PTI takes over Verizon today

By John Ravelo and Agnes E. Donato
Reporter

It’s final.

Beginning today, Pacific Telecom, Inc. will take over Verizon’s operations from Micronesian Telecommunications Corp.

PTI and MTC recently consummated the multi-million-dollar deal estimated at $60 million, beating an extended deadline set by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Commission. This comes more than two years after MTC and PTI jointly filed an application for the transfer of all common stocks.

PTI president Jose Ricardo P.R. Delgado would not confirm the takeover; a press conference has been scheduled today at Verizon’s Susupe offices.

However, the transfer was confirmed when the Rota Legislative Delegation said that inter-island tolls will be abolished beginning today. This means that, from now on, a call from Songsong or Dynasty Village to Garapan will no longer cost more than a call from Susupe to Garapan. This is pursuant to a 27-point settlement agreement reached between the companies and intervenors in the CTC proceeding.

The Rota Legislative Delegation announced that will present separate resolutions this morning, thanking Gov. Juan N. Babauta, the Commonwealth Telecommunications Commission, and PTI for working to eliminate the inter-island toll.

Inter-island calls currently cost 14 cents per minute.

“We’re very happy because now our constituents can pick up the phone and call Tinian or Saipan without being charged long-distance rates. This is very good for business and development,” Diego M. Songao, chairman of the Rota Legislative Delegation said in an interview.

Rota Sen. Paterno Hocog noted that Verizon’s move would spread a ripple effect throughout the Commonwealth.

“It will result in savings for the government and the rest of the community. It will also lead to cheaper Internet access and probably even simultaneous TV programming, which will in turn promote education,” said Hocog.

The Rota lawmakers noted that inter-island toll should have been scrapped as early as 1996, following the enactment of Public Law 10-14 or the Fiber Optic Communications Facilitation and Competitive Telecommunications Act. Then acting Gov. Paul Manglona, who also hails from Rota, signed P.L. 10-14 on June 18, 1996.

This law requires the provision of services “to the islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, be uniformly so far as reasonably practicable, in a nondiscriminatory manner, at uniform rates throughout the islands without additional charges or tolls for services connecting one island to another.”

Despite the law, however, an inter-island toll was imposed. In 1997, the Attorney General’s Office filed a civil action over the charges. The case is still pending.

Besides the abolition of inter-island tolls, the agreement also provides that there would be no local rate hike for two years from the transaction’s closing and that PTI would invest a minimum of $20 million in capital expenditures during the next five years.

PTI executives said there would be no change in Verizon’s management and employees, except for the board’s membership.

The company earlier said it would join the National Exchange Carrier Association. The parties expected PTI’s membership to NECA to provide assistance to rate and tariff development, industry database management, compliance auditing, economic forecasting, trend analysis and regulatory policy analysis.