Starks' Takeaways From Puerto Rico Hearing Include Electricity's Key
Power loss continues to play a role in cellular network outages in Puerto Rico, FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said Wednesday, after his Friday hearing there. "During the recent earthquakes, the overwhelming majority of cell-site outages resulted from power loss, not…
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damage to facilities," he said, calling power loss a long-term challenge. He visited one facility that's running on a generator more than two years after a hurricane destroyed its power lines. He said stakeholders are exploring expanded coordination agreements with power utilities, plus alternative energy sources. "At the federal level, we urgently need to consider new rules and legislation to ensure access to power," he said. Starks said ending internet inequality in Puerto Rico requires "sustained commitment and significant resources." He said closing the digital divide could allow telehealth to give Puerto Ricans better access to mental healthcare. Starks posted prepared statements from Friday's witnesses. Puerto Rico Telephone Co. General Counsel Francisco Silva in separate discussions with Starks recounted Wednesday in docket 18-143 called "inconsistent" the frameworks the commission adopted for determining location adjustments in the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. Silva said FCC rules penalize support recipients in Puerto Rico "when location data used to establish milestones overstates the number of locations in an area, even though the challenges associated with accurately assessing location data acknowledged in the RDOF proceeding are even more acute in Puerto Rico" (see 2002200021).