In San Juan, Puerto Rico, the Gigabit Island Plan, which identifies a strategy for the expansion of high-speed Internet access across Puerto Rico, was released. The plan sets goals of 99% of households having access to 10 Mbps downstream and 70% of households having connection to 1 Gbps downstream by 2020.
The plan represents the work of thePuerto Rico Broadband Taskforce, a public-private partnership created to help close the digital divide across Puerto Rico. The plan evaluates the state of broadband in Puerto Rico over the last five years and examines strategies to accelerate broadband network expansion as well as household adoption and use across the island. It builds on the Broadband Strategic Plan created by the PRBT in 2012.
The plan includes several recommendations:
- Continue and expand island-wide broadband mapping
- Monitor, measure and assess the impact of broadband across the Puerto Rico economy
- Lower the costs of broadband build-out through community and provider collaboration
- Promote public-private partnerships to stimulate local demand and expand market opportunities
- Leverage federal support for broadband expansion
- Stimulate broadband adoption to encourage further investment