Following the federal government's allocation of $334.6 million for Puerto Rico under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD), the Assistant Secretary for Innovation, Information, Data and Technology and Executive Director of the Smart Island program, Enrique Völckers-Nin detailed the projects that will continue to be developed to achieve high speed internet access for the Island.

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“With this allocation, we gained access to additional funds that will allow us to continue implementing programs and projects for underground fiber, redundancy in submarine cables, multiservice centers, internet centers, workforce development, grant programs, strengthening and resilience for service providers, public WiFi, infrastructure improvements for government services and public safety, training and training programs for the individual, among others,” said the Völckers-Nin.

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Last Monday, Governor Pedro Pierluisi announced the million-dollar allocation, which was added to some $400 million in local funds to improve connectivity across the island, as well as a first disbursement of $100 million, of which $5 million is earmarked for planning efforts to develop projects that help close Puerto Rico's digital divide.

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The Smart Island program will succeed in creating a resilient and fortified fiber system along key routes that will allow for faster recovery from storms and other major natural events. At the same time, it will increase the reach, bandwidth and route diversity for “Community Anchor Institutions”, transform telecommunications in Puerto Rico to a more fortified position than before Hurricane Maria, and will position Puerto Rico for future broadband needs.

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After the first meeting of the Digital Equity Advisory Subcommittee, attended by the Puerto Rico Regional Federal Programs officer of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, William Navas, the executive director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA), Luis Dávila Pernas and members of the telecommunications industry in Puerto Rico, Völckers-Nin detailed the requirements to achieve the million-dollar allocation for internet access.

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He explained that it has been a collaborative effort between municipalities, non-profit organizations, the federal government and citizen support through the Connectivity Survey that has made it possible to identify over 30,000 additional locations to the more than 62,000 certified by the federal government with an internet speed of less than 25 mbs or that do not have the internet infrastructure to connect.

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“Certainly, having over 92,000 locations without high-speed internet service is one of the reasons why the federal government allocated millions of dollars of funding to meet this need. In addition, the implementation of the Puerto Rico Broadband program, together with the great pace achieved with the internet subsidy program, is a certification that our administration is yielding results and our program, although ambitious, is promising,” added the executive director.

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Under the Smart Island program, projects have been developed focused on improving connectivity, quality and accessibility so that each citizen receives high-speed internet, such as the investment of $50 million for the Public WiFi Program (Puerto Rico WiFi Public Access), which will allow, in its first phase, the creation of 190 public WiFi spaces in 46 municipalities of the island. The identification of the localities was worked together with the municipalities and these range from libraries, public buildings for citizen service, spas, public squares, community centers, parks, linear promenades, boat terminals, viewpoints, market squares, among others.

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In addition, the federal government has recognized the extraordinary implementation of the Internet Subsidy program in Puerto Rico. On the other hand, $30 million was allocated for Internet Resilience and Hardening, a program that will allocate funds to Internet providers on the island to improve their infrastructure, so that it is more resilient to adverse situations. With these funds, suppliers will be able to purchase equipment such as electric generators, solar panels and batteries so that, in the event of an emergency, the service will continue to be offered.

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In addition, in the coming months, a design project will begin that will have an estimated investment of more than $250 million in federal and local funds to bury optical fiber. For additional details of the Puerto Rico Broadband Program, you can visit smartisland.pr.gov.

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