Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands Broadcasters Estimate Storm Damage at Over $20 Million

Broadcasters in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands estimate their industry sustained between $20 million and $30 million in damage from hurricanes Irma and Maria, and without financial help, some will be forced to leave the industry. That's according to Reuben Jusino, former Puerto Rico FCC resident agent, and Eduardo Rivero, task force chair and vice president of the Puerto Rico Radio Broadcasters Association. They spoke during a seminar Thursday conducted by a task force of Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands broadcasters seeking to get stations back on-air. “There are broadcasters that it's going to be difficult to come back,” said Rivero.

The estimate includes costs of generators, gas, downed equipment, and physical damage that broadcasters had been able to assess as of Oct. 13, and the estimate is likely to rise, Jusino said. “It’s a living number,” he said. “We don’t know what it costs to have your phones down, we don’t know what it costs to have the Internet down.” For all Puerto Rico radio broadcasters to be back on-air using diesel generators would cost an estimated $125,000 per week for fuel, Jusino emailed. That's using a conservative estimate of $5 per gallon, though some broadcaster are paying much more, the task force said.

Broadcasters’ biggest problems are energy, infrastructure and lack of funds, Rivero told Department of Homeland Security-Federal Emergency Management Agency Program Manager Manuel Centeno and Michael Carowitz, chairman of the FCC Hurricane Recovery Task Force, via conference call. “If we don’t have power, we can’t broadcast.” Off-air, broadcasters can’t earn revenue or spread important public health and safety information, he said. Most broadcasters don’t have access to electrical power and are forced to depend on generators, Rivero said. But not everyone has access to working generators or the diesel fuel to run them, and even those with access will soon be bankrupted by the cost of buying fuel, he said.

Many broadcasters have destroyed studios and downed towers, Rivero said. Those that are broadcasting did “creative engineering work” to get back on the air, and many are operating at only 10 to 15 percent of original power, he said: Repairing that sort of damage will be especially difficult because broadcasters on the island were suffering from “a severe economic contraction” before Maria hit. Some are “in very bad shape” financially and will need help that goes beyond loans or limited aid from the Small Business Administration, Rivero said. “Many, if they don’t find a source of income, a source of revenue, won’t be able to go back on the air.”

Government Help

FEMA doesn’t have programs to provide funding to help broadcasters but with specific requests may be able to help broadcasters get some of what they need, said Centeno. Stations seeking federal help should be those prepared to air health and emergency information and local updates, he said. “If you broadcast satellite or automated music, you are not gonna get help as quick.” Broadcasters in Puerto Rico need to be prepared to “roll with the punches,” Centeno said. Broadcasters shouldn’t expect the situation in Puerto Rico to return to the way it was before the storms, he said. “Be prepared to change your thinking.”

The Media Bureau has granted over 100 special temporary authority requests from Puerto Rico, and is committed to working with broadcasters there to ease recovery, said bureau attorney adviser Alexander Sanjenis at the seminar. “Whatever you send us, we will make it a priority.” The FCC Hurricane Recovery Task Force will coordinate requests for assistance from communications industry entities in Puerto Rico, and gather and analyze data on the situation there, said Carowitz. Commission officials said they will work with broadcasters affected by the storm on filing deadlines such as for regulatory fees and equal employment opportunity reports, said Fletcher Heald attorney Davina Sashkin in an interview. She represents broadcasters in Puerto Rico.

The FCC’s response to the damage to communications in Puerto Rico has been welcome, but should be more transparent, said former Commissioner Gloria Tristani in an interview. Now with the National Hispanic Media Council, Tristani said the FCC’s response to the “unprecedented” damage to Puerto Rico should include public input and more publicly available information about what is being done. “We’re not talking about something that is going to get fixed in a matter of days or weeks,” said Tristani. “Maybe it’s time” to have permanent FCC staff in Puerto Rico again, she said.

"We deploy personnel based on the mission assignments received from FEMA," an FCC spokeswoman said. "We currently have two personnel deployed in Puerto Rico to help coordinate requests for assistance from communications providers and to assess the operational status of communications."

Puerto Rico broadcasters created a fund to receive monetary aid, Rivero said. “I know this might sound controversial.” The National Alliance of State Broadcast Association raised $25,000 for broadcasters on the island, and speakers praised NAB’s gift of 10,000 radios. The Associations of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers also put out a call for volunteer assistance from engineers for Puerto Rico. Broadcasters on the island are seeking donations of broadcast equipment, Fletcher Heald broadcast attorney Frank Montero told us. Montero represents the Puerto Rico Radio Broadcasters Association.

Maria Notebook

About 68 percent of cellsites in Puerto Rico and 49 percent in the U.S Virgin Islands are out of service, the FCC reported Friday, three days after the figures were 75 percent and 55 percent, respectively (see 1710170047). Wireless companies "have opened up roaming" in Puerto Rico so they, collectively, can maximize coverage, and also have deployed "satellite cells on light trucks" and "terrestrial cells on wheels" in some communities, said the FCC. About 61 percent of the population reportedly has wireless carrier coverage, it said. In Puerto Rico, four TV stations are confirmed operational, two are suspected out of service and 59 have special temporary authority to be offline, and 80 radio stations are confirmed operational and 51 are suspected out of service, the report said. In the Virgin Islands, 14 TV stations have special temporary authority to be offline, four radio stations are confirmed operational and four are suspected out of service, it said. The FCC has recently added additional information to daily online reports in order to keep the public informed about the availability of communications, a Public Safety Bureau spokeswoman said.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Board of Puerto Rico reopened Tuesday, after closing due to Hurricane Maria, said a notice posted Thursday.