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PTI invests $2.5M for cable backup
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Posted on Mar 08 2006
Pacific Telecom Inc. said it has invested some $2.5 million for the installation of a microwave system to ensure uninterrupted service in case of a cable breakdown.
PTI chief executive officer Jose Ricardo Delgado said in an interview yesterday that the installation work began since six months ago.
“We’ll probably finish in six months. We are building our own microwave redundant system so if the cable goes down, we have a second way to get out. Satellite system is a third [alternative],” said Delgado.
The CNMI is connected to the rest of the world by a single cable that was built in the mid 90’s by PTI’s forerunner, Verizon. Verizon reportedly invested $10 million to put up the system.
No other telecommunications company has followed suit due to high costs and the low traffic in the CNMI.
Prior to the sale of Verizon to PTI last year, the government under the Babauta administration had persistently pushed for the divestiture of the cable ownership to allow competition. This did not materialize.
Delgado has maintained that this is unlawful since the cable is privately owned, among others.
Delgado said any interested investor can freely set up a new cable system in the CNMI.
“There’s nothing that prevents anybody from putting up a new one,” he said.
A business group meeting held on Saipan last May pushed for the creation of a new fiber optic cable in the CNMI to prevent any business disruption. Business leaders said this could be jointly worked out with Guam investors.
