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Wi-Fi made available at various tourist locations

By on December 9, 2016

SAN JUAN – Puerto Rico Tourism Co. (PRTC) President Ingrid Rivera Rocafort and Telecommunications Regulatory Board (TRB) President Javier Rua Jovet inaugurated Friday a wireless internet (Wi-Fi) connection system at three sites of great tourist interest.

It was announced that the system is already available at Paseo La Princesa and Plaza Dársenas in Old San Juan and is expected to be available at Ventana al Mar in Condado later this month.

Rua Jovet said that the implementation of Wi-Fi would increase the services offered to tourists visiting the island—particularly visitors who don’t come from the United States and whose internet coverage plans don’t apply in Puerto Rico.

“Tourists expect to reach a destination and have connectivity. There are many tourists from other countries who expect to make their free calls over the internet using such platforms as Facebook and Whatsapp,” the TRB president said.

“The TRB has a ministerial duty to support connectivity and broadband penetration and during this four-year period we have expanded this effort. Efforts were very municipally-based before; we worked with municipalities to create Wi-Fi-enabled town squares, but we have expanded this effort to collaborate in an interagency manner,” he said, adding that this effort has made it possible for all State Elections Commission’s (CEE by its Spanish acronym) Permanent Registration Boards (JIP by its Spanish acronym) to have free connectivity.

Rua Jovet explained that an easy-to-access dedicated Internet system was installed along Paseo La Princesa.

Users will have to search for Wi-Fi connectivity with their mobile devices, look up the Tourism network called “Turismo Princesa” (if they happen to be at Paseo La Princesa) and, by choosing it will, enter a website bearing the logo of the PRTC and the TRB. There users, must agree to the terms and conditions and continue to www.seepuertorico.com, where they will be welcomed and given free and relevant information about the destination.

The TRB president explained that installing the system is extremely simple and consists of strategically installing the transmitters throughout the site and supplying the connectivity. The TRB said it invested $31,000 in the connectivity devices.

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Tourism Co. President Ingrid Rivera Rocafort and Telecommunications Regulatory Board President Javier Rua Jovet inaugurate a Wi-Fi system at three of the island’s tourism sites. (Agustín Criollo/CB)

Rivera Rocafort said the WiFi connectivity project is part of the PRTC’s efforts to offer a better service to the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit the island each year. She also announced remodeled restroom facilities at Paseo La Princesa.

“At PRTC we are at the forefront of improving the conditions for visitors and that is why we have made improvements in these facilities. We have remodeled the restrooms at Paseo La Princesa, a building that has an architectural personality that is very in tune with the ambiance of Paseo, as well as the restrooms at Ventana al Mar. They were adapted to comply with the ADA Act for people with disabilities and this one in particular had not been remodeling in over 20 years and is very necessary since it is an important service for visitors,” Rivera Rocafort said.

The executive director said the restroom improvement project was done using the bidding process stipulated by law, resulting in $42,000 invested for the Paseo La Princesa facilities and $18,000 at Ventana al Mar.

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