PTI welcomes DoCoMo competition

Pacific Telecom Inc. vowed Wed-nesday to fulfill its commitment to expand its business throughout the Western Pacific, welcoming heightened competition in the local market amid plans by Japanese firm NTT DoCoMo Inc. to penetrate the Marianas region’s telecommunications industry.

PTI general manager Tony Mosley said the move by NTT to purchase and merge Saipancell/Guamcell and HafaTel will enhance competition that will ultimately benefit the consumers.

“We’re going to defend our market and grow our business throughout the Western Pacific,” Mosley said. “Great service is really going to win the day.”

Mosley said the company has been improving services for its customers since PTI wholly acquired Verizon Micronesia from Micronesian Telecommunications Corp. late last year.

For mobile communications services, Mosley said PTI has begun offering new text messaging and rate plans. He also said PTI is in the process of expanding its products and services in Guam.
Mosley said NTT’s bid to wholly acquire Guam Cellular & Paging Inc., the company operating Guamcell/Saipancell, as well as Guam Wireless Telephone Company LLC, which operates HafaTel, did not come as a surprise, noting that consolidation of telecom companies “is a natural thing that happens” in the industry.

He said PTI will look into documents that will be submitted by NTT to regulatory agencies, including the Federal Telecommunications Commission.

“It’s just competition. It’s good for the industry. It’s good for the consumers,” Mosley said. “We look forward to it.”

The planned acquisition and merger of the Guamcell/Saipancell and HafaTel came about months after PTI wholly acquired Verizon Micronesia from MTC for approximately $60 million.

NTT, which claims to be the world’s leading mobile communications company, will wholly acquire the Saipancell/Guamcell and HafaTel for a total of $71.8 million and merge the local companies.

The merger will combine both CDMA and GSM technologies in NTT’s provision of services in the Marianas, with NTT disclosing plans of investing additional monies of up to $6.5 million to strengthen the merged company’s facilities and infrastructure.

Guamcell/Saipancell provides CDMA service, while HafaTel relies on GSM technology, which allows subscribers to make use of subscriber identity module (SIM) or smart cards that are placed inside cellular phone units. PTI’s mobile services rely solely on CDMA technology.

NTT declared the Saipancell/Guamcell and HafaTel acquisition and merger as part of its goal to expand global reach through strategic alliances with mobile and multimedia service providers in Asia-Pacific and Europe, in addition to its existing wholly owned subsidiaries in Europe, North America and Asia.

The Japanese firm, which is publicly listed in the Tokyo, New York and London stock exchanges, said it serves more than 50 million customers worldwide.

In the Marianas, NTT said it will serve many Japanese travelers and residents by acquiring Saipancell/Guamcell and HafaTel.