Greetings new Federal Communications Commissioners! As you begin this new journey in your life, charged with making decisions that will affect millions of U.S. citizens, I am sure you are aware of the great responsibility with which you have been entrusted.
As you scramble to become educated on a broad range of issues, I thought I would offer my take on the issues confronting the wireless industry, mixing in a little history and advice.
1. NextWave Telecom Inc.-This may be the touchiest issue within the FCC. You are fighting NextWave in court and have been for a few years now. Here’s the background: NextWave pledged billions of dollars to the U.S. government for PCS spectrum. What happened next depends on who you believe. NextWave says YOU forced it into bankruptcy because you took too long to give NextWave the licenses. You say NextWave couldn’t pay for the licenses so you took them back. The issue is now in federal appeals court. The sticky wicket here is that many people believe NextWave could actually win in court. If and when that happens, the rest of the wireless industry is going to be mad-at you.
2. Your staff-Overworked and underpaid. An entry-level engineer at the FCC makes about $28,000 a year. Be patient.
3. 3G. It stands for third-generation wireless and it means everything to the industry, despite what you may hear to the contrary from industry analysts, vendors, the media and even wireless carriers themselves. Third-generation wireless services promise full-motion video, high-speed Internet access and new applications no one has even dreamed of yet. Carriers are betting the farm on this-which brings us to …
4. The spectrum cap. Another touchy subject. Wireless carriers don’t want to be limited by the amount of spectrum they can hold in individual markets. The biggest carriers (except Sprint PCS) say they are running out of spectrum and YOU are hampering their abilities to please the American people with 3G services (see above).
5. Universal service. This issue is pretty clear cut as far as I can tell. Basically, all telecom carriers have to pay into a big pot. Carriers that offer service in areas that are not lucrative (read rural) get to take money from the pot. Wireless carriers want to take money from the pot because they are offering essential telecom service. Wired telecom carriers like taking from the pot and don’t want to share the pot, although they are pleased wireless carriers have to pay into the pot. To find a way to keep the pot to themselves, wired carriers argue that wireless service is not reliable nor essential. Assuming you have used wireless service, I trust you have found that not to be the case.
Now go get ’em!
