ISP AeroNet Sees Service Restoration in Puerto Rico by Early 2018

Puerto Rico fixed wireless and fiber ISP AeroNet expects to have service 100 percent restored by early January, President Gino Villarini emailed us Friday. He said the company began re-establishing infrastructure immediately after Hurricane Maria and expects to be 90 percent restored by early December. He said damage was mostly broken antennas, wear damage, and damaged and cut fiber, plus 15 collocated towers fell down. Restoration will cost more than $3 million, he said. Communications network recovery in Puerto Rico has been hampered by lack of electricity (see 1711010012). Villarini said minus the power outage, about 70 percent of its customers would have service Monday, but actually about 50 percent do. He said that for the first four weeks after the hurricane, recovery efforts also were hampered by employee issues. "We had a lot of issues without housing, food and gas," he said, with employees staying at AeroNet facilities and the company providing meals and gas. He said the FCC expedited a company request for special temporary authority to operate backhaul radios in the 5.9 GHz band, with approval in about two days. As of Monday, 48 of 78 counties had more than 50 percent of their cellsites out of service, down from 49 the previous day, according to the FCC's latest Maria status report. It said 47.8 percent of cellsites in Puerto Rico and 38 percent of cellsites in the U.S. Virgin Islands were out. It said two Puerto Rico TV stations and 61 AM and FM radio stations are confirmed or suspected to be off-air.