Puerto Rico hurricane crisis: Beyond a telecoms infrastructure problem

Some 90% of all cell sites on Puerto Rico were still out of service on Wednesday as a result of the damage caused by Hurricane Maria.

The crisis in Puerto Rico is a humanitarian one, and not being able to communicate is delaying and frustrating relief efforts.

But beyond the damage to the telecommunications infrastructure, the real problem is energy related.

Hurricane Maria left the island's power plants largely intact, but 80% of transmission lines, which take power from the plants to distribution centers, have been knocked out.

Ken Buell, director of emergency response and recovery with the US Department of Energy has been quoted by press as saying that the damage is so bad that it may have to be totally rebuilt rather than repaired.

But money is an issue. The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) is bankrupt and repairing the damage caused by María is being talked about in the tens of billions of dollars.

Even with the money, commentators are saying it could take six months to fully to restore power to the island.

Currently, hospitals and other critical infrastructure are relying on power generators. Then there is the problem of transport, given that many of the roads are badly damaged and without telecommunications it is hard to coordinate relief efforts.

With temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius, no refrigeration for food or medication and no water, the situation is critical.

"This is not a technology issue but an electric power problem," José Otero, a Latin American telecommunications expert and Puerto Rican native, told BNamericas.

"The problem is not having electric power or the ability to transport fuel or food," Otero said adding that three quarters of the island is mountainous, which creates problems for accessibility.

"This is something that goes beyond telecommunications."

HELP ON ITS WAY

The national guard has sent five generator-operated military communications units, according to The Verge.

Much of the efforts for restoring communications have also been assumed by the private telecoms operators.

With a blog updated daily on its website, AT&T says it has sent planes with more than 50 generators and other supplies.

A website has been set up whereby residents in the US can register the cell phone number of a family member or friend who is an AT&T customer in Puerto Rico. When the customer's cell phone connects to the network in Puerto Rico, the customer will be notified that their family or friends in the US have been trying to contact them.

Some 13,500 people have signed up for the website so far.

The carrier is also waiving fees and providing unlimited data, talk and texts to AT&T wireless customers in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, which was also badly hit.

Sprint says its towers are largely intact and it is working to restore backhaul and power. The company is also shipping satellite (VSAT) equipment for restoring voice and text, chargers and battery packs, and fuel.

CRITICISM

US authorities have been criticized for their slowness to respond and the controversial issue of whether Puerto Ricans are being treated as second class US citizens (being a US territory and not a state) has reemerged.

Only late this week did the Trump administration lift the hindrance of the Jones shipping law, which obliges all freight to the US territories to have to go through the US and on US vessels.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has also been slammed for not holding hearings on the state of emergency.

This week, FCC chairman Ajit Pai appeared to be trying to shift some of the blame to Apple, asking Apple to activate FM chips on its iPhones to which Apple responded that most of its phones do not have FM chips and those that do don't have compatible antennas to pick up FM radio signals.

Local (ham) radio stations have so far been crucial for sending data and text messages and coordinating with rescue authorities.

But once the floods subside and some degree of normality is returned, many questions will have to be answered.

According to Otero, a lack of money was not the main reason for the electric power problems but a total disregard of maintenance of creaking infrastructure.

Despite having the most advanced LTE telecommunications infrastructure in Latin America and five mobile operators, infrastructure is limited to the more populous areas and more investments are needed.

At the very least, VSAT satellite equipment and backup generators should already be on the island. Hurricanes are, after all, a yearly phenomenon.

"There's a whole social catastrophe that led to this point. It's not like what happened in Puerto Rico happened in a void," Greta Byrum, director of the resilient communities program at the public policy institute New America was quoted as saying by The Verge.