Current policy objectives of the government of Puerto Rico look forward to a major increase in the island’s telecom infrastructure to stimulate economic development and employment.

“The infrastructure of the 21st century will be less about roads, highways, ports and airports,” Juan Eugenio Rodriguez, the chief information officer (CIO) of Puerto Rico recently told Caribbean Business. “It will be about creating the digital infrastructure on the island that will open the door to economic growth and development.”

The plan, according to the Puerto Rico Broadband Task Force, is to have 98 percent of homes on the island hooked up to the internet through broadband connections by 2014. Labor experts predict that such growth will prospectively make the telecom industry the fastest growing segment of the local economy in terms of jobs, adding 2,199 positions or 22.13 percent by 2018. Moreover, it will make Puerto Rico more competitive with the U.S. and other countries that are increasingly relying on mobile connectivity to conduct business and generally communicate. 

Exponential growth in the global use of mobile devices (smart phones and tablets) to conduct business communications and transmit sensitive information has sharply increased the concerns of IT security experts, who see such devices as being much more vulnerable, even if only because they greatly expand the access points to proprietary information. Enterprises are, therefore, looking for new approaches to protect their sensitive data. 

As Puerto Rico crosses over the digital divide to fully realize the potential of mobile communications, IT specialists, such as Xtrategit, will point out the pitfalls and find cost effective solutions for its clients.
