The Federal Communications Commission is kicking in money to help restore badly battered phone service on Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

The agency voted Wednesday to provide up to $76.9 million in Universal Service Fund money to help wireless carriers restore service. The FCC unanimously voted to provide the funds immediately to carriers. It also promised up to seven months of support from the fund, which has been used for decades to help lower the cost of deploying service in areas that are expensive to serve.