Puerto Rico
Power & telecom standards in Puerto Rico
Connectivity Overview
Tempest Telecom offered dial-up internet access, WiFi hotspot access and broadband ethernet access in Puerto Rico. We also offered Iridium satellite Internet and Voice access in Puerto Rico for communications in rural areas without infrastructure.
Puerto Rico uses 120V at 60Hz. Power outlets are type A, B and telephone jacks are RJ-11.
Dial-up Internet Access
Tempest Telecom provided local dial-up access numbers in Puerto Rico at $0.155/minute. Travelers could connect using any standard modem with an RJ-11 telephone adapter.
WiFi Hotspot Access
Tempest Telecom provided WiFi hotspot access in Puerto Rico at $19.95/day for unlimited browsing.
Adapters & Power
North American (Type A/B) plugs are compatible. An adapter may not be needed for US travelers.
Standard RJ-11 jacks are used. Most international modems will connect without an adapter.
Puerto Rico at a Glance
- Capital
- San Juan
- Phone Code
- +1-787
- Voltage
- 120V / 60Hz
- Power Plug
- A, B
- Phone Jack
- RJ-11
- Currency
- USD
- Dial-up
- $0.155/min
- WiFi
- $19.95/day
About connectivity in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico uses 120V/60Hz with Type A and Type B outlets — identical to the mainland United States as a US unincorporated territory. The phone jack is RJ-11. Claro Puerto Rico (the post-Verizon Telefónica subsidiary, now América Móvil), Liberty Mobile (formerly AT&T Mobility Puerto Rico), and T-Mobile Puerto Rico compete in the territory's mobile market.
Puerto Rican commercial Internet emerged in the mid-1990s as part of US mainland operations. Per-minute metered dial-up dominated the late 1990s; ADSL rolled out through the early 2000s. The 2017 Hurricane Maria devastation destroyed substantial telecom infrastructure that required years of reconstruction.
The Puerto Rican prepaid international calling-card market through the 2000s served the substantial Puerto Rican mainland diaspora (technically domestic calls but treated as long-distance through much of the historic carrier era), with concentrated communities in New York, Florida, and the broader Northeast Corridor of the mainland US.
Tempest Telecom served Puerto Rico through dial-up POPs in San Juan. The Caribbean maritime industry, the substantial pharmaceutical-manufacturing sector, and the post-2017 Hurricane Maria humanitarian customer base sustained Iridium demand.
Modern Puerto Rico has expanding FTTH and mature 4G LTE / 5G coverage as part of US carrier mainland operations.
Tempest's services across Puerto Rico, 1997–2012
Tempest Telecommunications operated international connectivity services in Puerto Rico between 1997 and 2012 under a unified prepaid account that absorbed multiple service types onto a single customer credential. Customers in Puerto Rico drew from the same balance for pre-paid international voice calling, RADIUS-authenticated dial-up Internet roaming, metered Wi-Fi hotspot access, Iridium satellite voice, and Inmarsat BGAN data terminals. An attempted kiosk-payment federation (PATN, 1998) extended the same architecture to public Internet terminals but failed to reach scale.
Iridium satellite voice was available in Puerto Rico from approximately 2001 (post-bankruptcy relaunch). Thuraya coverage did not extend to Puerto Rico; Inmarsat BGAN data terminals filled the broadband gap from late 2005.
Nearby countries in Americas
Nicaragua · Panama · Paraguay · Peru · Suriname · Trinidad and Tobago · Turks and Caicos Islands · United States