WASHINGTON-Calling the territory of Guam from a wireless phone can be expensive, and the delegate that represents the island doesn’t think it should be-especially since wireline carriers can’t charge more for calls to Guam than they charge for long-distance calls to other parts of the United States.
“I intend to require uniformity in rates charges by cellular phone and other wireless-service providers for calls and communications to and from Guam within the United States,” Del. Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam) told the House of Representatives in December. “This legislation would bring uniformity and fairness in rates desired by those in Guam wishing to keep in closer contact with relatives, friends and associates who reside in other parts of the United States.”
The Insular Rate for Cellular Customers Act is cosponsored by the delegates who represent America Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Bordallo hopes the issue will be included in any telecom rewrite bill, but she and her fellow delegates are not part of the House Commerce Committee, which is preparing to rewrite the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
The issue of rate integration got complicated with the passage of the telecom act. As part of the universal-service provisions, the act clearly required wireline long-distance carriers to integrate their rates nationwide, including offshore territories, but Bordallo says it is unclear whether wireless calls were included in that mandate.
The FCC said wireless calls were included, but a federal appeals court said wireless was not because wireless carriers are different from long-distance carriers. In one page, Bordallo’s bill makes it explicit by saying that wireless carriers are long-distance carriers.
