Puerto Rico's PRStar.Net Project Connects Agencies

Puerto Rico's PRStar.Net project, a network that will connect the entire island, is being used by nearly all of the 140 government agencies. Every agency will be online by Dec. 15, accordinng to an official at the Office of Management and Budget.

Puerto Rico's PRStar.Net project, a network that will connect the entire island, is being used by nearly all of the 140 government agencies. Every agency will be online by Dec. 15, accordinng to an official at the Office of Management and Budget.

"One hundred and nineteen agencies are connected, and if we can't connect the rest with regular T-1 lines, we'll do it via antenna," said Antonio Russe, associate director of OMB.

More than 1,100 people are using the system (www.prstar.net), and that number is expected to grow to about 50,000 users in 2000, Russe said. Next year, legislative and judicial branches will be added to the system, he said.

Puerto Rico's accounting system already is on the network, enabling online transactions. There also are eight kiosks located throughout the island's tourism hotbeds, letting users access travel information and government services, Russe said.