA says the proposed funding is to increase broadband capacity in support of the BLAST — Broadband Linking the American Samoa Territory — via acquiring the use of low orbit ‘satellites, O3b.

Moreover, the capacity expansion project will supplement capacity currently received from the undersea fiber optic cable (owned by American Samoa Hawaii Cable LLC)  and will also serve as a back-up ‘route’ as well as installation of a dish in Manu’a as a 3rd redundancy, increasing Manu’a communication capabilities.

For Manu’a development, ASTCA is proposing $85,000 to expand microwave capacity and cellular coverage, and procure backup digit switches and other components in support of the communication system.

ASTCA says it has a public mandate to provide communication to residents of the island group.

According to the budget document, ASTCA is proposing $250,000 for transportation equipment, or vehicles. ASTCA plans to purchase six vehicles — four of them are replacement vehicles for their aging fleet, which are uneconomical to maintain; and two are for Manu’a.  Additionally, four specialized bucket trucks are needed for the BLAST project, as a grant matching requisite, and for continuous use once the BLAST project is completed.

The budget also revealed that ASTCA is working on setting up its IT Division, and seeking $100,000 to fund it. According to ASTCA the IT project aims to save 84 positions.

“At the completion of the BLAST project, lineman and other copper dependent positions will be obsolete,” it says. “To upgrade these traditional jobs and raise extra revenues, ASTCA proposes a stand alone and self sustaining IT division to serve as a gateway to the digital and communications technology.”

ASTCA says funds requested for IT will be for transitional training, hardware and software.