IT&E to expand NMI’s 1st call center

IT&E plans to expand the CNMI’s first call center to 200-300 seats from the current 40 seats, providing more jobs, more investments and additional revenue for the government during these tough economic times.

From having only about 10 employees when it opened in May 2008, IT&E’s call center now has 57 telephone operators, supervisors and other personnel taking in 6,000 to 13,000 calls a day.

The 40-seat call center provides 411 directory assistance services mainly to Hawaiian Telcom customers 24 hours a day, and is now exploring partnerships with other U.S.-based investors to outsource similar services, according to Robert Harell, executive director of IT&E’s customer contact operations.

IT&E executives said the close to $3 million in planned expansion will help boost the local economy.

Yesterday, IT&E president and chief executive officer Ricky Delgado gave Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, Finance Secretary Eloy Inos, Insular Affairs field representative Jeff Schorr, and others a tour of the IT&E call center in Susupe.

“I’m very impressed,” Fitial told reporters after a tour of the facility for the first time.

The governor said he will approve IT&E’s qualifying certificate application, which was filed about two weeks ago with the Commonwealth Development Authority.

The final approval or disapproval of the QC application rests with the governor.

“They will get it,” Fitial said.

Delgado, who was also a guest speaker at the Rotary Club of Saipan’s meeting at Hyatt Regency yesterday, asked for businesses’ support to IT&E’s QC application.

The Qualifying Certificate Program, which was established on Dec. 1, 2000, grants tax incentives to investors to put up new investments in the CNMI or assist existing investors to expand their operations.

Larry Knecht, executive vice president of IT&E, said they are awaiting a decision by CDA on their QC application.

IT&E, previously PTI, is now the largest telecommunications company in the Marianas with over 75,000 total subscribers on Saipan, Tinian, Rota and Guam.

Knecht, in an interview with reporters, said IT&E can quantify the QC benefits in terms of excise tax breaks because of the amount of investment to be made, the equipment to be brought into the CNMI, and business gross revenue tax breaks, among other things.

He said IT&E invested some $250,000 in the 40-seat call center, which will run up to $2 million when it expands.

A typical call center investment is $8,000 to $10,000 a seat. “So if you’re running 200 seats, that’s $2 million bucks so it’s quite an investment to make, to really expand the services and [make it] very competitive,” said Knecht.

He added, “We went ahead with this business to prove to the CNMI that it’s possible. There’s been a lot of talk in the past about call centers. And it’s now for real; you’re standing on it. This is a 40-seat call center that’s taking in 6,000 to 10,000 calls a day. So it’s not a make-believe. It’s for real. Were here to show the community that if you work with us on this QC for the future, we can develop jobs in the CNMI, and we think we can have 200 to 300 jobs here one day.”

According to a report that CDA released in November 2007, the QC program has attracted 11 companies, produced immediate benefits of $28.12 million from capital expenditures, and generated a total of $100.59 million in taxes, local purchases, utility payments, and other community contributions over the seven years the program has been in place.

But the report did not indicate the amount of taxes waived for QC beneficiaries under the program.