Guam is considered the telecommunications hub of the Western Pacific, all transpacific undersea cables pass through Guam to and from Asia. Guam has a telecommunications infrastructure in place far exceeding most communities with equivalent population. Guam’s fixed line, mobile, cable and satellite communications infrastructure support a full range of domestic and international services encompassing voice, video, data, internet and other advance communication services.
The enactment of the (U.S. Congress) Telecommunications Act of 1996 (“Telecom Act”) resulted in Guam becoming a part of the North American Numbering Plan and changed its country code to an area code to an area code (671) of the U.S. affording residents with inexpensive communication to the U.S. U.S. toll free service (800, 888, 877 and 866 prefixes) is also accessible from Guam.
GTA is Guam’s local exchange carrier and serves over 70,000 subscribers on the island-wide underground fiber optic rings its infrastructure and is built to withstand a Category 5 typhoon. Services include ISDN and T1 networks and for small businesses, the basic rate interface offers multiple channels for data transfer and can run a couple of applications simultaneously. For larger organizations, primary rate interface has as many as 30 channels operating at 2 MB per second to operate a number of applications at once. With a local business line, GTA will set up the phone system and provide monthly inside wire maintenance. For an additional low monthly fee, they also offer useful services such as caller id, call forwarding, and 3-way conference calling.
| Basic Monthly Phone Service Rates: |
|
| Residential – single line |
$14.00 |
| Security Deposit – one time charge |
$35.00 |
| Business – single line |
$36.00 |
| Business – rotary line |
$39.00 |
| Business – truck line |
$49.00 |
| Security Deposit – one time charge |
$90.00 |
The Telecom Act also changed the status of Guam from an international location between the U.S. to a domestic location. This change applied rate integration to Guam, requiring carriers to provide interstate rates between Guam and the US that are comparable to the rates they charge in the rest of the nation.
Long distance and wireless plans to fit a companies unique requirements are offered by a number of companies in Guam – GTA, GuamCell Communications, IT&E Overseas, Inc., Verizon, Pacific Telecom, Inc. (PTI), TelePacific Network, Inc. (TNI), Hafa Tel and I Connect under TDMA and/or GSM mobile network.
Average Long Distance Service Rates: |
(per minute) |
| U.S.A, Puerto Rico, USVI |
$0.10 |
| CNMI |
$0.10 |
| Hong Kong |
$0.17 |
| South Korea |
$0.17 |
| Taiwan |
$0.17 |
| China |
$0.17 |
| Australia |
$0.17 |
| Canada |
$0.20 |
| Japan |
$0.20 |
| Philippines |
$0.21 |
| Singapore |
$0.25 |
| American Samoa |
$0.30 |
| Palau |
$0.40 |
| Micronesia |
$0.65 |
Internet connectively through either ISP dial-up or DSL is provided by MCV Kuentos, IT&E, GuamCell, PTI and GTA’s Spyder integrated Internet service.
| Internet Service Rates: (monthly) |
|
| Dial-up |
$13.95 to $34.00 |
| High speed DSL |
$44.95 to $45.95 |
| CableNet |
$34.95 to $62.45 |
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates all interstate and international telecommunications facilities and services in Guam.
Media
Guam is served by four (4) English-language newspapers, the Pacific Daily News, the Marianas Variety, the Marianas Business Journal and the Pacific Navigator. The Pacific Daily News is Guam’s primary newspaper with a circulation of 26,000. It focuses mainly on the issues that affect local residents. The Marianas Variety and the Marianas Business Journal are wider in scope covering the Marianas chain of islands. The Pacific Navigator is centered on military events and is published by the US Navy in Guam.
Guam has fifteen (15) radio stations and four (4) local TV stations (KUAM, KGTF, Pacific News Center and the Marianas Cable Vision). The Marianas Cable Vision is also the island’s sole provider of digital cable service.
Media Links:
|
