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  • Carlyle Bid for Verizon

    http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacif...3/daily56.html
    http://starbulletin.com/breaking/breaking.php?id=2873
    Check out my blog on Kona issues :
    The Kona Blog

  • #2
    Verizon Hawaii Purchase Public Hearings Schedule

    http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacif...0/daily25.html
    Check out my blog on Kona issues :
    The Kona Blog

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    • #3
      Verizon Hawaii Public Hearings Coming Up

      Just a reminder the Hawaii PUC hearings on the Verizon Hawaii purchase
      by TCG are coming up soon. http://www.state.hi.us/budget/puc/puc.htm
      listed under Public Hearings -Docket No. 04-0140 or located here
      http://tinyurl.com/4v9pn .

      Here is a letter to the editor I submitted to some newspapers locally.

      The purchase of Verizon Hawaii by The Carlyle Group
      is not in the best interest of the people of Hawai for a number
      of reasons. Firstly I question TCG's commitment to Hawaii.
      They recently unloaded Horizon Lines after only one year of
      ownership for a tidy profit. TCG's investors expect high ROI.
      Owning a telephone company will not bring you a high ROI.
      Thus it would not surprise me they quickly unload Verizon Hawaii
      after a short period of time.

      Secondly I'm concerned how this will effect my DSL service
      currently offered by Verizon Online. Since Verizon will be out of
      the picture I'm afraid my monthly DSL cost will go up from 29.95
      a month. I could keep Verizon Online if I wanted to after the
      purchase. But the catch is it will definitely be higher than
      29.95 a month I'm currently paying. Currently getting DSL
      from a local reseller costs more than double the 29.95 rate
      charged by Verizon.
      Lastly I know TCG promised no rate increases for 10 years.
      But the numbers do not add up. With the added cost of
      bringing the back office operations currently on the mainland
      back to Hawaii among other things. The numbers won't work
      unless TCG does do a rate increase in my opinion.
      I urge anyone who is concerned about this acquisition to attend
      the Hawaii PUC public hearings http://www.state.hi.us/budget/puc/puc.htm
      listed under Public Hearings -Docket No. 04-0140 or located here
      http://tinyurl.com/4v9pn .
      The people of Hawaii depend on reliable telephone service.
      Allowing a carpetbagger company like TCG purchase a critical
      utility like Verizon Hawaii is bad for the people of Hawaii.


      Aaron S
      Kailua-Kona
      Last edited by Aaron S; October 2, 2004, 01:05 PM.
      Check out my blog on Kona issues :
      The Kona Blog

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      • #4
        Re: Carlyle Bid for Verizon

        Verizon to be Hawaiian Telcom
        For longtime Hawai'i residents, a proposed new name for Verizon Hawaii's telephone business may have a familiar ring. Washington, D.C.-based The Carlyle Group, which plans to buy the business for $1.65 billion, this morning announced the new company would be named Hawaiian Telcom. The name is meant to be a modern twist on Hawaiian Tel, which was the shortened name many residents used for Hawaiian Telephone Co. before the change to Verizon Hawaii in 2000.

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        • #5
          Re: Carlyle Bid for Verizon

          Originally posted by pzarquon
          Just because the leopard is trying to change its spots, it doesn't mean that it ain't a meat-eating leopard!

          Miulang
          "Americans believe in three freedoms. Freedom of speech; freedom of religion; and the freedom to deny the other two to folks they don`t like.” --Mark Twain

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          • #6
            Re: Carlyle Bid for Verizon

            Maybe it's a born-again leopard?

            More importantly, do you suppose all the names on the Verizon dialup and DSL sign-in screens will change? And what impact might that have on us poor benighted users?
            http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/

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            • #7
              Re: Carlyle Bid for Verizon

              Originally posted by Linkmeister
              More importantly, do you suppose all the names on the Verizon dialup and DSL sign-in screens will change? And what impact might that have on us poor benighted users?
              According to the FAQ here http://www.askcarlyle.com
              Hawaiian Telecom is going to establish a ISP to provide DSL services

              "Who owns the equipment for my DSL connection? Will my service continue after the sale?

              Hawaiian Telcom will own the equipment used to provide DSL service after the closing of the sale. DSL services will continue after the sale with no changes. Hawaiian Telcom is establishing ISP and email services as part of the DSL service offering."


              But I have my doubts. I'm terribly afraid my DSL rate of 29.95 per month
              will go up .
              Check out my blog on Kona issues :
              The Kona Blog

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              • #8
                Re: Carlyle Bid for Verizon

                Originally posted by Aaron S
                But I have my doubts. I'm terribly afraid my DSL rate of 29.95 per month will go up .
                I hope not. I don't think $29.95 is that much of a discount over its primary competitor (cable modem access from Oceanic), but it is the primary reason why I switched. If they want to keep stealing market share on that front, I'd say a more aggressive pricing strategy would be the way to go.

                Also, just got wind of this University of Phoenix "brown bag" lunch on Monday, Oct. 18, featuring Pat Bustamante, President/COO of Pacific LightNet Communications. PLNC has been one of the most outspoken critics of the Carlyle deal, and I'm sure Bustamante will be able to add much more detail and insight to what we've heard via the media thus far. It's at the UOP campus at 828 Fort Street. Here's the UOP announcement:
                Join telecommunications industry executive, Pat Bustamante, as he discusses issues and concerns related to the Carlyle Group's $1.65B bid for Verizon Hawaii. The pending sale includes Verizon Hawaii's local access lines, and the services and assets of Verizon's long distance, online and directory publishing businesses in Hawaii.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Carlyle Bid for Verizon

                  Originally posted by pzarquon
                  I hope not. I don't think $29.95 is that much of a discount over its primary competitor (cable modem access from Oceanic)
                  I'm not sure about you, but I think saving 15.00 a month is a great deal
                  of money. Even after the USF fees are calculated in my 1.5Mbps/384K
                  DSL is about 32.35. Which is still a great savings over Road Runner.


                  Pat Bustamante, President/COO of Pacific LightNet Communications.
                  He had a near full page ad in Honolulu Advertiser recently detailing the reasons
                  why we should be concerned about this acquisition.
                  Check out my blog on Kona issues :
                  The Kona Blog

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Carlyle Bid for Verizon

                    If the price for DSL service goes up, then we're switching to road runner.
                    How'd I get so white and nerdy?

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                    • #11
                      Re: Carlyle Bid for Verizon

                      I'm not sure what I'd do. It depends how steep the increase is
                      and how bad the cutover from Verizon to Hawaii Telecom is.
                      Bottom line I want to stay as far a way from going back
                      to using Oceanic Time Warner's Road Runner service.
                      Check out my blog on Kona issues :
                      The Kona Blog

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                      • #12
                        Re: Carlyle Bid for Verizon

                        Originally posted by Aaron S
                        I'm not sure about you, but I think saving 15.00 a month is a great deal of money.
                        True, that's over $150 a year. Those fees and taxes do eat some of the benefit, though (it might be my imagination, but I think a phone provider has to tack on a lot more than a cable TV company). And I think it was a lesser savings for me because we were grandfathered in at Oceanic's older, RoadRunner roll-out rate.

                        Also, Oceanic has the luxury of discounting this and that when you bundle services, so they can feel like a "deal" when you take into account all the amenities you're offered.

                        I prefer DSL for the technology as much as for the price. But yeah, we'll have to wait and see what Carly... I mean, Hawaiian Telcom (I keep typing "Telecom") offers. I'm hoping the pricing and the service will remain the same, and we'll just have the added benefit of a local techincal support and installation team.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Carlyle Bid for Verizon

                          The reason why the phone company has more tacked on fees is because
                          they are more government regulated than the cable companies. Here is
                          a link that better explains it.

                          http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/New.../nrcb0201.html
                          Check out my blog on Kona issues :
                          The Kona Blog

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                          • #14
                            Re: Carlyle Bid for Verizon

                            Carlyle makes case for Verizon Hawai'i deal
                            Sean Hao, Honolulu Advertiser, Oct. 6, 2004
                            Officials from the Carlyle Group met with some resistance last night as they sought to assure consumers and regulators that a proposed acquisition of Verizon Hawaii would be good for Hawai'i... "This whole idea of local, local, local — to me, it's kind of an oxymoron because you're talking about a local company owned by a global equity firm," [Halawa resident Keali'i Collier] said.
                            Lots of good questions and quotes in this piece.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Carlyle Bid for Verizon

                              Dum da dum dum! The Oct. 18 presentation by PLNC I mentioned on Oct. 4 (above) has been canceled.

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