Trading name Caribe.Net Products broadband
telephone Type of business private | Industry telecommunications Headquarters San Juan, Puerto Rico | |
Caribe.Net, also known as Critical Hub Networks, is a telecommunications company that provides broadband internet access, data center and telephone services in Puerto Rico. The company is headquartered in San Juan. On April 26, 2010 the company received a $25.7 million dollar federal award from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration for the Puerto Rico Bridge Initiative.
History
Caribe.Net was founded in 1994 and was the first internet service provider in Puerto Rico. The company was the first to offer the following services on the island:
In 1999, Caribe.Net was acquired by PSINet, the largest independent facilities-based ISP in the world. In 2001, the company was acquired back by the original shareholders. Caribe.Net was also co-founder of the Internet Society of Puerto Rico and Network Access Point (NAP) of the Caribbean. In 2007, Caribe.Net teamed up with Voz to offer Enterprise-Level Telephone Services VoIP over Caribe.Net's Internet services.
In 2010, Critical Hub Networks Inc. received a $25.7 million ARRA grant through the U.S. Department of Commerce to bridge the technological divide, boost economic growth, create jobs, and improve education and health care through the improvement of broadband internet services in Puerto Rico. The project awarded is the Puerto Rico Bridge Initiative.
On February 22, 2011, Critical Hub Networks officially inaugurated the Puerto Rico Bridge Initiative, which established the PRBI Internet Exchange Point (IXP) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Congressman Pedro Pierluisi participated in the inauguration event.