The FCC Wireline Bureau asked Albert Hee, CEO of Sandwich...
The FCC Wireline Bureau asked Albert Hee, CEO of Sandwich Isles, a carrier in Honolulu, a battery of questions about its businesses practices, in a letter sent Wednesday. The carrier gets USF support of as much as $13,000 per line.…
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The carrier asked for a waiver of new FCC rules limiting high-cost support to $250 per line per month. An “overwhelming majority of Sandwich Isles’ expenses -- many millions of dollars -- consist of significant payments to a number of affiliated companies” and many of them are owned by Hee, or family members, the letter notes. In its request seeking a waiver, “Sandwich Isles has failed to be forthcoming regarding its affiliates, the finances of these affiliates” and other financial matters, the FCC said. The letter was released on the eve of a hearing by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee on USF reform, at which Hee is expected to testify. “We strongly disagree with the FCC’s categorization of Sandwich Isles’ responses as not being forthcoming,” said Rick Joyce, a lawyer at Venable who represents the carrier. “We have responded to every single question the FCC has presented and have repeatedly invited the FCC to meet with the owners, lawyers and accountants to answer any questions they might have."