During yesterday’s Senate session, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Territorial Bank of American Samoa (TBAS), Senator Togiola Tulafono, was asked if the bank is working on a back up system to avoid an extended disruption of service—as happened last Friday.
The question came from Senate President Tuaolo Manaia Fruean. He pointed out that banking services were down for much of Friday, and was curious as to the cause.
Togiola responded that the problem was with Bluesky Communications service. He said, banking services could not operate without internet service provided by Bluesky.
He said, when he became chairman, TBAS already had a contract with Bluesky and it cannot be changed until the contract runs out.
Togiola also explained that if a problem occurs, the bank cannot just change to another server because all communications must be secure—which is part of the service that the contractor provides for the bank.
Tuaolo was curious as to why the government owned bank is being serviced by a private company owned by Fiji and not the government phone company, ASTCA.
He said, while the Senate Select Investigative Committee is going about its investigations, it’s the appropriate time to bring in ASTCA officials to explain why they can’t provide the service for TBAS.
Tuaolo, also, asked Togiola, if TBAS finances are secure in light of the collapse of banks in the US. Togiola responded, “Very secure.”
Before yesterday’s Senate session, KHJ News had asked the CEO and President of TBAS, Dave Buehler, if there’s a move to get a back up system for TBAS. He replied, “No details yet, but we are working on it.”
