What charges might go on the balance sheets of local utilities was a major concern of V.I. Public Services Commission (PSC) consultants as formal testimony in transfer-of-control hearings for Vitelco phone and Innovative Cable TV companies wound up Wednesday evening.

The phone and cable companies, which are regulated by the PSC, are solvent. But their parent companies, which can be collectively called Innovative Communications or ICC, have been in bankruptcy since July 2006. National Rural Telephone Finance Corporation is the biggest creditor, and its financial arm, National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC), is seeking PSC approval to assume ownership of the regulated utilities.

At the end of June 2009, Digicel recorded 7.2 million subscribers across its 24 markets in the Caribbean and El Salvador. It said that following its recent launch in Honduras and Panama, 1.4 million more subscribers came on board, while the six markets in the Pacific account for a further 1.4 million subscribers.

More here.

The price gap between Cable Modem and other technologies continues to increase throughout the Caribbean. While on the 1Q08 Cable Modem rates were just 5% cheaper expensive than DSL, by 2Q09 the difference widened making Cable Modem rates 44% and 65% cheaper than DSL and fixed wireless broadband connections respectively.

Buenos Aires - September 9, 2009 - Signals Telecom Consulting, the leading telecommunications research and consulting firm for markets in Latin America and the Caribbean, presents the Fifth Edition of its market survey "Comparative Analysis of Broadband Rates in the Caribbean." This study forms part of a research program that also covers South and Central America, and analyzes the pricing strategy of 58 broadband operators in 25 markets in the Caribbean Basin and Bermuda.

Signals Telecom Consulting periodically surveys the broadband offering in order to track any changes on broadband speeds, rates, technologies used, and number of service providers, among others. "The results of the last survey conducted during the 2Q09 are available through the acquisition of Signals' Comparative Analysis of Broadband Rates in the Caribbean 5th Edition market report", explains Jose F. Otero, President of Signals Telecom Consulting and co-author of the study.

Key findings from the report include the following:

* Average installation price for a broadband connection during the 1Q08 - excluding seasonal promotions - was US$ 99.27. By 2Q09, the average broadband installation charge per technology was US$ 65.02 for Cable Modem, US$ 84.44 for DSL, and US$ 111.09 for fixed wireless.

* Jamaica exhibits a high segmentation of its broadband offer when compared to other Caribbean markets. As of 2Q09, downlinks data transfer speeds available from local providers included: 384 Kbps, 512 Kbps, 768 Kbps, 1 Mbps, 1.5 Mbps, 2 Mbps, 3 Mbps, 4 Mbps, 6 Mbps, 8 Mbps, and 15 Mbps.

* Although geographically not located in the Caribbean, Bermuda with a population of approximately 70,000 inhabitants has eight (8) fixed broadband service providers a higher number than most other markets in the region.

* The highest monthly rates for 1 Mbps downlink connections were provided by Guyana's Broadband Wireless (US$ 400), Belize's BTL (US$ 170.98), and Bonaire's Flamingo TV (US$ 54.29).

* The cheapest 1 Mbps downlink connection provided by LIME (Cable & Wireless) is found in Jamaica with a US$ 29.95 monthly fee and for 2Mbps in Grenada for US$ 26.34. On the other hand, LIME highest rate for this downlink speed - US$ 49 monthly fee - is found in both the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands and for 2 Mbps in the Turks & Caicos for US$ 79 monthly fee.

* The lack of international data traffic gateways continue to contribute for the high broadband rates of providers as Suriname's Telesur charging US$ 183 per month for a 512 Kbps DSL connection and in Guyana GT&T charged US$ 169.34 for the same type of connection while Broadband Wireless' charged monthly fee of US$ 200 for a fixed wireless connection of 512 Kbps.

* Flow Jamaica offers the faster residential downlink speed: 15 Mbps for US$ 37.22

August 27, 2009 -- By year's end, the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation will own ICC, parent company to Innovative Telephone Corporation and its telephone, cable television and Internet operations, Innovative President E. Clarke Garnett said Thursday.

Garnett, speaking to Rotary of St. Croix at its weekly speaker's luncheon at Gertrude's Restaurant, said the company has digitized the television services, worked on line maintenance and was in the process of upgrading its cellular and wireless services. But the heavy lifting to upgrade and strengthen the company's network will begin after the transfer of control.

ICC, formerly the property of ex-telecoms magnate Jeffrey Prosser, has been in bankruptcy since July 2006. National Rural's affiliate, Rural Telephone Finance Cooperative, is the lender to ICC and holds a $525 million judgment against it. Efforts to auction the component companies were hampered by the global financial crisis and in January, National Rural announced its intent to credit bid for the properties. A credit bid is when a creditor bids for a property at auction, offering not cash, but part or all of the value of the debt owed it.

The government is today launching the formal process intended to lead to the sale of a 51 percent stake in The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), The Nassau Guardian can confirm.

This exercise is intended to lead to bidding for the state-owned company.

Parties interested in purchasing BTC will be required to complete a registration form and pay a US$25,000 processing fee by July 28.

The government plans to refund the fee for any party that is not chosen to move ahead to the due diligence phase of the process, but the fee will not be refunded to any prospective buyer who moves to this next phase. In addition to acquiring a 51 percent shareholding in BTC, the new owner would also gain operational control of BTC, which currently provides services to over 334,000 wireless, 132,000 fixed line and 18,500 broadband customers throughout The Bahamas. The company currently has 190 roaming agreements in place serving more than four million tourists who visit The Bahamas each year.

Pretty interesting - I wonder how the overall economic situation will affect the sale price and/or the ability of potential buyers to find credit or capital to buy it.

SALEM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Atlantic Tele-Network, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATNI - News) today announced a definitive agreement to acquire certain wireless assets from Verizon Wireless for $200 million. Under terms of the agreement, ATN will acquire wireless properties, including wireless spectrum licenses and network assets, serving over 800,000 subscribers primarily in rural areas across Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois, Ohio, and Idaho. Verizon Wireless is required to divest these properties as part of the regulatory approvals granted for its purchase of Alltel earlier this year.

Under terms of the agreement, ATN will purchase the assets for $200 million in cash. ATN expects to fund substantially all of the purchase price with cash-on-hand and borrowings under its existing credit facility. As of April 30, 2009, ATN had approximately $90 million in cash and cash equivalents, $75 million of available borrowings under its undrawn revolving credit facility, and an additional $50 million of borrowing capacity, subject to lender consent, under its term credit facility.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, including the receipt of required consents and approvals from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC.) ATN's obligation to close the transaction is not subject to any financing condition. ATN expects the transaction to close in the third or fourth quarter of 2009.

"This is a very attractive transaction for ATN and it accomplishes what we have been patiently seeking over the past few years," said Michael Prior, ATN's President and Chief Executive Officer. "It provides ATN with enhanced scale and revenue diversification and enables us to expand meaningfully our US wireless business. Coupled with our existing US wireless operations, we will now have significant wireless operations in rural areas of more than 10 states. Including our international operations, we expect to have more than 1,000,000 retail wireless subscribers by transaction close. We believe that our long history of operating success in comparable markets, combined with our financial resources, makes these businesses an ideal fit for us. We aim to further develop these markets for customers who want the attention and flexibility of a local operator. We look forward to transitioning the employees and subscribers of the acquired businesses to ATN and to continue building our wireless business."