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08/25/2025 - Docomo Pacific wants a fair and impartial review of bids, guided by President Donald Trump’s directives for a technology-neutral, cost-focused plan to implement the CNMI Broadband Equity and Access Deployment Program. Docomo Pacific President and Chief Executive Officer, Christine Baleto.
“One of the things that came out when President Trump was elected was a revamping of the BEAD program. Initially, there was this requirement ot do fiber. In the CNMI, there was this intent to underground fiber for resiliency. When President Trump came in, they basically changed the components of the program and made it so it was technology-neutral, meaning that not just one technology, not just fiber would be considered, but that any technology that is able to deliver the speeds required, the latency, and most importantly do that in a cost efficient way would be prevailing,” she told MP.
In a public comment submitted to the CNMI Broadband Policy and Development Office on the Draft CNMI BPD BEAD final proposal, Baleto wrote “Based on our evaluation of the CNMI BPD Office announcement, it appears that there was a blatant disregard for the criteria which the Trump Administration had required all states and territories to follow in determining program awards.”
She noted, Docomo Pacific’s bid amount for coverage in the CNMI came in at $1.7 million. The intended awardee in the CNMI BPD Office announcement came in with a bid amount of $31-million. MP learned that awardee is IT&E. She said, “The difference here is a staggering $29,610,879 or 1,660% above our technical solution proposal.”
Baleto added, “One of our proposals basically was in areas that we had fiber, to use HFC, which is the coax cable that we have, that is able to deliver 1gb speed at a cost that was way below what the awardee proposed.”
She also expressed concern about the draft proposal and documents on bpd.cnmi.gov, which can be difficult to navigate and understand, and requires people to access a computer to find the information in a community that is categorized as unserved and/or underserved.
Special Assistant for Broadband Policy and Development Glen Hunter told Marianas Press, “We did receive a public comment from Docomo…We have received it and will review it.”
The company believes that the community deserves competition, redundancy and a fair pricing market. The current conditions could create a monopoly funded by tax payer dollars.
“There is the possibility that its going to drive competition out of the market and create a monopoly here in the NMI. We are providing our public comment. What we are requesting for is a reconsideration for review by technical experts. Someone that’s outside of the CNMI that understabds the different technologies, that understands the cost benefit analysis and uses that to make that decision. Because when something’s internal or you don’t have the technical capability to value and understand what these different technolgieis provide based on the cost that is being submitted, perhaps that is was not the best decision,” she said.
When asked to respond to IT&E’s claim that DOCOMO PACIFIC’s public comment was an attempt to take away from the CNMI, DOCOMO’s CEO made clear that "The company has been consistent in requesting only a fair and impartial review of bids, guided by NTIA’s standards. If both IT&E and the Broadband Office are fundamentally confident that the process was conducted properly, then there should be no objection to such a review and no concern over the award being reexamined. Transparency strengthens trust— this request should pose no issue to any party involved.”
Baleto added, “We’ve also questioned whether it has gone through the procurement process. That is another consideration because any federal award should go through the local procurement process and we are not sure if that was the case with the BEAD funds. We just want transparency. We just want fair consideration…for all the potential awardees and for the best decision to be made for the CNMI.”
Report by Thomas Manglona II
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