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Verizon sale dispute nears determination
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Posted on Jan 14 2005
In a month’s time, the longstanding dispute on the proposed sale of Verizon will be over, with the Commonwealth Telecommunications Commission setting itself a deadline to come up a determination by Feb. 15.
According to CNMI consumer counsel Brian Caldwell, he and assistant attorney general James Livingstone, who represents Gov. Juan N. Babauta, would be ready for their oral arguments in a hearing scheduled by the CTC on Jan. 31.
The hearing aims to resolve the dispute on the proposal to divest Verizon partly of its ownership of the CNMI’s only fiber optic cable facility.
Caldwell said he and the governor maintain their position in favor of divestiture, which they believe to have raised prices of telecommunications services in the Commonwealth.
Caldwell and Livingstone proposed that all the assets of the submarine network, including the submerged and terrestial fiber optic cable, be placed in a trust during the closing of the transaction between MTC and PTI. They asked that the CTC appoint a trustee, who should hold a public auction for ownership interests in the trust within 90 days.
Under the proposal, the trustee will have the power to sell the assets or ownership interest of the trust, up to 33 percent of the total capacity currently available on the interisland cable. No party or combination of parties may acquire more than 33 percent of the total ownership interests or assets of the trust. Unsold portions of the trust will devolve back to Verizon’s ownership.
“If they [CTC commissioners] approve it, we want it [sale] approved with conditions,” Caldwell said.
Verizon owner Micronesian Telecommunications Corp. and prospective purchaser Pacific Telecom Inc. have opposed the divestiture request, citing, among other grounds, that such a move would infringe on property rights.
PTI and MTC jointly filed with the CTC an application for the transfer of all common stock on Sept. 5, 2003. (John Ravelo)
