IT&E: Docomo ‘not an aggrieved party’

CNMI's BEAD project marred by protest

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

IT&E, the tentative awardee of a federal grant for the CNMI’s broadband project, defended the Broadband Policy & Development Office’s decision to pick the company’s $31.4 million bid, saying it followed federal rules and selected the most suitable network system for the islands.

IT&E outbid two other bidders—GTA, which offered $60 million, and Docomo Pacific, $90 million—that submitted buried-fiber network proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program grant.

“IT&E maintains that it remains in the best interest of the CNMI and our communities to proceed forward with the BEAD program as administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and your office,” Robert Torres, attorney for IT&E, said in a position paper responding to Docomo Pacific’s protest.

“Docomo is not an aggrieved party as its submission was non-responsive, exceeding the grant program funding levels and so its protest, to the extent

 that it is viable or timely (which IT&E asserts is both untenable and premature), is without merit,” Torres said.

He pointed out that based on the NTIA’s restructuring policy notice in June, the BPDO awarded the lowest-cost priority broadband project, which was the IT&E application for $31.4 million.

NTIA’s notice of new BEAD guidelines voided previous proposals and required states and territories to restart their selection processes under a cost-focused, technology-neutral framework.

Docomo opposes the BPDO’s single-company award, saying it would create a monopoly that would compromise service delivery and dampen pricing competition. It also protested the broadband policy office’s decision to select a $31 million proposal over its $1.78 million bid.

BPDO earlier noted that Docomo’s $1.78 million offer was for aerial networks.

“While IT&E will leave it to the CNMI Broadband Policy & Development Office to respond to or address the purported procurement issues Docomo raised or is raising, IT&E does assert that its protest is both premature and misplaced,” Torres said.

He said the NTIA’s policy amendment in June included language that allowed the CNMI agency to prioritize buried networks for the typhoon-prone islands.

“For networks that use aerial networks for their service delivery, the risk management strategies for mitigating risks for natural disasters like typhoons are difficult and, as the Soudelor, Yutu and Mawar typhoons have established, have been ineffective to date,” Torres said.

He noted that even Docomo has acknowledged the CNMI’s predicament as well, citing its former CEO Rodrick Boss, who had proposed accelerating the deployment of fiber, “which is more resilient than other transmission lines and provides the highest speeds and quality available today.”

Torres maintained that the BPDO’s process, methodology and actions as to the BEAD program were  not only transparent but also with the full 

participation of all interested parties, including Docomo. 

Torres said the NTIA reviewed the entire process and approved the results during the subgrantee selection monitoring meeting on Aug. 14.

“This was a transparent process administered exclusively under federal guidelines; the local CNMI procurement regulations were and are irrelevant for the purposes of determining the subgrant awardee,” he added.

In its latest statement, Docomo said it has never argued against the resiliency of underground fiber.

“In fact, at the request of government officials, we provided a letter of support for fiber deployment earlier this year, specifically for Community Anchor Institutions. Our focus remains on the process,” Docomo said.

The company argued that the NITA’s updated rules prioritize the lowest total cost per location and remove any preference for specific infrastructure, including fiber.  

“All applicants must now compete on an equal basis. This is the heart of our concern. Did the CNMI BEAD office follow these updated NTIA standards?,” Docmo asked. “Did it comply with local procurement policies?”

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