Caribbean roundup: Dominica's broadband, DR's fiber, Puerto Rico submarine cable

Dominica is on the verge of a massive broadband update, telecom minister Kelvar Darroux told Caribbean Journal.

The aim of the upgrade is to standardize services throughout the island, where geography makes continuous coverage a challenge. "The issue of broadband access has always been a concern for us," said Darroux.

Dominica's government has asked Ectel, the regulatory body for Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, to discuss a solution. "We have asked Ectel to meet the service providers to further develop their infrastructure as it relates to broadband," he said.

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Dominican Republic's watchdog Indotel has resolved to bury the wire and cable network that brings broadband to the island in order to help improve the aesthetics of Santo Domingo.

Operators Claro, Tricom, Wind Telecom, Viva Dominicana, Orange, Aster and Onemax agreed to start taking down the unused cable to "visually clean up" the historic center of Santo Domingo.

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Puerto Rico has deployed its submarine fiber optic network, which had suffered from delays due to technical issues.

Five major telecom companies, including Telefónica, backed the project, which will connect seven countries and territories in the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

The deployment, which was initially scheduled for early May, was finally effective this week.