Docomo Pacific welcomes the recent support shown by Gov. Eloy S. Inos and the Legislature for a new undersea fiber optic network from Guam to the CNMI, company executives said this week.<\/p>\n
On Aug. 18, both the CNMI Senate (S.R. 19-14) and the House of Representatives (H.R. 19-28) unanimously approved formal resolutions opening the door to the Office of the Governor to assist Docomo Pacific in various logistical efforts, including the application for and processing of permits for a new undersea fiber optic cable project between Guam and the CNMI.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn light of recent events, including the submarine cable outage between Tinian and Saipan and the devastation caused by recent typhoon activity, the timing of the CNMI Legislature\u2019s resolution couldn\u2019t be better,\u201d said Jonathan Kriegel, Docomo Pacific\u2019s president and CEO. \u201cAs Docomo Pacific explores all facets of a possible cable build, garnering this type of support from the CNMI\u2019s leadership sends a strong signal that they understand just how important staying connected is for the future of the islands,\u201d<\/p>\n
Need for redundancy<\/strong> A single cable also presents ongoing connectivity challenges. In 2011, the CNMI commissioned a study of broadband Internet connectivity by 1 Global Economy Corp. Their final report described Saipan as \u201cone of the least connected places on Earth,\u201d and highlighted the urgent need for redundancy as well as lower prices for interisland bandwidth.<\/p>\n A new cable would provide a number of immediate, tangible benefits for the CNMI and Guam, the most significant of which would be much lower interisland bandwidth costs that would stimulate business activity and instill greater confidence in the overall infrastructure of the islands.<\/p>\n \u201cIncreased connectivity and lower cost bandwidth has the potential to be a game-changer for local businesses, government, hotels, hospitals, schools and libraries, not to mention the daily experience of our mobile and Internet customers,\u201d said Thomas Higa, Docomo Pacific\u2019s chief commercial officer.<\/p>\n Moving ahead<\/strong> \u201cWhile the possibility of a new cable is certainly exciting, much work remains to be done, given the many logistical considerations that accompany such a project,\u201d said Kriegel.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the time being, Docomo Pacific remains focused on restoring its network on Saipan to its full pre-Soudelor capacity, as well as ensuring that both Guam and the CNMI enjoy the highest quality service possible,\u201d Kriegel said, pointing out that as part of the company\u2019s rebuilding efforts on Saipan, they are placing previously aerial fiber underground, to \u201charden\u201d the network and ensure that it is able to withstand future storms without damage.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a time of great opportunity for our islands, and Docomo Pacific is committed to leading the way to bring a new era of connectivity,\u201d said Kriegel.<\/p>\n Project timeline<\/strong> Senate Resolution 19-28<\/strong> \u2022 Placement of a new undersea fiber cable between Guam and the CNMI;<\/p>\n \u2022 Providing of live standard definition and high definition television programming;<\/p>\n \u2022 Placement of fiber optic infrastructure underground to all cell sites, hotels, public schools and critical government agencies to protect their communications from damage in future storms. (Docomo Pacific)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Docomo Pacific welcomes the recent support shown by Gov. Eloy S. Inos and the Legislature…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[26,230,51,250],"class_list":["post-209708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news","tag-cnmi","tag-docomo-pacific","tag-guam","tag-network"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209708\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nCurrently, a single undersea fiber optic cable connects Guam to the CNMI. The cable, owned by IT&E, is nearly 20 years old. Most experts estimate the operational life of a typical undersea cable at about 25 years\u2014meaning that at some point in the future, a new cable is inevitable.<\/p>\n
\nKriegel confirmed that Docomo Pacific recently presented its initial plans to its shareholder and parent company, NTT DOCOMO Japan, and that Docomo Pacific had received approval to take the project forward to the next level, including landing site surveys, selecting consultants and vendors, initiating the federal and local permitting process, and considering various financing options, including possible partners and investors.<\/p>\n
\nThe process of building an undersea cable is complex, and the overall project timeline depends on a great number of variables, some of which are still being explored. Typically, projects of this scope take approximately 18 to 24 months. However, given the importance of the project, Docomo will be looking for ways to expedite the process. Once the planning and permitting are accomplished, the actual laying of the fiber optic cable between the islands would take just a few weeks.<\/p>\n
\nAccording to the resolution, Docomo Pacific\u2019s proposed projects include the following upgrades:<\/p>\n