Wouldn’t it be nice to know if people are actually going to like the holiday gifts you so thoughtfully picked out especially for them?
You ponder, prepare and then pray that your choices will be well received. Is the Federal Communications Commission staff any different? Yet it seems someone is always wanting to return, rewrite or otherwise revise FCC rulings.
This time, the commission is under scrutiny from Congress because it gave away spectrum to Teledesic Corp. and Teligent Corp. Congressmen are outraged, quick to point out that taxpayers are losing out because billionaires Craig McCaw and Bill Gates, as well as rich guy Alex Mandl, received licenses for free. Yet when then-Sen. Bob Dole proposed auctioning off broadcast licenses to TV stations, few seemed to think it was outrageous that ABC, NBC and CBS should continue to receive free spectrum. In fact, Dole’s initiative died for lack of support. I guess one can surmise from that that even Gates and McCaw are not as powerful as NAB.
…Speaking of returns, my mother-in-law asked my opinion on which wireless phone she should buy my father-in-law for Christmas. Trouble is, he already has a cell phone wrapped especially for her to be opened Dec. 24. (They don’t need two.) Finally using the hearing-aid controversy for good, I told mom-in-law just to tell dad-in-law that she was giving him a phone for Christmas. I then explained that they should go together to buy the actual product and service because his hearing aid might not be compatible with some phones. (Hey, I know it’s not necessarily true, but how else was I going to stop her?) Wonder how many other couples will receive duplicate phones this season?
…On my wish list, I want Motorola’s CreataLink pager product for my car. Motorola’s offering looks cheaper to me than the $300 quote I received for a remote car alarm thingamajig. But couldn’t Motorola’s $25 a year charge for paging service be dropped to about $10?
…Calling all marketing gurus. CTIA is seeking the best advertising and marketing entries for its Seventh Annual Excellence In Marketing Awards. Winners will be announced at Wireless ’98 in Atlanta. Two new categories have been added this year, Best Sites and Best Retail Support Materials. CTIA also this year will name a best overall campaign.
…On a more serious note, CTIA intervened in federal appeals court to support the FCC regarding the commission’s authority to set health rules regarding RF guides.
