Brief: Puerto Rico eyes telecoms network for Mona island

Puerto Rico's assembly passed last week a proposal to study the feasibility of bringing connectivity to the territory's Mona island, a Caribbean wildlife reserve, according to local media.

The island, the third largest in the Puerto Rican archipelago behind Vieques, is visited by hundreds of tourists every year, a member of Puerto Rico's chamber of representatives was quoted as saying.

"We seek to study the possibility of developing an active telecommunications network in the island ... which will allow people to communicate to avoid someone getting lost, or to facilitate asking for help in case of an accident," deputy Maricarmen Mas said.

The 5,500ha island is home to a national wildlife reserve and only houses researchers and park rangers on a semi-permanent basis, but no local human settlements.