With Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands still recovering from the devastating hurricanes of 2017, the Federal Communications Commission is moving forward on its plan to dedicate nearly $900 million in funding to restore and expand connectivity in the U.S. territories.
The FCC on May 29 approved an order that will provide an immediate infusion of about $64 million in new funding for short-term restoration efforts. The new federal dollars would come on top of the $65.8 million in advanced funding the FCC provided to carriers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Moreover, the order would convert that advanced funding into new funding by declining to recover that money from future universal service support payments.
Looking forward, the FCC is seeking comment on a proposal that would allocate $444.5 million in funding for the expansion of fixed broadband connectivity in Puerto Rico and $186.5 million for the same in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Those funds would be spaced out over the course of a decade.
The proposal also calls for the allocation of $259 million in medium-term funding for the expansion of 4G LTE mobile broadband connectivity in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
All told, the recovery efforts will 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.
In a statement, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said the proposal looks toward the long term in order to "future-proof the territories' networks before the storms to come." He added, "Making the right calls now will help ensure that funding is fiscally responsible and enables as many people as possible in the territories to benefit from fixed and mobile communications."
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 about 100% of the population was without power. The government of Puerto Rico estimates that the two hurricanes caused approximately $1.5 billion of damage to the territory's communications networks, and the FCC noted that recovery efforts in both Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have been complicated by logistical difficulties and ongoing electrical power outages.
In other FCC news, the commission said May 29 that it successfully transitioned to a new Local Number Portability Administrator. Going forward, Telcordia Technologies, which does business as iconectiv, will serve as the administrator, operating the system that allows consumers to keep their telephone numbers when they switch communications service providers. Pai said iconectiv is "less expensive" than the previous administrator, adding, "This change should reduce costs for consumers."
