The wireless industry is mad as @*@% and not going to take it anymore. As such, CTIA recently unleashed its grassroots attempt to stop what it sees as increasingly unfair state and local taxes on the wireless industry.
Mywireless.org was unveiled by CTIA President Steve Largent at the trade association’s annual conference last month. “This is the largest initiative ever undertaken by our organization and it is a critical mission,” said Largent. “Wireless taxation and regulation poses a serious threat to consumers looking to access affordable wireless service. Today 17 percent of the average monthly wireless bill consists of taxes and fees. We hope to provide wireless consumers with a vehicle to express their views on these important topics.”
Largent used some light pressure to get people attending CTIA to be the first to join the movement. His point was well taken: If the people who make their living from wireless services can’t push for less state regulation, than who can? (Oh, and there were free T-shirts for people who filled out the card left on each chair at the keynote sessions. Anyone who has attended a wireless convention knows that free T-shirts are often the key to getting your message out there. It’s all about the T-shirts. But I digress …)
The wireless industry cannot afford to be regulated by 50 different state legislatures and thousands of individual city commissions, especially as the industry goes to nationwide plans that don’t differentiate much between whether someone is five miles or 500 miles away. CTIA is the founding member of mywireless.org (even though the association is nowhere to be mentioned on the mywireless.org Web site). The new group will operate as its own legal entity, with Kimberly Kuo spearheading the effort.
Kuo said the group will get its message out in a number of ways, including stuffers in cell-phone users’ monthly bills, advertising and press coverage. But a main effort of the group is to build coalitions with other advocacy groups, like consumer-protection groups, public-safety, senior citizens, pro-business groups and more. Today, the organization is helping to fight what it considers excessive tax efforts in Texas, Pennsylvania and Missouri.
If this group can count some early victories (and playing up the “Who wants more taxes?” mantra has certainly been successful in the past) it could become a successful tool to discourage state and local tax efforts quite quickly.
Remember the good old days when wireless just fought amongst itself and in D.C.?
