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CPUC approves GTA application
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Posted on Oct 27 2011
The Commonwealth Public Utilities Commission approved yesterday the application of Guam-based telecommunications company GTA Services LLC to set up shop and do business in the Commonwealth.
In a statement yesterday, GTA said that it will begin operating in the Commonwealth in mid-2012.
“The PUC’s decision to allow GTA TeleGuam to offer communications services in the CNMI is a win for the Commonwealth,” said Dan Tydingco, executive vice-president of external and legal affairs of the company.
The GTA official said that fair competition motivates service providers to innovate and offer improved network and customer services. “If providers don’t continually improve service or offer competitive rates, they risk losing market share because customers have a choice of providers.”
He added that GTA’s entry to the CNMI is the company’s first major coverage area expansion outside of Guam since it was privatized in 2005.
Securing regulatory approval to operate in the CNMI is the first major hurdle GTA TeleGuam needed to clear before it can begin selling business voice and data communications services in the Commonwealth. Next, GTA must negotiate an inter-carrier connection agreement with the incumbent local exchange provider in the CNMI.
GTA filed its application with the CPUC on March 22, 2011. PUC’s consultant, Georgetown Consulting, recommended approving the application.
In the regulatory meeting yesterday, IT&E representative Larry Kinecht questioned the commission’s transparency, raising concerns about the availability of public documents related to GTA’s application.
PUC chair Viola Alepuyo explained, however, that despite the absence of a functional website for PUC, all decisions and related petitions filed with the commission are available at the Saipan Chamber of Commerce website. Alepuyo said that PUC operates on a zero budget while regulating multimillion-dollar companies on island.
IT&E earlier filed a motion to intervene in GTA’s application, but this was denied. The commission also determined that GTA has the financial, technical, and managerial resources and abilities to do business in the Commonwealth.
