Governor de Jongh has signed an agreement that will allow the Virgin Islands to install and operate communication towers on sites managed by the federal government on both St. Thomas and St. Croix. The agreement caps almost three years of negotiations with the federal government for use of the sites which will greatly enhance the administration’s efforts in upgrading the territory’s communications network and the service provided to emergency responders: police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians.

The Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (USDHS) and U.S.Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) gives the Virgin Islands Bureau of Information Technology authorization to install its equipment atop Crown Mountain on St. Thomas and St. George Hill on St. Croix.

“This MOU gives the Bureau of Information Technology access to hilltops with unimpeded line-of-sight views between towers, allowing the communications system that police, firefighters and first responders depend on to become more effective and more reliable. It will enhance public safety and security throughout the territory,” the governor said. 

A lack of unimpeded lines-of-sight between communication centers has caused problems for local public safety and law enforcement agencies in the past. For that reason, the de Jongh-Francis administration had been pursuing this partnership with the federal government. 

“I thank Homeland Security and ICE for recognizing our need to use those locations to augment our own system, and working with us toward a solution that is beneficial to all parties,” the governor added.

At the two sites, the Virgin Islands government will install dipole and microwave dish antennae, pre-fabricated huts, electrical and mechanical equipment and ancillary devices near the ICE buildings. A study by USDHS concluded there should be no frequency interference issues affecting the operations of federal agencies also using communication equipment at Crown Mountain and St. George Hill.