TRB to help Puerto Rico entities request FCC funding
TRB President Javier Rúa-Jovet
The Puerto Rico Telecommunications Regulatory Board will be working with local entities interested in presenting proposals to the Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Broadband Experiments program, which has $100 million available to assign across the U.S. and its territories.
The federal agency has established an objective methodology to select proposals by its Oct. 14 deadline.
“The purpose of the FCC funds is to encourage access to high speed Internet and the use of broadband technology in rural areas not served because of its high costs,” said TRB President Javier Rúa-Jovet. “As the TRB, and in accordance with the Telecommunications Act, have a duty to encourage capital investment in the development of telecommunications infrastructure and efforts to complement federal initiatives.”
“For those reasons, we’ll be offering the necessary orientation and assistance to those wanting to request FCC funds for projects related to rural broadband, all of which is part of our ‘PAIS Banda Ancha’ vision, in which the ‘I’ represents economic incentives for broadband,” Rúa-Jovet said.
The orientation will take place Friday from 10 a.m. to noon at the agency’s Santurce headquarters. The board will expand on the procedures, terms and conditions related to the submission for funding. The board will subsequently present a cost-model analysis the FCC applies to Puerto Rico, and information about financing and measures to encourage high speed Internet service and advanced technology, at low and affordable prices in unserved rural areas.
“We call on all telecommunications, VoIP, Cable TV and Satellite TV companies, as well as the general community, including broadband services providers, interested in participating in this orientation to come to our facilities,” said Rúa-Jovet.
