Claro Puerto Rico
Claro Puerto Rico is one of the largest telecommunications services company in Puerto Rico. It is headquartered in Guaynabo, 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, Sosthenes and Hernan.[1] Originally, Puerto Rico Telephone Company eventually spawned ITT Corporation, which was founded by Sosthenes Behn. The company was a public corporation of the government of Puerto Rico for many years until the majority stakes were acquired by GTE in the mid-1990s. It was a subsidiary of Verizon Communications until it was fully acquired by América Móvil in 2007.
Company type
Claro Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico Telephone Company (Telefónica de Puerto Rico),
Puerto Rico Communications Corporation (Autoridad de Comunicaciones)
1995
$1.2 billion USD
4,649
ITT Corporation 1920–1974
Government-owned corporations of Puerto Rico 1974–1998
GTE 1998–2000
Verizon Wireless 2000–2007
América Móvil 2007–present
CoquiNet Corporation, Puerto Rico Telephone Company, Inc.
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 with Open 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.