Dept. of Education and Senator Frett-Gregory Under Scrutiny for Heritage Wireless Partnership

After the V.I. Dept. of Education announced over the weekend that it will work with internet service provider Heritage Wireless — which was introduced to the department by Senator Donna Frett-Gregory — to issue free devices to eligible students, questions began to arise almost immediately about the nature of the partnership and the announcement.

Information received from the offices of Senators Marvin Blyden and Marise James suggested that lawmakers were displeased about the seeming platforming of one company by the Dept. of Education, when all providers in the territory can work within the framework of the Affordable Connectivity Plan, or ACP, to offer free or reduced cost broadband access or devices to eligible participants.

The senators also criticized the department for being overly vague with the Saturday announcement, which failed to inform the public that funding for the ACP is set to expire within the next few months, at which point any benefits under the program would cease.

The alarm bell was also rung over what the lawmakers considered to be a hastily struck deal between D.O.E. and Heritage Wireless, which reportedly took fewer than 24 hours from conception to inception and roll-out via the department's Saturday press release.