Wireless Regulation

Cell tax bill debated at House hearing

Phil Goldstein — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 11:11:01 -0400

The Cell Tax Fairness Act of 2008 was debated yesterday at a House Judiciary Committee hearing. Supporters claim the bill's five-year ban on imposing any "new discriminatory tax" on wireless carriers will help low-income people get greater access to mobile broadband.

Detractors claim the bill will hamper local and state governments' ability to collect taxes, which will cause budget issues in the face of economic woes.

The bill is similar to a 2004 one that imposed a moratorium on Internet taxes, and supporters said it would not affect any taxes that are already on the books.

For more:
- see this article

Related Articles:
CTIA lauds cell phone tax moratorium bill
CTIA: 5 year tax hiatus on new state, local taxes

FCC: 98% of U.S. has choice of 3 carriers

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 06:59:55 -0500

According to the FCC's annual wireless competition report, 98 percent of Americans in 2006 had three or more carrier options, while 94 percent had four or more carriers to choose from. The number of counties with five or more carriers servicing them, however, was only 59 percent. In 2004 some 87 percent of counties in the U.S. had five or more carriers servicing them, while the number dropped to 51 percent in 2005. During 2004 and 2005 Sprint and Nextel merged, Verizon and MCI merged and AT&T bought Cingular. The FCC remains pleased with the results of the study and claimed that recent open access rules on the C Block of the 700 MHz auction would only add to the level of competition in the industry.

"As I noted when we adopted open network rules for the ongoing 700MHz spectrum auction, wireless customers should be able to use the device of their choice and download whatever software they want onto it," FCC chairman Kevin Martin said. "I continue to believe that more openness--at the network, device and application level--helps foster innovation and enhances consumers' freedom and choice in purchasing wireless service."

For more on the competition study:
- read this release from the FCC

FCC seeks feedback on proposed USF changes

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 06:59:55 -0500

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the FCC could open up for public comment a number of proposals for overhauling the Universal Service Fund (USF), which is a multi-billion dollar federal phone-subsidy program that includes aid for wireless companies providing service in rural areas. Last year the USF's budget came to $7 billion, up from $5.2 billion in 2002. Wireless subscribers pay a USF service charge through their phone bills.

The FCC is looking at a reverse-auction system to decide which companies should receive multi-million dollar payments for providing service to rural areas. Another plan seeks to lower the amount wireless carriers would receive. The FCC is also considering a plan to set aside money for broadband Internet lines.

For more on the potential USF changes:
- read this report from the WSJ

Related Articles:
Another USF option for VoIP carriers Article
U.S. Cellular: USF caps would hurt rurals Article

Supreme Court rejects carriers' appeal

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 06:59:55 -0500

The Supreme Court agrees that carriers should not be allowed to list taxes and other regulatory fees separately on a consumer's bill. The court let a lower court's ruling stand in the case, which carriers hoped the Supreme Court would overturn. The carriers claim that state and local governments try to hide taxes and fees from their constituents by not allowing them to break them out from the rest of the bill, but consumer advocates argued that carriers tack on a number of fees and taxes that are not the result of government taxes.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an FCC ruling in 2006 and ruled that states could prohibit line items on bills. The Supreme Court may not have reviewed the case, however, because the Justice Department's solicitor general asked the Court to turn it down while the FCC considers other reasons for pre-empting state regulation of the wireless industry.

For more on the case:
- read this article from Forbes

China plans to cut roaming fees

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 06:59:55 -0500

China's economic planning agency and information agency are mulling over two plans to cut the country's wireless roaming fees between 13.3 percent and 80 percent. The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Information Industry plans on holding a public hearing for the two plans on January 22.

For more on plans:
- read this short from MarketWatch

Auction bidders' upfront payments due today

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 06:59:57 -0500

Today marks another deadline for the 700 MHz auction: bidders must make their upfront payments, which vary according to which spectrum slices the bidders aim to buy. Also, the 170 applicants with incomplete applications have until the end of the day to rectify their status. The FCC said the deadline for making the upfront payments is 6 p.m. EST. The auction is slated to begin on January 24.

For more on the auction rules:
- check out the FCC's dedicated auction page

Related Articles:
Google readies spectrum auction bid Article
Auction talk "opens up" the networks Article
FCC reveals 700 MHz auction bidders Article

Ofcom's spectrum auction puts firms on edge

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 06:59:55 -0500

By the end of January, U.K. telecoms regulator Ofcom is due to release a policy statement detailing how its upcoming 3G spectrum auction will be run, what new services could be introduced over the air waves and which special conditions, if any, will be attached. The auction rules come after heated debate in the U.S. over the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction, which includes special "open access" rules for the winning bidder of the Upper C Block of spectrum.

Ofcom's spectrum auction has already been postponed once after firms rebuked Ofcom's initial plans to sell-off the spectrum as being premature and poorly conceived. The regulator has also come under fire for changing its stance on whether incumbents can use allocated 2G spectrum for 3G services, traditionally carriers could not. U.K. carrier 3 claims allowing them to do so would constitute discrimination against its business.

For more on the spectrum issues in the U.K.:
- read this article from the Times

Japan grants KDDI, Willcom wireless data licenses

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 06:59:54 -0500

Japan's Communications Ministry has granted Willcom and a group led by KDDI licenses to operate next-gen wireless broadband services, according to a report from Nikkei. If the report proves true, the decision means rivals DoCoMo and Softbank would have to lease network capacity from the licensed companies. Japan's next-gen data services will launch in 2009 and give users high speed Internet connections of 20 megabits per second even while moving at 100 kilometers per hour. The KDDI group, which includes Kyocera, plans to launch WiMAX in the summer of 2009 through a JV with Intel, according to the report.

For more on the report:
- read this article from Thomson Financial

Report: Sprint to change its fees

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 06:59:58 -0500

Sprint Nextel is changing the fees it charges its customers. Sprint subscribers will no longer pay fees like the Federal Programs Cost Recovery (FPCR) fee, the Federal E911 surcharge or a Wireless Local Number Portability (WLNP) fee. Instead, the carrier will just charge an Administrative Charge and a Regulatory Charge. Here's part of the notice that the carrier sent its customers:

"Sprint Nextel is charging the Administrative Charge to help defray various costs imposed on us by other telecommunications carriers, including, but not limited to, charges imposed by local telephone companies for delivery of calls from our customers to their landline customers and for certain network facilities and services we must purchase from them. The Regulatory Charge is being assessed to help defray the costs of various federal, state, and local regulatory programs. These charges are not taxes and are not amounts we are required to collect from you."

DSLreports argues that the change in the way Sprint charges its customers is a reaction to a pending lawsuit that the attorney general of Missouri filed against Sprint for allegedly making subscribers think that these fees were mandated by the government. As the notice states: the fees are not taxes and they are not required by any governing body.

For more on Sprint's new fees:
- read this report from DSLreports

ALSO: A judge in Kansas approved a $57.5 million class action settlement against Sprint and how it combined its wireless and wireline stocks three years ago. Article

Google goes it alone on white space spectrum

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 06:59:58 -0500

While most of the wireless industry is gearing up for the January 700 MHz spectrum auction, Google, which intends to bid in that auction, is also investigating the "white spaces," or unlicensed spectrum that sits between spectrum currently licensed to television broadcasters. Google and others would like to use this spectrum to carry mobile Internet devices. While past efforts by Google, Microsoft, Philips and others for prototypes that run on the white spaces were largely rejected by the FCC, Google has since decided to go it alone with its own tests. The company presented results of an "initial phase of ongoing trials" around white space technology that it says demonstrates that digital televisions and wireless microphones can exists side-by-side without interference.

For more on the tests:
- read this report from MarketWatch

Alltel pays $1.33M to settle Midwest Wireless deal

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 06:59:56 -0500

Alltel will pay $1.33 million to settle allegations that it violated conditions imposed on its acquisition of Midwest Wireless. As part of the acquisition, Alltel agreed to maintain the Midwest Wireless assets until the acquisition was complete so that it could then divest its service in some rural Minnesota counties over anti-trust concerns, but Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson and the Department of Justice contend that Alltel failed to maintain those assets. The state is set to rake in $745,000 of the settlement, while the DOJ will get $580,000.

For more on the settlement:
- read this article from the Houston Chronicle

Canada: 40% of spectrum for new entrants

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 06:59:55 -0500

Canada's wireless carriers saw their share prices drop an average of 10 percent after Industry Minister Jim Prentice announced that 40 percent of wireless spectrum set to be auctioned off will be reserved for new entrants. The three incumbents: Rogers Wireless, Telus and Bell Canada saw a total of $2.85 billion shaved off their market capitalizations. The regulators also decided that the incumbents would have to allow these new entrants to roam on their networks for between five and ten years.

"These auction rules are likely to enhance fears of aggressive new wireless competition across the country," said Vince Valentini, an analyst at TD Newcrest, in a note to clients. "However, we believe these fears will end up being overstated, as we see aggressive new competition being likely only in Quebec."

For more on Canada's carriers' woes:
- check out this article from the Financial Post

Sprint faces class action lawsuit over billing

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 06:59:56 -0500

Sprint Nextel faces a class action lawsuit that accuses the carrier of charging data card users certain taxes and fees that only apply to mobile phones. The Utility Consumers' Action Network (UCAN) is facilitating the suit, which it claims could end up costing Sprint millions. UCAN said fees for 911 services, SMS services and other FCC mandated fees for mobile phones should not be billed to data card users.

"They went ahead and charged these customers state regulatory taxes as well as federal related charges that they shouldn't have been charging," says UCAN attorney Art Neill.

For more on the suit:
- read this article from NBC San Diego

U.S. Cellular: USF caps would hurt rurals

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 06:59:57 -0500

U.S. Cellular president and CEO John Rooney said that the Federal-State Joint Board's recommendation that subsidies for companies providing phone service in rural areas be slashed was "nothing to give thanks for." Rooney said that such a move to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the Universal Service Fund would hamper new wireless investment and force rural households into a federally regulated monopoly system.

"In fact, it is about as far away from true reform as one can get," Rooney said. "These recommendations represent a turn of the clock back to an era of monopoly providers and inadequate service and thwart what Congress set out to accomplish with the Telecommunications Act of 1996."

The board called for a cap of $4.5 billion for the so-called "high-cost" portion of the USF program, while $1 billion should be set aside for wireless phone service, the group said. Broadband Internet service subsidies should not exceed $300 million, according to the board.

For more on the USF caps:
- read this article from KnoxNews
- read this article from FierceTelecom

FCC allows wholesaling for public safety bidders

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 06:59:55 -0500

The FCC eased the designated-entity bidding rule for the 700 MHz D-Block band, the swathe of spectrum reserved for a commercial/public-safety network. The change is a victory for Frontline Wireless, which desires to bid on the spectrum using a wholesale access model.

Frontline filed a petition for reconsideration with the FCC in September, seeking a change to the rules. A designated entity typically receives bidding discounts up to 25 percent, but is barred from wholesaling more than 50 percent of its spectrum. However, the FCC made an exception for the D block given the fact that the bank requires a commercial/public-safety leasing arrangement.

"To encourage the widest range of potentially qualified applicants to participate in bidding for the D-block license, we enabled eligible bidders for this license to seek designated-entity bidding credits for small businesses, as a means to create incentives for investors to provide innovative small businesses with the capital necessary to compete for the D-block license at auction," the commission stated.

The filing window for short-form 700 MHz applications runs between Nov. 19 and Dec. 3.

To find out more:
- read this article from RCR Wireless News
- check out this release

Related articles:
Heavy duty VCs get ready for 700 MHz auction Report
Frontline appeals FCC auction rules Report

U.N. to open up television spectrum worldwide

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 06:59:57 -0500

The U.N. decided to give carriers access to bandwidth reserved for terrestrial television broadcasts, which could pave the way for a truly converging 4G platform in the world in 2015. The U.S. was one of the lead supporters of the plan as it claimed that a global agreement on spectrum use was better than letting each country and region decide which frequency to use. While the U.S. subscriber population will gain access to some of this spectrum in 2009, the rest of world will have to wait an additional 6 years in some cases.

Industry analysts estimate that these networks can be rolled out for half of the cost of using higher frequencies, such as the 2,300 to 2,400 megahertz range that is also available for such services in some regions.

For more on the U.N. spectrum plans:
- read this article

Related Articles:
ABI entertains Google as operator Article
Google may partner in 700 MHz auction Article
AT&T buys $2.5B worth of spectrum Article
FCC revisits white space spectrum debate Article

Japan's IP Mobile files for bankruptcy

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 07:59:54 -0400

It should come as no surprise: Japan's IP Mobile has filed for bankruptcy as its Nov. 9 deadline for launching services looms. The carrier recently lost one of its investors, NextWave, which only supported the company for a few short months. IP Mobile could not raise enough funds to offer services before its deadline, which means the carrier must return its mobile license to Japan's regulatory body. Recent attempts to raise funding from a Hong Kong telecommunications company fell through, according to reports. NextWave's departure this summer raised eyebrows about the likelihood of IP Mobile's success. NextWave's exit was reminiscent of Vodafone's exit from the Japanese mobile market following its sale of Vodafone K.K. to Softbank.

For more on the IP Mobile bankruptcy filing:
- read this article from Jijii Press

Related Articles:
NextWave to be only foreign carrier in Japan Report
Japan's IPMobile to flip from TD-CDMA to TD-SCDMA Report

EU paves the way for in-flight mobile use

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 06:59:55 -0400

While plans for in-flight mobile phone use have been tabled in the U.S. for now, regulators in Europe seem to be paving the way for such services. The EU has recommended that member states approve of the new in-flight technology, which already has spectrum reserved for it, according a report from the BBC. Calls made from the air would be more expensive and U.K. regulator Ofcom said it would investigate any evidence of "excessive charges and abuses of competition" if any prices seem unfair. Mobile use is prohibited on planes currently because research has shown that it interferes with navigation bearing displays by up to five degrees.

For more on the EU's stance on in-flight wireless:
- read this article from the BBC

Congress rips into carriers' practices

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 06:59:54 -0400

The Senate Commerce committee yesterday held a hearing about consumer wireless issues where Democrats complained about dropped calls, censorship and deceptive bills, while calling for stronger regulation of the industry. Republicans maintained that a lighter regulatory touch would prove more effective. Democrats complained about ETFs, misleading coverage maps and Verizon's recent rejection of a pro-choice group's mobile marketing campaign. The carrier quickly reversed its decision.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, a Democrat from North Dakota, even called for net neutrality laws citing locked phones and limited software availability as evidence of a need for more regulation. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a Democrat from West Virginia, claimed that "in the last few years, traditional and wireless carriers have concocted a number of line item charges, fees and surcharges."

For more on the hearing:
- read this write-up from eWeek

Senate mulls billing and privacy issues for carriers

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 06:59:54 -0400

The Senate's Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation is considering whether mobile subscribers need more protection from the wireless industry's billing procedures, privacy standards and related practices. Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam is set to testify before the committee to argue that the "competitive framework for this industry should stay the same and the committee should continue to encourage competition over the heavy-handed regulations going forward," according to Verizon Wireless spokesman Jeffrey Nelson. The committee points to rapid consolidation in the industry as the root of its inquiry.

For more on the hearing:
- read this article from BusinessWeek