Despite IT&E currently being the sole Internet provider to the CNMI for years now, the telecommunications company says it is not running a monopoly on the islands.<\/p>\n
According to PTI chief executive officer James Oehlerking, \u201cthere\u2019s no monopoly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guam-based PTI is the parent company of IT&E.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were numerous talks and we responded to \u2018IT&E\u2019s monopoly.\u2019 We don\u2019t have a monopoly. Anybody can come in here and compete,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Oehlerking added that investors eyeing the CNMI can in come anytime.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a question of them wanting to make an investment and participate in the market like IT&E has for 35 years. There\u2019s nothing new up here. If they\u2019re interested they can come here anytime,\u201d Oehlerking said in a recent interview.<\/p>\n
He also pointed out that they are providing service to other telecoms in the CNMI such as iConnect and Docomo.<\/p>\n
When asked if it\u2019s possible for the CNMI to have multiple fiber optic cable connections like Guam, Oehlerking said it\u2019s not easy.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuam is much more of a through-point in the middle of the Pacific so there are multiple cables that pass through Guam,\u201d Oehlerking said. \u201cGuam over the years has been set up as a through point. It\u2019s not easy to change routes or just say let\u2019s go through Saipan en route to say, Taiwan or China.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last Friday, the same question was raised at a presentation by Dan Tydingco, executive vice president for external and legal affairs of GTA, for CNMI lawmakers on Capital Hill.<\/p>\n
Tydingco described the CNMI\u2019s connection as \u201csingle-threaded.\u201d He said it may be for the lawmakers and the CNMI government to determine if the Commonwealth needs another system.<\/p>\n
After the CNMI-wide network outage more than a week ago, Internet capacity is still not at 100 percent as connections are relying on backup systems until the fiber optic cable will be repaired once the repair ship arrives this week.<\/p>\n
Oehlerking said they will take another look at their entire system once the repairs are done.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter we\u2019re done with all this, both on the fiber and other alternatives, we\u2019re going to relook at our whole communication structure [on] Saipan and back to Guam and see what changes could be made to improve it,\u201d Oehlerking said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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