Treasury Department Announces Approval of Federal Funds to Help Close Digital Divide in Puerto Rico as Part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda

The Department of the Treasury approved $158 million in federal funds for broadband infrastructure and multi-purpose community facility projects in Puerto Rico under the American Rescue Plan Act's (ARPA) Capital Projects Fund (CPF). Puerto Rico is approved to receive $85.7 million to improve the resiliency, reliability, and speed of the island’s high-speed internet access. This funding will specifically promote the Puerto Rico Submarine Cable Resiliency (PRSCR) Program, which will construct a new submarine fiber route to the island of Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic and the US Virgin Islands and create three new cable landing stations on the island’s coastlines. Puerto Rico will invest an additional $64.7 million of CPF funding in the Puerto Rico Multi-Purpose Community Technology Center Program, which seeks to create multi-purpose community technology centers / “Centros Tecnológicos” in areas across Puerto Rico where the public can access high-speed internet, use on-site devices, borrow devices for at-home use, have access to educational opportunities in technology, digital learning, work remotely, and access healthcare services. Together with their administrative funding, these projects represent 100 percent of the territory's total allocation under the CPF program. The remainder of the funds (approximately $8 million) will be used by Puerto Rico to administer the programs.