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Forgive me if I’m missing something obvious, but who is financing this? Google? DfID have ruled out funding, and it’s unlikely St H will get any further EU reg

Forgive me if I’m missing something obvious, but who is financing this? Google? DfID have ruled out funding, and it’s unlikely St H will get any further EU regional funding. So - either they’re going to be taking an almighty loan, or rely on the kindness of corporations. I can’t see St H becoming a tech hub. It’s a lovely place, sure, but they’d need immigration of people with technical skills for that - I can count on one hand the number of saints with computer literacy, and they don’t want/can’t support any kind of immigrant population. Apart from anything else, all houses are occupied, and there’s precious little land upon which to build in Jamestown, and the saints do not want high rises and all the rest. No, I don’t speak for them, but I have spoken with them, and it’s pretty clear which way the wind blows. I hope they do get a better connection to the world, but I fear practicality will get in the way. If they do plough ahead and assume the debt (I am assuming that there will be a debt to google), then the rumblings in Whitehall of making crown dependencies responsible for their own budgets might get louder. Their airport (which is perfectly fine, by the by, stunning approach) continues to attract flack as an ill conceived and expensive boondoggle.

danellis 7y ago
You're right that there's no native tech talent in a tiny population like that, but who says they don't want any kind of immigrant population? Presumably it doesn't take thousands of people to keep an Earth station running after it's built. I mean, look at less-populated Ascension Island with its BBC relay station.
- madaxe_again 7y ago
  Oh, indeed - it will take but a handful of people to manage, as the C&W dish currently does. But therein lies the problem. It’s unclear what the economic uplift would be, and how it would pay for itself. If it’s simply a convenient waystation for the cable, great, but it doesn’t seem to be, so to me, the reasoning is unclear.
  - walrus01 7y ago
    You might be surprised how much is being paid in transponder kHz lease monthly recurring costs, and earth station services on the other end, to provide internet and WAN phone services for the entire population of St Helena. Using submarine fiber might have an ROI under 15 years, if the additional cost to bring the cable to the island (vs bypass it entirely with same cable) is slightly government subsidized.

danellis 7y ago

You're right that there's no native tech talent in a tiny population like that, but who says they don't want any kind of immigrant population? Presumably it doesn't take thousands of people to keep an Earth station running after it's built. I mean, look at less-populated Ascension Island with its BBC relay station.

madaxe_again 7y ago
Oh, indeed - it will take but a handful of people to manage, as the C&W dish currently does. But therein lies the problem. It’s unclear what the economic uplift would be, and how it would pay for itself. If it’s simply a convenient waystation for the cable, great, but it doesn’t seem to be, so to me, the reasoning is unclear.
- walrus01 7y ago
  You might be surprised how much is being paid in transponder kHz lease monthly recurring costs, and earth station services on the other end, to provide internet and WAN phone services for the entire population of St Helena. Using submarine fiber might have an ROI under 15 years, if the additional cost to bring the cable to the island (vs bypass it entirely with same cable) is slightly government subsidized.