Puerto Rico Home Broadband Adoption Surges

According to Connect Puerto Rico’s 2014 broadband survey results released today, home broadband adoption in Puerto Rico increased by 15 percentage points between 2010 and 2014, surging from 31% to 46% of adults with home broadband service. Governor Alejandro Javier García Padilla announced the positive broadband growth during the REGULATEL press conference. This change represents an additional 377,000 adults who now subscribe to home broadband service. In addition, broadband deployment on the Island continued to increase to meet this increased demand, with 76.9% of households having access to fixed broadband speeds of at least 50 Mbps downstream and 1.5 Mbps upstream.

These achievements note marked improvement in the broadband adoption and availability gaps in Puerto Rico. Four years ago, no household in Puerto Rico had access to 50 Mbps download speeds, and broadband adoption was 31%, well below national averages. Three years ago, the Puerto Rico Broadband Task Force, administered by Connect Puerto Rico, established aggressive goals of broadband adoption and availability, and these Connect Puerto Rico studies demonstrate that significant progress in meeting those goals has been made.

However, many gaps remain. Compared to the U.S. mainland, Puerto Rico broadband adoption still trails substantially, and while gigabit networks are now being constructed on the mainland, Puerto Rico homes, businesses, government agencies, and community institutions still lack access to those robust, next-generation networks.

“Broadband Internet access and adoption in all of Puerto Rico is essential for economic development,” said Giancarlo González, chief information officer of Puerto Rico. “Our administration has put forth numerous efforts, which are outlined in the ‘Agenda de Recuperación Económica’ presented this past April 2014. These efforts include the Gigabit Island initiative, which aims to provide Puerto Rico with the necessary infrastructure to provide residents and businesses affordable Gigabit-speed capabilities.”

Among the findings of the new broadband availability and adoption research: 

• Even with advances, a significant broadband adoption gap remains. Adoption of home broadband service in Puerto Rico increased by 15 percentage points from 2010 to 2014 (31% to 46%). By comparison, home broadband adoption across the United States grew by just 4 percentage points between 2010 and 2013.

o    Puerto Rican broadband subscribers report that they now pay less on average for their service ($39.47, compared to $42.37 in 2010). Meanwhile, Puerto Rican households report that they now subscribe to broadband that is more than three times faster, on average, than they did in 2010. 
o    Home broadband adoption has grown fastest among lower-income households across the Island – among households earning less than $15,000 per year, home broadband adoption has increased by 23 percentage points from 15% in 2010 to 38% in 2014. 
o    Despite these increases, more than 1.5 million adults still do not have broadband service at home in Puerto Rico.

•   Broadband network capacity has grown. In the last four years, Puerto Rican households with access to 50 Mbps download and 1.5 Mbps upload fixed broadband went from 0% to nearly 77% and just over half, or 52.9% of households, have access to 100 Mbps download and 1.5 Mbps upload fixed broadband.

o    In urban areas of the island, 81.8% of households have broadband service available at speeds of 100 Mbps download and1.5 Mbps upload. 
o    Between 2011 and 2014, access to cable broadband service of at least 3 Mbps download and 768 Kbps upload has increased 15.7 percentage points. For access to the same speed tier, fixed wireless broadband service has increased 32.8 percentage points. 
o    Broadband subscribers have self-reported that their advertised download speeds have increased from 3.3 Mbps in 2010 to 11.72 Mbps in 2014.

The data were released in conjunction with Connect Puerto Rico’s participation in REGULATEL, the international forum designed to bring together dozens of representatives from various countries and organizations to exchange ideas relating to the development and regulation of telecommunications. This is the first time that this plenary assembly is being held in San Juan.

“Since our confirmation to preside the PR Telecommunications Regulatory Board, we have reiterated the importance of mapping to better understand and plan for state actions with respect to broadband deployment,” said Javier Rúa, president of the Puerto Rico Telecommunications Regulatory Board. “Connect Puerto Rico’s contributions to this project have been invaluable. We envision taking this roadmap to the next level by including broadband infrastructure adoption, not just on a residential level, but on the commercial side as well.”

Connect Puerto Rico has been collecting, validating, and publishing broadband adoption and availability data in Puerto Rico since 2010. Additional data and analyses will be available in an update to the Puerto Rico Gigabit Island Plan due to be released in early 2015. The updated Plan represents the work of the Puerto Rico Broadband Taskforce and is intended to bring together Puerto Rico public and private stakeholders, as well as federal leaders, to address the acute digital gap across the Island. The Connect Puerto Rico website provides an innovative broadband mapping tool called My ConnectView offering unmatched views of Puerto Rico’s technology landscape. Residents and businesses are encouraged to use the interactive map to find area providers and help validate the data. Funding for these projects comes from the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Administration State Broadband Initiative, which is funded through January 2015.

Capacity Caribbean 2014 to take place in the Dominican Republic

Capacity Media has selected the Dominican Republic as the host island for the eighth edition of Capacity Caribbean 2014, a C-level event for the Caribbean telecommunications community. Taking place on February 4-5, 2014 in Santo Domingo, the event aims to serve as a meeting place for telecom ministers, regulatory bodies and local and international executives, providing a platform for the industry to discuss critical challenges, opportunities and mechanisms for encouraging development and growth.

High-profile speakers this year include Paul Scott, President of Columbus Networks who will deliver the opening keynote and address the company's recent acquisitions and strategy for the future. He will be followed by leading regulatory figures including Jean-Marie Guillaume, Director General of Conatel Haiti, Chris Seecheran, CEO of TATT and Spencer Thomas, Chairman of NTRC Grenada who will unite for a regulatory roundtable aimed at discussing strategies to align regulatory policy with accelerated regional development. José Casillas, General Manager for PREPA Networks, will participate as speaker in a panel on "developing a competitive service portfolio to increase profitability." 

The Dominican Republic is becoming one of the fastest-growing economies in the Caribbean and Latin America, reaping the rewards of policies facilitating more open trade and experiencing great levels of international investment. Within its dynamic and developing economy, the Dominican telecom industry is thriving and becoming one of the best-served telecommunications platforms in the Caribbean.

 

Among numerous industry investments currently in the spotlight: the World Bank is supporting the roll-out of a national fiber-optic network and European private-equity firm Altice Group is finalizing its acquisition of Orange Dominicana and Tricom Group, reflecting the growing interest in this market.

 

Discussing the event's move to Santo Domingo, Rhian Collinson, Head of Conferences at Capacity Media commented, "in the last few years there have been significant developments in the Dominican telecoms market gaining international attention and making it an exciting time for the island to host the biggest regional event for the wholesale telecoms industry. The objective of this year's event is to expand its audience from Spanish speaking Caribbean and Latin America in order to reflect the entirety of the region and provide an event that can actively contribute to the development of wholesale telecoms."

AT&T names Carlos Blanco as head of Florida market

AT&T today announced that Carlos Blanco-Sposito, previously of Centennial and AT&T in Puerto Rico, will oversee the sales and operations for nearly 2,300 employees, more than 125 owned and operated retail locations and just under 1,000 national retail partners and authorized resellers in the state of Florida.

"Carlos brings tremendous talent to the table, with experience in nearly every aspect of the business, from network operations to retail management," said Kent Mathy, Southeastern Regional President of AT&T Mobility. "Carlos' expertise and successful track record make him a natural choice to lead our operations in Florida."

Before being named vice president and general manager for Florida, Blanco-Sposito was vice president and general manager for AT&T's South Florida Mobility & Consumer Markets, where he was responsible for business development, retail sales, product launches and revenue and customer growth.

Blanco-Sposito joined AT&T in 2009 as vice president of Integration for AT&T's acquired Centennial properties in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Prior to joining AT&T, Blanco-Sposito was president of Centennial de Puerto Rico. Earlier in his career, he was part of the former BellSouth's international teams in Latin America, where he held various leadership roles, including chief operating officer and chief executive officer of BellSouth Ecuador and chief operating officer of Telcel BellSouth in Venezuela. Other career positions held by Blanco-Sposito include management roles with Dun & Bradstreet, Ericsson, GTE, Plantronics, and Westinghouse.

Blanco-Sposito holds a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from Universidad Metropolitana in Caracas, Venezuela and a master's of business administration from New York University's Stern School of Business.

"I'm excited to be leading the Florida market," said Blanco-Sposito. "Our customers are our No. 1 focus, and my goal is to provide them with an exceptional experience in our stores and on our network."