The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approved the plan presented by the Puerto Rico Broadband Program (PRBP), better known as Smart Island, from the Office of Management and Budget (OGP) for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding program.

With the approval of Vol. 2 of the 5-year Plan of Action presented by the Smart Island program, the Government of Puerto Rico will have access to $334.6 million to improve high-speed Internet networks and ensure that all citizens have access to reliable, accessible and high-speed Internet service.

“We are very excited to receive this approval as it allows us to start implementing the projects by having access to the much needed funds to improve high-speed internet infrastructure. This is undoubtedly achieved thanks to the diligence and planning that we have managed to implement from our program,” said the executive director of the Smart Island program, Michelle Cabiya Zorrilla.

“Puerto Rico can move its Internet for All efforts from planning to action. I thank the Puerto Rico Broadband program for developing a solid proposal on how they will connect all their residents to high-speed Internet service,” said the Undersecretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and administrator of the NTIA, Alan Davidson.

“I commend the Puerto Rico team for their work in creating a successful plan to deploy reliable and affordable high-speed Internet service across the island. Together with the Puerto Rico Broadband program, we are creating the connection that facilitates access to jobs, health and education,” added William Navas, officer of the Federal Program for Puerto Rico.

For his part, the director of the OGP, Juan Carlos Blanco, indicated that “certainly, we are at a historic moment in which the Government of Puerto Rico has managed to move forward with projects at the island level to close the digital divide and provide citizens with high-speed Internet in a reliable way and at an affordable price. These funds will allow the implementation of various projects aimed at improving high-speed internet infrastructure and improving connectivity throughout Puerto Rico.”

The BEAD program established by the Infrastructure and Jobs Investment Act (IIJA), is part of the Biden-Harris Administration's “Internet for All” initiative and provides funds to states and territories to build high-speed Internet infrastructure where needed, allows for assistance to provide necessary equipment and encourages local associations so that everyone can be connected to the network. It also prioritizes unattended locations that don't have Internet access or that only have access at less than 25/3 Mbps and unattended locations only have access at less than 100/20 Mbps.

Proactively, the Smart Island program identified how to advance the planning, design and logistics of many of the projects included in the plan with local funding. This will allow the Government of Puerto Rico to begin implementing the projects, an important step towards closing the digital divide and fulfilling the goal of connecting everyone to an accessible, reliable and resilient Internet service.

The funds will be used for the construction of the underground pipeline system and other projects such as the development and training of the workforce in broadband, digital browsers and digital literacy workshops, an affordable device program and reuse; and other programs that will promote the adoption of high-speed Internet.

‍