Smaller telecom The widespread fallout of the dot-com bust caused a drop in attendance at the 24th annual conference of the Pacific Telecommunications Council, but the meeting has also received a boost from better relations with China.
event still draws
heavy hitters
Attendance drops 17%
Guam phone company gets nibbles
but forum gets boost
from mainland ChinaBy Tim Ruel
truel@starbulletin.comThis week's conference, which wraps up today at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, had 1,500 attendees, a 17 percent decrease from last year's 1,800 people, said Hoyt Zia, executive director of the nonprofit Honolulu-based council. PTC's 740 members span the Pacific Rim and include such companies as Cisco Systems Asia Pacific, Teleglobe Hong Kong and Verizon Hawaii. Contraction in the telecom market has caused many companies to cut their travel budgets, Zia said. Other members have simply closed their doors.
On the bright side, the conference had 60 new business attendees from mainland China, the result of the country's entry in the World Trade Organization in November, as well as a recent policy decision by the PTC.
Quite simply, the organization no longer uses the word "Taiwan." The PTC strictly refers to the island as Chinese Taipei, which is the term demanded by the Beijing government in mainland China.
It was a significant decision that took years to resolve for the council, primarily because the leaders of the island refer to their country as the Republic of China on Taiwan; and while the formal sovereignty movement has moved in and out of favor, the island operates as an independent nation.
The United States does not have formal relations with the country. It's official position is supportive of the "one China policy" put forward by Beijing, with the caveat that the dispute between the two entities be settled in a peaceful manner and in accord with the wishes of the people of Taiwan.
As a result of the PTC's decision, a representative from the quasi-governmental Directorate General of Telecommunications in Taipei did not attend this year's conference.
"We regret this and we knew that this was possible," Zia said. "We have to be political. If not, we don't get China." It's a huge country with dozens of major telecommunication firms, in Hong Kong as well as on the mainland, he said.
He noted other members based in Taiwan did attend the conference this year to tap the opportunities that are available, such as making new contacts with businesses and learning about trends in the global marketplace.
A major theme of this year's conference is the digital divide, or the growing gap between those who have ready access to computers and the Internet and those who do not, Zia said. "Until the last kid in Appalachia has a computer, there's going to be a digital divide," he said.
India and China, for example, have a growing middle class with millions of people who are learning how to use the most modern technologies.
Trouble is, there are hundreds of millions people in China who have never seen a keyboard, and millions more in India, said Zia.
Different nations have different approaches to the problem. For example, when it comes to high-speed Internet access, known as broadband, Switzerland offers no government funding for installation of broadband services, but has poured money into education and training, according to James Savage, director of global corporate communication for Philips Broadband Networks Inc. New Zealand, meanwhile, has adopted a policy of "as much market as possible and as much government as necessary."
Savage was among a panel of speakers who addressed the digital divide topic Tuesday afternoon at the conference.
The last government-owned telephone company in the United States is up for sale. Guam governor gets some
nibbles for last publicly
owned phone firmBy Lyn Danninger
ldanninger@starbulletin.comThe Guam Telephone Authority, which provides 72,000 land-line and 7,500 wireless customers with phone service on the island and is the largest provider of pay phone services, hopes to transform itself into a private enterprise so that it can expand services and compete worldwide as well as at home.
A number of interested bidders, said to include both Verizon and Alcatel, were among the delegates at this year's Pacific Telecommunications Council this week in Honolulu who heard about the offering yesterday at a multi-media presentation.
Speakers at the event included Guam Gov. Carl T.C. Gutierrez and a team of consultants involved in the transaction.
The asking price for the utility is a minimum of $70 million in cash and the assumption of all GTA liabilities, including $110 million it owes to the federal rural utilities service, which provided loans for infrastructure upgrades and improvements. The successful bidder can either assume the loan or pay it off.
Gutierrez said there are a number of good reasons to privatize the company, which employs 402 people.
Gutierrez said he envisions Guam becoming a communications hub. As a private entity, GTA's potential for expansion is unlimited, he said, but under current government rules, that is not possible.
A new owner could add enhanced wireless, digital subscriber line and many other information technology services. Because of Guam's location and proximity to Asia the island has extraordinary access to multiple transoceanic fiber and satellite links. As part of the United States it can offer stability, good infrastructure an educated work force, low real estate and labor costs, he said.
"Guam is centrally located within 4 1/2 hours or less flying time to the world's fastest growing telecommunications markets," he said.
The successful bidder would also be eligible for attractive tax concessions, he said.
But Gutierrez was quick to emphasize -- given Guam's history of violent storms -- that any potential buyer would also be acquiring a well-protected network.
The system features digital switching and earthquake- and typhoon-proof infrastructure, he said.
"It survived 200-plus mile-per-hour winds of super typhoon Paka. GTA's customers never lost a dial tone throughout," he said.
Since 1997, Guam has also had a U.S. domestic area code, 691, making the cost of long-distance calls comparable to other state-to-state calls in the country, he said.
Interested bidders are invited to visit Guam for site visits beginning Jan. 22.
There is also a Web site, www.privatize.gtaguam.com, where interested parties can review the request for proposals and other information relevant to the transaction.
Any sale will also require approval from Guam's legislature and federal authorities. It's hoped the deal can be completed by year end.
Guttierez said he expects Guam's legislature to approve the deal.
"They'd be hard pressed not to," he said, noting recent court decisions in his favor.