New Progressive Party Rep. José Chico filed late Tuesday a resolution ordering the House Government Affairs Committee to launch a probe into alleged irregularities by a number of Telecommunications Regulatory Board members that resulted in blocking the cable television franchise license requested by Puerto Rico Telephone (Claro).
Less than 24 hours after the Telecommunications Regulatory Board made public a resolution and order that seemingly granted the cable television franchise license Puerto Rico Telephone (Claro) has been seeking since 2008, agency President Sandra Torres said Friday the decision is “null” because its content is radically different from what was discussed earlier this year.
Nearly three years after requesting it, Puerto Rico Telephone (Claro) has obtained its cable television franchise from the Telecommunications Regulatory Board, with which it will be able to launch Internet Protocol Television services islandwide.
San Juan metropolitan area cable provider OneLink Communications stepped up Wednesday in support of Choice Cable’s decision to file a complaint against Puerto Rico Telephone (Claro) for what it claims to be an illegal build-out of its Internet Protocol Television network.
Puerto Rico Telephone, which does business as Claro, fired back at Choice Cable TV Monday, saying the complaint it filed at the Telecommunications Regulatory Board claiming the carrier is building out its cable infrastructure without a license is “frivolous.”
Choice Cable TV caught Puerto Rico Telephone (Claro) building infrastructure for its proposed Internet Protocol TV service in its region earlier this month, doing so without a cable franchise license in violation of local laws.
Claro President Enrique Ortiz de Montellano publicly urged consumers Wednesday to continue exerting pressure on the Telecommunications Regulatory Board to issue the cable franchise license the company requested nearly three years ago to deploy its Internet Protocol TV service.
Six weeks after holding possibly the most explosive public hearing in its history, the Telecommunications Regulatory Board has yet to officially grant Claro the franchise license it needs to launch Internet-based television services.
I have been following the recent and somewhat confusing discourse on why Claro should be granted an IPTV license. I am surprised at the “turtle-like” speed by which the Telecommunications Regulatory Board is handling this issue.
The government’s Chief Information Officer, Juan E. Rodríguez, urged the Telecommunications Regulatory Board Monday to give way to Puerto Rico Telephone’s petition for a cable television franchise license to launch islandwide IPTV service, as it would benefit consumers, competition and the economy.
Delayed by a “give-and-take” between Telecommunications Regulatory Board members and representatives from Puerto Rico Telephone (Claro) and companies opposed to its application for a cable television franchise license, Monday’s hearing on IPTV got off to an unsurprisingly rocky start.
Claro has stepped up its efforts to obtain the franchise license it requested more than three years ago to break into the island’s paid television market by launching an online signature collection campaign Friday in support of its IPTV service.
Hundreds of channels, “a la carte”-like programming and cutting edge features based on a $60 million platform are some of the features that Claro TV is ready to offer island customers through the Internet-based cable television service it is proposing to launch.
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