Fund 63 miles of new middle mile infrastructure in geographies where the applicant has been awarded uniendo a puerto rico fund ('uniendo') from the federal communications commission (FCC) for…

Liberty Communications of Puerto Rico LLC was awarded an $18,986,670 project grant from the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration under the Middle Mile (Broadband) Grant Program (CFDA 11.033). The grant will fund the construction of 63 miles of new open access middle mile fiber optic infrastructure in seven municipalities across Puerto Rico. This infrastructure buildout will support Liberty Communications' efforts to deploy last mile broadband networks through FCC Connecting Unserved Americans awards by providing backbone connectivity. Specifically, the new middle mile network will serve as the backbone for Liberty's broadband deployments in Caguas, Juncos, Las Piedras and Ponce, where they have obligations under FCC awards to build out last mile services to all passed homes. The infrastructure will also connect Adjuntas, Utuado and San Lorenzo, where Liberty has commercial interests in expanding broadband but no FCC mandate. The project aims to increase the affordability, accessibility and reliability of broadband for residents, businesses and anchor institutions in these areas by supporting high-speed fiber transport and offering carrier-neutral interconnection terms.

Purpose

The purpose of this project is to fund 63 miles of new middle mile infrastructure in geographies where the applicant has been awarded uniendo a puerto rico fund ('uniendo') from the federal communications commission (FCC) for last-mile services. The network being funded is the same network covered by uniendo, but the middle mile grant program funds will go towards middle mile network costs that uniendo funding is not sufficient to cover. The proposed middle mile facilities will serve as the backbone of liberty communications' network in the municipalities of caguas, juncos, LAS piedras and ponce, where they have an obligation with the FCC to build last mile services to all homes passed in the area because of uniendo funding. Additionally, this infrastructure will connect the adjuntas, utuado and SAN lorenzo municipalities, where the applicant does not have the uniendo mandate to build but has commercial interests to build and serve more houses. Beneficiaries: the proposed service area covers 7 municipalities in the southeast of puerto rico, including ponce, adjuntas, utuado, caguas, LAS piedras, SAN lorenzo, yabucoa and juncos. Based on ntia's indicators of broadband need map, 73 percent of affected census tracts are considered in a zone of broadband need. Most providers do not have existing infrastructure in the most rural areas of the island and are not able to provide service there. The construction of open access middle mile infrastructure would increase the affordability, accessibility, and reliability of the broadband service in this area to residents, businesses, and community anchor institutions. By supporting high-speed fiber-optic transport and offering carrier-neutral terms to access the middle mile network at technically feasible points, the project would facilitate the provision of broadband service to anchor institutions located within 1,000 feet of the middle mile infrastructure at speeds of at least 1 gbps symmetrical. The introduction of this infrastructure would allow direct interconnection with anchor institutions and permit service providers to purvey fiber to the community. For example, the connection of the agencies under the puerto rico emergency and disaster management bureau is important as they have historically had difficulty maintaining reliable service, particularly in cases of extreme weather when their work is most necessary. By providing these interconnection points, such agencies would receive the bandwidth necessary to serve their communities. The middle mile infrastructure will facilitate the connection of residences, businesses and community anchor institutions alike assuring equal access to vital social and economic opportunities. Extending broadband access on the island can attract capital investment that will in turn further benefit local communities.