Telecommunications in Puerto Rico explained

Telecommunications in Puerto Rico includes radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

Broadcasting in Puerto Rico is regulated by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).^[1]

History

Telegraph service was inaugurated in 1869, responding to an 1864 order by Spanish Governor Felix Maria Mesian.^[2] By 1872, the entire island had telegraph service as well as international connections to the rest of the Caribbean and Europe.^[3]

The Puerto Rico Communications Authority (Spanish; Castilian: La Autoridad de Comunicaciones de Puerto Rico) was created with Law No. 212, on May 12, 1942. Five years later, the department was located at 1314 Juan Ponce de León Avenue in Santurce.

Radio

• Stations: 140 radio stations (as of January 2015).^{[4] [5]}

Television

See also: List of television stations in Puerto Rico. WIPR-TV ("Wonderful Island of Puerto Rico") was inaugurated on January 26, 1949.^[6]

• Stations: more than 30 TV stations operating; three stations of the US Armed Forces Radio and Television Service; cable TV subscription services are available (2007).
• Television sets: 1.0 million sets (1997).

Telephones

See also: Telephone numbers in Puerto Rico.

• Calling code-area codes: +1-787, +1-939^[7]
• International call prefix: 00^[8]
• Main lines: 780,200 lines in use, 87th in the world (2012).^[7]
• Mobile cellular: 3.1 million lines, 130th in the world (2012).^[7]
• System: modern digital system integrated with that of the United States (2011).^[7]
• Satellite earth stations: Intelsat with high-speed data capability (2011).^[7]
• Communications cables: provide connectivity to the US, Caribbean, Central and South America (2011).^[7]

Internet

Hurricane Maria destroyed the internet systems in Puerto Rico in September 2017.^[9] Then in 2019, the US Federal Communications Commission stated $950 million had been approved for the rebuilding and strengthening of Puerto Rico's and the Virgin Island's internet infrastructure.^[10]

• Top-level domain: .pr^[7]
• Internet users: 1.9 million users, 92nd in the world; 51.4% of the population, 83rd in the world (2012).^{[11] [12]}
• Fixed broadband: available to 65% of Puerto Ricans (2012).^[13]
• Wireless broadband: available to 98.7% of Puerto Ricans (2012).^[13]
• Available broadband technologies as a percentage of population: 48.2% DSL, 0.1% Fiber, 59.6% cable, 84.7% wireless (2012).^[13]
• Internet hosts: 469 hosts, 184th in the world (2012).^[7]
• IPv4: 1 million addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world total, 250.2 addresses per 1000 people (2012).^{[14] [15]}
• Internet Service Providers: 19 ISPs (1999).

Internet censorship and surveillance

See also: Internet censorship in the United States.

See also

• Economy of Puerto Rico
• Internet Exchange of Puerto Rico, no longer operating as of 2011.
• Media of Puerto Rico

External links

• About NIC.pr, the registrar for the .pr top-level domain name.
• Internet Society Puerto Rico
• Federal government grants to expand broadband Internet access in Puerto Rico, Broadband USA.
• Puerto Rico summary, National Broadband Map, 31 December 2012.
• Radio Puerto Rico
• El Nuevo Dia
• WIPR-TV 6 & WIPM-TV 3

Notes and References

1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17140680 "Puerto Rico profile"
2. Eduardo Neumann Gandia, "Verdadera y Autentica Historia de la Ciudad de Ponce", Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, 1987, p. 121.
3. Eduardo Neumann Gandia, "Verdadera y Autentica Historia de la Ciudad de Ponce", Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, 1987, p. 121.
4. Web site: FM Query - FM Radio Technical Information - Audio Division (FCC) USA. https://web.archive.org/web/20090825071957/http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/fmq.html. dead. August 25, 2009.
5. Web site: AM Query - AM Radio Technical Information - Audio Division (FCC) USA. https://web.archive.org/web/20090825063614/http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/amq.html. dead. August 25, 2009.
6. Web site: WIPR: "La Maestra de la Televisión" que sigue transformando la vida de jóvenes . WIPR . October 18, 2019 . December 14, 2021.
7. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/puerto-rico/ "Communications: Puerto Rico"
8. http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/opb/sp/T-SP-E.164C-2011-PDF-E.pdf Dialing Procedures (International Prefix, National (Trunk) Prefix and National (Significant) Number) (in Accordance with ITY-T Recommendation E.164 (11/2010))
9. Web site: After Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico's Internet Problems Go from Bad to Worse. www.pbs.org.
10. Web site: FCC Invests $950 Million to Improve Broadband in Puerto Rico, USVI. September 26, 2019. Federal Communications Commission.
11. Calculated using penetration rate and population data from "Countries and Areas Ranked by Population: 2012", Population data, International Programs, U.S. Census Bureau, retrieved 26 June 2013
12. http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/statistics/2013/Individuals_Internet_2000-2012.xls "Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2012"
13. http://www.broadbandmap.gov/summarize/state/puerto-rico Puerto Rico summary
14. http://www.countryipblocks.net/country-blocks/select-formats/ Select Formats
15. https://web.archive.org/web/20070613003851/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2119.html Population