Following the devastating damage caused by multiple hurricanes in 2017, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai wants to use funds totaling nearly $1 billion to restore and expand connectivity in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
On March 6, Pai proposed creating a $750 million Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund, or Bringing Puerto Rico Together Fund, as well as a $204 million Connect USVI Fund. Each of these funds would provide short-term assistance for restoring communications networks in the aftermath of hurricanes Irma and Maria, as well as longer-term support for expanding broadband access throughout the islands.
Pai said the plan would be funded by providing about $256 million in new funds as well as repurposing universal service support currently directed to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The funding would also be spread out over time, with the plan calling for an immediate infusion of about $64 million in additional funding for short-term restoration efforts. The vast majority of the funds, about $631 million, would be spent over a longer period.
"The plan calls for the FCC to devote almost $1 billion in funding both to the short-term, efficient restoration of service and the long-term improvement and expansion of broadband throughout Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. With the 2018 hurricane season less than three months away, we need to take bold and decisive action," Pai said in a statement.
Hurricane Irma hit Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in early September 2017, followed just a couple of weeks later by Hurricane Maria. By the end of the second storm, more than 95% of Puerto Rico's wireless cell sites were out of service and roughly 100% of the population was without power.
As of March 5, the FCC estimated 4.3% of the cell sites in Puerto Rico remain out of service, while 13.8% of cell sites are out of service in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
