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Governor ‘unhappy’ over Verizon sale
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Posted on Feb 10 2005
Contrary to earlier statements by his staff and lawyer, Gov. Juan N. Babauta is actually unhappy over the Verizon sale decision, saying it left a crucial issue that he has been adamant about—“monopoly” and competitive pricing—unresolved.
“I’m not happy. The issue of monopoly and the price of services are still unclear and I wish that those were addressed before the approval came,” Babauta said during an interview with reporters yesterday.
He said he understands that the Commonwealth Telecommunications Commission’s approval is “conditioned on the final inspection and analysis” of Pacific Telecom’s financial standing and track record.
“I hope that CTC looks at that very, very closely,” he said,
He said he is more concerned, though, with what he insists is a “monopoly,” “which has directly to do with the prices of services to be made available to the public.” He noted that Pacific Telecom’s ownership of the only cable infrastructure in the CNMI constitutes monopoly.
“In the absence of competition, they can dictate prices and that’s my contention all along. And I am not happy that this is an issue that remains unresolved,” he said.
Although the CTC intends to further study the Verizon/PTI pricing in a contested case proceeding, which may result in CTC setting the prices, the situation would be “artificial.”
“I would rather that we break the monopoly and we pay prices based on the actual market flow, rather than prices that’s set by CTC or any other body because in a competitive market, the price that you pay is what the market demands,” he said.
If there is competition in the market, he said, the price is at its natural low or natural high.
“If it’s artificially set, you don’t know what’s the actual price because it’s artificially set. I’d rather have competitive price than any other prices,” said the governor.
Earlier, both the governor’s lawyer Jay Livingstone and press secretary Pete Callaghan welcomed the CTC decision, describing it as a “victory” for the administration.
They expressed belief that through CTC regulation, PTI prices would eventually be reduced and result in more investors coming into the market.
