Kilili: ‘The worst is over’

Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) believes that, with the repair ship now fixing IT&E’s broken undersea fiber optic cable, “the worst is over.”

“…Going forward we need to think of a way to provide an alternative in case something like this happens again,” he told Saipan Tribune in an interview.

Sablan explained that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is not able to provide assistance to private companies like IT&E but can assist the community through non-government organizations, like the American Red Cross. The government, he said, has not submitted a request to FEMA for assistance. 

Sablan contacted Gov. Eloy S. Inos in Washington, who identified a company that is currently laying down a cable between Guam and another island.

“The governor is trying to find out if the cable can include the Northern Marianas,” he said.

“I think all our different companies handling telecommunications, including our government, have been working together to get this problem fixed as soon as possible. Once this problem is fixed, then sometime soon hopefully we can all sit down and figure out what really needs to be done,” he added. 

During the network blackout, Sablan said his primary concern was how the situation impacted the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.

CHCC CEO Esther Muña said the limited Internet connectivity did not prevent the hospital from providing critical services, but it hampered some activities, while creating frustration and stress. CHC had to send some of their staff to Tinian to do work involving reporting requirements to numerous granting agencies. 

Telemedicine radiology and electronic prescribing was also cut off, requiring the hospital to do most of the work manually.

“It’s affecting our cash flow,” Muña said. “Drawdowns for federal reimbursement is almost impossible. Electronic billing is delayed and we can only file claims online a little at a time, slowing down our cash inflow.”

Dozens of Public School System students who are taking online summer classes were also affected. One Rota student told Saipan Tribune that she was not able to submit classwork and homework assignments. 

“Once connections are established and stabilized we must work twice as fast to catch up,” she said.

Local artist Robert Hunter’s family business, Kid Stuff, saw its sales drop by 80 percent in the first few days of the cable break. Hunter’s store was unable to order merchandise, although he was recently able to place orders with an erratic connection to replenish the store’s inventory. Customers also could not track items purchased through his business online.

“My little business lost a good amount of its average revenue,” he said. “I can’t even imagine what places like DFS, and Joeten, etcetera, lost.”

He added, “I am sure that businesses that are heavily card-dependent were also especially hit hard. Then there were the issues with flights, and hotel reservations.”

There must be a discussion about IT&E’s accountability, according to Hunter. Competition, he said, is vital to ensure that the outage does not recur. “Our communications network is an absolute necessity in today’s modern economy. It is absolutely necessary to our safety and security.”

Saipan Tribune sought comment from IT&E, but did not receive a response as of press time. 

While there is a promise of normality in the CNMI’s communication network in the upcoming days, the question of whether or not the islands will be able to avoid the situation in the future remains.