Hawaiian Tel declares for bankruptcy

[Frankie's Market]

It's official now. The Caryle group has driven Hawaiian Telcom into the ground. It will be interesting to see what changes will be made after it emerges from Chapter 11 reorganization. The changes will have to be bold and dramatic if HawTel hopes to compete in an era where other companies are offering broadband phone services at a lower price.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/ar...812010358/1001

http://www.starbulletin.com/news/bulletin/35318244.html

[Konaguy]

Re: Hawaiian Tel declares for bankruptcy

I just blogged about this today here.

"Hawaiian Telcom filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today.This is not a surprising turn of events. Especially since they were unable to pay a 26 million dollar interest payment due at the beginning of November.

I really believe that the Hawaii PUC and the Division of Consumer Advocacy failed Hawaii consumers and businesses by approving this purchase by the Carlyle Group in 2005. It left Hawaiian Telcom as a over leveraged company unable to upgrade their network to compete effectively with Oceanic Time Warner Cable and the wireless providers.If that wasn’t enough they had eons of customer service problems.

I chalk up the latter to the Carlyle Group’s lack of experience in running a telephone company and their selection of Bearing Point to build the back office infrastructure. A lot of these concerns were brought up during the public hearings about this purchase. Nonetheless, the Hawaii PUC and the Division of Consumer Advocacy largely ignored these concerns and rubber stamped this acquisition of Hawaiian Telcom by the Carlyle Group.

However hopefully Hawaiian Telcom can emerge from bankruptcy a much stronger company. We definitely need a viable competitor to Oceanic Time Warner Cable."

[Amati]

Re: Hawaiian Tel declares for bankruptcy

I've commented in the thread "Lingle Snubs Obama, Again!", posting #42, about the governor's possible knowledge of this being why she stayed put in Hawaii this week.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Hawaiian Tel declares for bankruptcy

I've commented in the thread "Lingle Snubs Obama, Again!", posting #42, about the governor's possible knowledge of this being why she stayed put in Hawaii this week.

Yep.

Even if what you say is true, then it's a totally lame excuse for Lingle.

As Konaguy points out, it was the PUC and the DCA that set the stage for this whole mess to be created in the first place. It was Lingle's own people who allowed the Caryle takeover of Hawaiian Tel to go through in 2005. (PUC Chair Carlito Caliboso and DCA exec. director John Cole).

And now, after Lingle's appointees allowed Humpty Dumpty to have a great fall, you think that the governor riding in on her white horse is suddenly going to make everything better after the damage is already done?

Get real.

Trying to turn Hawn Tel's bankruptcy into P.R. damage control for Lingle not attending the governor's conference is a pathetic attempt at spin.

[Amati]

Re: Hawaiian Tel declares for bankruptcy

Yep.

And now, after Lingle's appointees allowed Humpty Dumpty to have a great fall, you think that the governor riding in on her white horse is suddenly going to make everything better after the damage is already done?

Get real.

Trying to turn Hawn Tel's bankruptcy into P.R. damage control for Lingle not attending the governor's conference is a pathetic attempt at spin.

Hey, I never said she needed an excuse not to attend. Matter of fact, I don't really care if she does or doesn't attend, and don't care if she comes up with a good excuse or not. My point in previous posts is that she most likely knew the sh!7 was gona hit the fan on Monday with a major public utility in Hawaii going bankrupt, and she might have decided be home in Hawaii on that day because of it. So why would she stay home: For damage control? To have a plausable excuse to not attend? To make sure her state advisors do their job right this time around [think Superferry]? I sure don't know, but that does not change the fact that her not being on the mainland today was very possibly related to the bankruptcy of a MAJOR PUBLIC UTILITY.

[Random]

Re: Hawaiian Tel declares for bankruptcy

I just blogged about this today here.

"Hawaiian Telcom filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today.This is not a surprising turn of events. Especially since they were unable to pay a 26 million dollar interest payment due at the beginning of November.

I really believe that the Hawaii PUC and the Division of Consumer Advocacy failed Hawaii consumers and businesses by approving this purchase by the Carlyle Group in 2005. It left Hawaiian Telcom as a over leveraged company unable to upgrade their network to compete effectively with Oceanic Time Warner Cable and the wireless providers.If that wasn’t enough they had eons of customer service problems.

I chalk up the latter to the Carlyle Group’s lack of experience in running a telephone company and their selection of Bearing Point to build the back office infrastructure. A lot of these concerns were brought up during the public hearings about this purchase. Nonetheless, the Hawaii PUC and the Division of Consumer Advocacy largely ignored these concerns and rubber stamped this acquisition of Hawaiian Telcom by the Carlyle Group.

However hopefully Hawaiian Telcom can emerge from bankruptcy a much stronger company. We definitely need a viable competitor to Oceanic Time Warner Cable."

Okay, I have to ask. Besides Carlyle Group, what other companies were bidding for the purchase of Verizon's Hawaii landline business back in 2005?

Should the state government force Verizon to continue Hawaii's landline business beyond 2005 if there are no suitable buyers?

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Hawaiian Tel declares for bankruptcy

Should the state government force Verizon to continue Hawaii's landline business beyond 2005 if there are no suitable buyers?

Uh, refresh my memory. Was Verizon really wanting to exit Hawaii or did they get a offer they couldn't turn down? I don't remember remember them saying that they had to pull out.




Now some quotes from the SB:

“Our decision to restructure through a Chapter 11 filing allows the company to reduce its level of debt and reorganize its business, so we can emerge a stronger and more financially secure company better able to compete in the ever-changing communications industry,”

Hmmmm, now how do you reduce debt? Messing over the investors/creditors, no? Part of me wonders if this wasn't the plan all along. Verizon got the money, the Carlyle Group got the company, and the investors get the shaft.

And who are the investors? I'm guessing it's probably people in or near retirement as they shifted to less volatile investments.

As for HawaiianTel's competitive stance: I pay $33.77 for phone service and $31.24 for 3Mbit Internet. (That's including all taxes and charges)

Oceanic wants $44.95 for phone (yeah, it has more features but it also tends to die in a power failure) and $44.95 for 5Mbit Internet. I can save $5 if I sign up for both. And this is the published before tax rate.

What I want to see is HawaiianTel getting into IPTV and returning the favor to Oceanic. I'd likely be one of the first to sign on as I generally find my life gets cheaper the further I get from Oceanic.

[Vanguard]

Re: Hawaiian Tel declares for bankruptcy

What I want to see is HawaiianTel getting into IPTV and returning the favor to Oceanic. I'd likely be one of the first to sign on as I generally find my life gets cheaper the further I get from Oceanic.

I hope they bring FIOS to Hawai'i sometime soon.

[Nords]

Re: Hawaiian Tel declares for bankruptcy

Let's see:
- Bearing Point generates more customer-service complaints during their contract than Oceanic has during their entire lifetime. Through BP's incompetence, Hawaiian Telcom (guess I'd better not use the acronym "HT") fails to collect millions of dollars in legitimate revenue.
- HawTel consistently loses landline customers year over year. Revenue losses follow.
- Carlyle brings in an exec with lots of experience in turning companies around, including through the bankruptcy process.
- HawTel "skips" a bond payment. ("Don't worry guys, we'll make it up to you!") How many of you can even recall a public utility skipping a bond payment since the Washington nuclear reactors flail?
- A new bond payment is due the first business day of the next month.

Yeah, never saw that coming.

I wonder if the SEC is going to look into the records of individuals trading HawTel bonds over the last few months.

Good thing Carlyle has so much experience with bankruptcies, defaulted bonds, and workouts...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlyle_Group

[Bobinator]

Re: Hawaiian Tel declares for bankruptcy

I think attending meetings to address the State's $1Billion+ estimated shortfall in revenues is much more important than flying to the East Coast to listen to a 90 minute speech of "I promise you the world" B.S.

Let's get real folks. Obama already won the election.

[SusieMisajon]

Re: Hawaiian Tel declares for bankruptcy

What happens to the pension plans of people who have retired from Hawaiian Telephone?

[1stwahine]

Re: Hawaiian Tel declares for bankruptcy

I didn't read the posts above me.

I was a long time customer of Hawaiian Tel. When we moved to our new hale we changed over to Oceanic. Why? Because of Service. Time after time, we had pilau service especially from the "cell" dept. Dem banana's were rude. Plus, we found out they lie. They wrote things that weren't true in the conversations when we called. How I know? I went to pay my bill and a Rep. told me. He tried to fix the damages...but the hurt was too great. We canceled the cell first. And when we moved den we canceled everything else. Das alot of kala dey lost. Imagine how many moa customers dey pissed off like us.

Service is the Key to keeping Customers.

Retrain you employees Aloha.

Love and ALOHA,

Auntie Lynn

[Amati]

Re: Hawaiian Tel declares for bankruptcy

I think attending meetings to address the State's $1Billion+ estimated shortfall in revenues is much more important than flying to the East Coast to listen to a 90 minute speech of "I promise you the world" B.S.

Let's get real folks. Obama already won the election.

Yep, Bobinator. But, we have to remember that although the election is over, now making good on all the promises has to come about ..... and that is keeping some supporters edgy.

[Bobinator]

Re: Hawaiian Tel declares for bankruptcy

I heard Lingle on talk radio last night. Said she got the call just a few days ago, and couldn't rearrange her tight schedule. As you know, Lingle is probably the hardest working person in this State, averaging over 2 public appearances a day, working 7 days a week. When she explained what the Obama meeting was about, I was in agreement with the talk show host, that the trip would have accomplish next to zero.

We have a crisis on our hands right now. The last estimate was that Hawaii is going to experience a $1 Billion shortfall in tax revenues. The most recent estimate is significantly higher, and Lingle needed to stay to attend several meetings to deal with this and other situations. She wasn't not going to place a "useless" 2 hour meeting shared with 49 other Governors to listen to Obama give a speech over and above her duties as Governor. We hired her to be Governor, and that's exactly what she's doing.

The general consensus among the GOP is they need to support Obama because he is in fact our President elect. Nothing is going to change that. The fact that Bush has been making a lot of effort to make a smooth transition proves this to be the case. Can't say the same when Clinton left office, though.

[Kalihiboy]

Re: Hawaiian Tel declares for bankruptcy

Gave up on these guys a year ago after they kept overcharging me (somtimes triple charging me!!) on my bill, they would then take a month or more to reverse the charges, I would then get overcharged yet again, they said they would take care of it, and I didnt need to pay this month or that and then my service gets cut off and they charge me for putting it back on despite them continously screwing up. I fed up with them and dropped em!! I don't want anyone to lose jobs or anything so I dont wish any bad vibes their way, but over the years they seem to have gotten worse, rather than better especially after they were bought by Carlyle Group or whomever a few years back.

Aj