Nearly 78% of cell sites in Puerto Rico remained down today due to Hurricane Maria, the FCC reported. It said that about 55% of cell sites were out of service in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The FCC noted that due to roaming among the four major wireless carriers, about 54% of the population in Puerto Rico was reported to be covered yesterday by wireless carriers in Puerto Rico. Overall, 77.6% of cell sites in Puerto Rico were down, compared with 78.9% yesterday. The FCC said that 15 of Puerto Rico’s 78 counties had 100% of their cell sites down, down from 18 counties yesterday.

In the Virgin Islands, 54.5% of cell sites were down, a reduction from 60.3% yesterday, including all of them in St. John. Regarding cable and wireline services, the report said that at least six, compared with four yesterday, switches were still “out of service due to either SS7 or toll isolation.”

There were no changes reported today in the operational status of public safety answering points in Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. There were also no changes reported in the operational status of TV and radio stations in Puerto Rico.- Paul Kirby, paul.kirby@wolterskluwer.com

Courtesy TRDaily