Claro Puerto Rico
 |
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Claro Puerto Rico | |
| Predecessor | Puerto Rico Telephone Company (Telefónica de Puerto Rico), Puerto Rico Communications Corporation (Autoridad de Comunicaciones) |
| Founded | 1914 |
| Headquarters | Guaynabo, Puerto Rico |
| Revenue | $1.2 billionUSD |
Number of employees | 4,649 |
| Parent | ITT Corporation1920–1974 Government-owned corporations of Puerto Rico1974–1998 GTE1998–2000 Verizon Wireless2000–2007 América Móvil2007–present |
| Subsidiaries | CoquiNet Corporation, Puerto Rico Telephone Company, Inc. |
| Website | claropr |
Claro Puerto Ricois the largest telecommunications service provider in Puerto Rico. It is headquartered inGuaynabo,Puerto Rico,and has operated for almost a century offering voice, data, long distance,broadband,directory publishing and wireless services for the island residents and businesses. It was founded by the Behn brothers,SosthenesandHernanin 1914.[1]Originally, Puerto Rico Telephone Company eventually spawnedITT Corporation,which was founded by Sosthenes Behn. The company was apublic corporation of the government of Puerto Ricofor many years until the majority stakes were acquired byGTEin the mid-1990s. It was a subsidiary ofVerizon Communicationsuntil it was fully acquired byAmérica Móvilin 2007.
Present Day
[edit]
On April 3, 2006,Verizon Communicationsannounced it had agreed to sell its stakes in Telecomunicaciones de Puerto Rico, Inc. (TELPRI) and their sole ownership of the mainDominicantelephone companyVerizon Dominicana,nowClaro República Dominicana,toAmérica Móvilof Mexico.[2][3]
On December 31, 2006, Verizon and América Móvil completed Verizon Dominicana ownership transfer into Mexican hands. After another three months and various litigations upon theFederal Communications Commission,which had advise from the Puerto Rico Telecommunications Board, on March 30, 2007 TELPRI assets were completely acquired by América Móvil. The purchase was closed after an agreement to purchase fromPopular, Inc.,the government ofPuerto Ricoand the telephone company employee stock ownership program, the remaining stocks of TELPRI at the same price asVerizon.
Currently,América Móvilis the 100% owner of the company[4]and has rebranded the wireless arm of the company -formerlyVerizon Wireless- under their internationalClarobrand.[5]
As of February 2011 America Móvil has rebranded its wireline (fixed line), broadband DSL, television and dial-up services as Claro. The only services that, for now, remain branded as Claro - Puerto Rico Telephone are business, government or corporate.
Effective March 2013, all Claro Puerto Rico have been rebranded. Services to business, government and enterprises are now offered under the Claro Empresas brand.
Relationship with Verizon Wireless
[edit]Until 2014, Claro continued to offer a CDMA network for Verizon Wireless customers as well as legacy Claro customers. The CDMA network appeared as "Extended Network" coverage on Verizon[6]- meaning the majority of Verizon customers were able use it at no extra charge. Prepaid providers like Page Plus Cellular however had to pay roaming in Puerto Rico.
Data access for Verizon customers was at full speed. However, Claro deployed EV-DO before launching its GSM/UMTS network. As a result, Claro had the slowest CDMA coverage on Verizon Wireless at sub-3G 1xRTT speeds, peaking at 144-230 kbit/speed. Roaming customers would not access the EV-DO local network.
Data, like voice, was Extended Network coverage which had per-KB roaming charges on some older plans.
As of 2014, the former Verizon CDMA network has been shut down with Claro now using GSM, UMTS, and LTE exclusively. Verizon has since signed a 2G and 3G CDMA roaming agreement withOpen Mobile,where Verizon customers can use its network without charge. Later on, Verizon has also signed another agreement with Claro to also allow customers use their LTE Network.
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^"PRT | DMAX | CLARO | Historia".2010-09-19. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-09-19.Retrieved2023-05-20.
- ^Verizon Communications Completes the Sale of Its Interest in Puerto Rico Telephone.Verizon International-Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
- ^"Verizon Communications Completes the Sale of Its Interest in Verizon Dominicana."Verizon International-Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
- ^"América Móvil acquires PRTC, Inc.."Cellular-news April 2, 2007.
- ^América Móvil completes takeover of PRT, rebrands mobile arm as Claro."Teleography's CommsUpdate April 2, 2007.
- ^"Better Matters - Verizon Wireless".verizonwireless.