CNMI lobbies FCC for expanded telecoms and internet support

In a series of filings made with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in December 1999 and January 2000, the Office of the Governor urged the FCC to increase its support for health care-related telecommunications and for high speed internet access services in the CNMI. The FCC had sought comment from the public on possible reforms to its Universal Service program, intended to support telecommunications to high cost, low income and insular areas (such as the CNMI).

According to Lt. Governor Jesus R. Sablan, “We are pleased that the FCC has initiated this proceeding to consider how to more meaningfully extend funding to insular areas such as the CNMI. We hope that the FCC will closely and carefully consider the CNMI’s proposal for increased telemedicine and Internet access funding.”

In its filings, the Office of the Governor proposed that modifications to the FCC’s Rural Health Care program be implemented such that meaningful support can be made available for telemedicine services. The CNMI’s filings highlighted how the current telecommunications support system insufficiently addresses the health care needs of CNMI residents, providing no assistance for consultation calls to specialists in Hawaii or the United States.

In addition, the Office of the Governor requested that the FCC modify its Universal Service program to extend funding for high speed Internet access services due to rapid changes in technology and the growing importance of Internet for purposes of public health, safety and education, such high speed Internet services are quickly becoming as important to citizens as telephone service itself. The Office of the Governor proposed that the FCC address this request in a separate review of certain Universal Service programs subsidies to be completed sometime before January 1, 2001.

In addition to expanded telemedicine and Internet access support, the Office of the Governor asked the FCC to include the CNMI in its Universal Service Monitoring Program which tracks the effect and benefits of the funding. Since some current FCC tracking mechanisms exclude the CNMI, regulators may lose sight of the need for funding in the CNMI and potential corporate investors and telecommunications service providers may have difficulty obtaining reliable data pertaining to the CNMI.

Finally, the CNMI’s filings emphasized how the CNMI’s geographic isolation from the rest of the United States, Pacific weather conditions, and the fact that the CNMI’S populace resides on separate islands all contribute to the high cost of providing telecommunications service in the CNMI.

Other insular areas that participated in the proceeding before the FCC included the Government of Guam, the American Samoa Telecommunications Authority, the Public Service Commission of the U.S. Virgin islands, and the Puerto Rico Telephone Company. The FCC is expected to issue a ruling in this proceeding later this year.