The $35 million project is being financed by Claro and its partner América Móvil
Claro Puerto Rico’s latest infrastructure investment is positioning Ponce as a new anchor point in the Island’s digital ecosystem, marking one of the most significant expansions of international connectivity in the region in more than a decade.
The company announced Wednesday the deployment of América Móvil’s AMX‑1 submarine cable system in southern Puerto Rico, a $35 million project that will establish the Island’s first redundant international internet connection point outside the northern corridor. The expansion of the submarine cable, which already has a point of entry in San Juan, is being financed by Claro and its partner, América Móvil.
The move is designed to strengthen network resilience, expand bandwidth capacity, and diversify Puerto Rico’s communication routes with global markets.
AMX‑1, owned by América Móvil and built by France‑based Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), spans roughly 19,300 kilometers and links major hubs across North, Central and South America. Its 15 landing points connect eight jurisdictions — the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Puerto Rico — forming one of the hemisphere’s most advanced connectivity platforms, with speeds of 100 gigabits per second and total capacity reaching 90 terabits per second.
Claro Puerto Rico President Enrique Ortiz de Montellano said the Ponce landing is central to the company’s long‑term strategy to reinforce the Island’s digital backbone. He emphasized that the southern connection will enhance redundancy during hurricanes, power outages and other emergencies, while supporting the growing data demands of businesses, institutions and households.
A decade ago, he said, Puerto Rico was integrated into one of the ministry’s most important connectivity routes with the arrival of América Móvil’s AMX-1 submarine cable along the north coast. “This morning, with this same vision of the future, we took an additional and transcendental step, announcing the expansion of the AMX-1 to the south of Puerto Rico, with its arrival in Ponce. The AMX-1 makes Ponce the first and only submarine cable connection point for data transmission in the southern region of Puerto Rico,” he said.
“Connectivity is now the foundation of economic activity and daily life,” Ortiz de Montellano said, noting that Ponce and the broader southern region will serve as a new digital gateway for Puerto Rico.
Gov. Jenniffer González Colón described the project as a transformative step toward consolidating Puerto Rico’s role as a regional connectivity hub. She said the investment strengthens critical infrastructure, diversifies international routes and signals the Island’s readiness to attract innovation‑driven industries.
“This investment sends a clear message: Puerto Rico is prepared to foster innovation and build a more competitive, modern and future‑ready economy,” the governor said.
Ponce Mayor Marlese Sifre Rodríguez called the installation a vote of confidence from the private sector and a catalyst for the city’s economic and technological ambitions. She said the project reinforces Ponce’s potential as a center for innovation and high‑value job creation, while elevating the southern region’s role in Caribbean digital development.
ASN Vice President Paul Gabla added that the extension of AMX‑1 enhances geographic diversity and network resilience for Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, two markets that rely heavily on stable international connectivity.
The deployment continues a decade‑long pattern of strategic investment by Claro and América Móvil aimed at modernizing Puerto Rico’s telecommunications infrastructure and accelerating the Island’s digital transformation.
