Closing the Digital Divide in Puerto Rico

Many communities outside metropolitan areas of Puerto Rico lack access to fixed and mobile broadband services as well as infrastructure connecting them to other basic utilities such as water and power. After destructive hurricanes, earthquakes, and the COVID-19 pandemic, Puerto Rico’s rural communities are particularly isolated and vulnerable, and need resilient infrastructure investments.

A Puerto Rican broadband provider committed to serving rural communities on the island. A significant portion of Puerto Rico’s residents, especially those located in rural areas, lack access to 100/20 Mbps or better broadband and only 38% of Puerto Rico’s households have a fixed broadband subscription. By focusing on unserved and underserved communities, including those in rural areas most impacted by natural disasters, this ISP has deployed fixed wireless network covers approximately 550,000 Puerto Rican residents. 

This provider is now looking to expand its low-cost broadband services to customers across the island of Puerto Rico. Leveraging our understanding of the technical and business requirements of a small ISP focused on dispersed and hard-to-reach communities, Vernonburg Group is supporting this organization through:

• Support on policy and regulatory matters;

• Advising on business strategy, including access to private capital;

• Preparing investor materials and facilitating investor outreach;

• Identifying and pursuing state and federal funding opportunities for rural broadband infrastructure, such as VPNet’s award of a US Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect Program grant.