Liberty Communications has secured $71.54 million in government subsidy funding to deploy high-speed broadband to 914,000 locations in Puerto Rico and Puerto Rico Telephone Co. is getting $55.56 million to do the same.
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Together, said the FCC Monday (Nov. 2), the pair, winning bidders in the second stage of the FCC's Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund for high-cost support, will provide access to broadband of at least 100 mbps to 1.2 million locations, almost a third of that at least 1 gig, which means the entirety of Puerto Rico will have access to at least 100 Mbps, said the FCC.
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"I’m very pleased with the outcome of the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund’s Stage 2 Competitive Process,” said FCC chairman Ajit Pai in a statement. “The Fund will bring modern, resilient broadband service of at least 100 Mbps to every location in Puerto Rico—each and every one. As most people know, the island has suffered so much devastation to communications infrastructure from hurricanes in recent years, and even before that, connectivity was a challenge for many."
