February 25, 2015 1414

Optico Fiber is available at 24 San Juan-area neighborhoods.

Broadband service provider Critical Hub announced Tuesday it has opened more than 25 Optico Fiber “fiberhoods” in the San Juan area to provide gigabit-speed Internet.

Optico Fiber is Puerto Rico’s only gigabit fiber-to-the-home broadband service, offering upload and download speeds of up to 1Gbps, company officials said.

Under a model similar to Google Fiber, Critical Hub is making Optico Fiber available in communities (also known as “fiberhoods”) that meet minimum signup goals. Optico Fiber was launched in June of last year, and service is already being successfully deployed in various San Juan communities including Punta Las Marías, Ocean Park, Baldrich, Roosevelt, La Merced, Miramar, and Campo Alegre.

“Our initial deployment of Optico is in the San Juan area,” said Carlo Marazzi, president of Critical Hub Networks. “However, we will be expanding outside of the San Juan area. We open ‘fiberhoods’ where we see sufficient interest from residents, community leaders, and municipal government to make the deployment feasible.”

Residents can track the progress of each fiberhood towards its goal through Optico’s website, which they must also use to register for the service.

“Optico ‘fiberhoods’ that meet the signup goals are deployed. It’s our goal to deploy Optico service as quickly as possible, which may mean that we’ll be working in multiple ‘fiberhoods’ simultaneously,” Marazzi added.

Signing up for Optico entails a $10 registration fee, which will be applied toward the customer’s first bill once service is installed. This fee is fully refundable if the resident chooses to cancel prior to the end of the signup period, or in the event that a “fiberhood” does not meet its goal.

“Gigabit broadband networks are not just a matter of convenience. Gigabit broadband will create economic development opportunities, improve education, healthcare and public safety and will spur innovation,” said Karen Larson, vice president of Critical Hub Networks.