A Letter to the People of the CNMI
Recently, statements have appeared in the press and elsewhere suggesting that DOCOMO PACIFIC has threatened to disconnect services to Tinian and Rota on its recently-installed ATISA submarine cable if the CNMI does not move forward on approval of certain financial commitments it made to the project in 2016.
Although the source of these statements is uncertain, they in no way originated from DOCOMO PACIFIC, and they are untrue. We offer this statement to clear up any confusion and to reassure the general public and especially our customers in the CNMI that there is not—and never has been—any discussion of taking such actions.
Simply put, this is not how DOCOMO PACIFIC does business. This isn’t our brand, nor will it ever be. As everyone who has ever seen one of our ads knows, our motto is “Better Together.” We believed in this idea before ATISA and—more than ever—we believe in it today.
From its inception, the ATISA submarine cable project was about bringing together Guam and the CNMI in the spirit of unity and interconnectedness as “One Marianas”. As part of our goal to make sure that we included Tinian and Rota in the project, we engaged the CNMI Legislature and the Governor to determine a financially sound means of doing so.
The $3 million in public funding under discussion was a key part of a public-private partnership through a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that DOCOMO PACIFIC entered into with the CNMI government in March 2016. We are grateful that we were able to enter into this partnership, which enabled us to obtain our parent company’s approval to fund the additional $6M cost of connecting Rota and Tinian. And we very much appreciate the continued efforts by the CNMI government’s leaders to take full advantage of the ATISA project’s promise of delivering 21st century technology to its people.
To date, DOCOMO PACIFIC has invested $26 million for the ATISA cable and to modernize and expand fixed and mobiles networks in the CNMI. Not only are CNMI residents now able to enjoy our online, mobile, TV and home phone services, we are pleased that we have been able to open new retail stores and hire additional full-time employees on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.
We regret what appears to be a misunderstanding regarding DOCOMO PACIFIC, and would welcome all opportunities to meet with our government leaders and anyone else in civil society to further address any concerns or confusion.
DOCOMO PACIFIC’s commitment to the CNMI is unwavering and our efforts continue. We look forward to more discussion with our local leaders to ensure that we fulfill our commitments and continue to bring our families and our community closer to the things that matter most.
Si yu'os ma'åse'and Biba One Marianas!
Jonathan Kriegel
President & CEO
DOCOMO PACIFIC Inc.
