Ada v. Guam Telephone Authority

In Ada v. Guam Telephone Authority, 1999 Guam 10, GTA submitted a bid to acquire a Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") license to provide and operate Personal Communications Services ("PCS") in both Guam and the CNMI. Ada, 1999 Guam 10, at PP1-2. Senator Tom Ada filed a suit against GTA, requesting, among other things, a declaratory judgment that GTA did not have the authority to operate PCS in the CNMI and an injunction to enjoin GTA from taking further action towards the operation of PCS in the CNMI. Id. at PP2-3. The trial court ultimately entered judgment on the pleadings in favor of GTA pursuant to Guam Rules of Civil Procedure 12(c). Id. at PP5-8. This court affirmed. See id. at PP1, 19. The issue announced by the Ada court was "whether GTA had the authority to engage in the bidding process for acquisition of the PCS licenses from the FCC." Id. at P11. The court ultimately held that such action was within GTA's powers. Specifically, the court referenced GTA's enabling act, and found that: "A plain reading of . . . 12 GCA 7104(a) provides that GTA has the authority to "install, sell and supply to individuals, firms, corporations and governments, including the government of Guam, telephone services." PCS is a wireless telecommunications service that combines features of cellular telephones with advanced digital technologies. It is not unexpected that a broad grant of authority would be necessary in order for GTA to adapt to and acquire new telecommunications technologies and fulfill its purpose of providing and enhancing these services to its customers." Id. at P13.