Senate to decide on telecom bill next week

The Senate Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation and Communications is expected to decide by next week whether to pass or shelve legislation regulating the local telecom sector, according to its chair.

HB 12-6, otherwise known as the Commonwealth Telecommunications Act, has cleared the lower house following a four-month review by its PUTC committee chaired by Rep. Rosiky F. Camacho.

His counterpart, Senate Vice President Thomas P. Villagomez, however, said the panel is leaning toward a measure introduced in the upper house which will create an independent regulatory body to oversee operations of all utility service providers in the CNMI, including telephone companies.

SB 12-54 seeks to protect consumers who end up paying high rates in the absence of control on their operations, citing failure by the government-owned Commonwealth Utilities Corp. to assume responsibility.

“The committee is looking toward the bill just to set up a [regulatory commission],” Mr. Villagomez told reporters in an interview. “There are some positions that we should not legislate rate and fees, that’s the position of the members.”

Under HB 12-6, the proposed commission will have the responsibility to regulate the sector as well as to establish guidelines, including rates and fees, while SB 12-54 leaves open such functions, according to the senator.

Although CUC was given the mandate to regulate the telecom sector under Public Law 4-47, it has not been able to do so due to limited staff and technical expertise.

But Mr. Villagomez commended recent actions by the CUC board in trying to respond to inquiries regarding policies implemented by Micronesian Telecommunications Corp., the lone domestic phone service provider on the islands.

“If we take away that responsibility from CUC, we will be creating another agency,” he said, adding his committee is scheduled to meet on Sept. 20 to decide whether to push the House version or the Senate’s.

The House leadership has pressed for the telecom bill despite opposition from MTC which claimed the bill could drive away potential investors in the sector due to stringent regulations.

Meanwhile, Board Director Frank T. Flores, who chairs the telecommunications committee of CUC’s policy-making body, has acknowledged its responsibility over telephone and cable TV services, citing regulations adopted by the corporation in the past.

He has also expressed opposition to setting up new regulatory commissions as he claimed these would only entail additional costs to the government and lead to higher fees and rates for the consumers.

“Our goal at CUC has always been to keep our people’s bills low and not to create so many big city laws and commissions that will cost our people more money,” Mr. Flores said in a statement. “CUC is working on regulations and will continue to do so.”