PCIA – Wireless Infrastructure Assoc.

WASHINGTON-The Personal Communications Industry Association has taken another stab at urging the Federal Communications Commission to become less regulatory and less burdensome. “PCIA is continuing to find ways to press for deregulation,” said Mary McDermott, PCIA senior vice president and …

WASHINGTON-Taking advantage of a recent court decision that the Federal Communications Commission re-examine its pay-phone compensation scheme, the Personal Communications Industry Association continues to urge the FCC to institute a caller-pays or coin-in-the-box scheme for pay-phone compensation rather than the …

WASHINGTON-The Personal Communications Industry Association last week told the Federal Communications Commission that it wanted to examine the annual budgets of the regional number portability administrators to ensure these entities operate efficiently and costs are kept down. Wireless carriers currently …

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-The Personal Communications Industry Association announced the industry leaders who will speak at the Personal Communications Showcase ’98 conference Sept. 22-25 in Orlando, Fla. Federal Communications Commission Chairman William Kennard will deliver the keynote address at the opening SuperSession, …

WASHINGTON-Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.), increasingly distressed about Federal Communications Commission wireless policy management, plans legislation next year that would overhaul the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and mandate more deregulation. McCain, according to congressional staff and industry officials, plans …

WASHINGTON-Ten telecom industry associations urged the Federal Communications Commission not to impose rules designed to protect consumer privacy. In a July 20 letter to the FCC, the groups said the rules were expensive and burdensome. The associations were joined by …

In the eyes of some, the Federal Communications Commission’s great experiment with personal communications services licensing has been a smashing success. Facilities-based competition is all around. Subscriber numbers and revenues are growing by leaps and bounds, with equipment and service …

WASHINGTON-The FBI and the Department of Justice are shopping an amendment to congressional appropriators to change the Justice Department budget in a way that would re-write the controversial digital wiretap act. The amendment not only addresses the date issue, but …

WASHINGTON-BellSouth Corp. told the Federal Communications Commission last week that since a majority of personal communications services customers in Louisiana said they use their PCS phone to make or receive calls at home, the company should be allowed to offer …

WASHINGTON-The Personal Communications Industry Association has asked the Federal Communications Commission not to enforce newly enacted rules on customer information. In February, the FCC enacted rules that the telecommunications industry-especially the wireless sector-says are anti-competitive. The FCC, however, says the …

WASHINGTON-When the Galaxy IV satellite went berserk in May and left most paging carriers and their customers holding the bag, the Federal Communications Commission said the Network Reliability and Interoperability Council would look into the outage. Some people say that …

WASHINGTON-The wireless industry last week urged the FBI to revise its definition of key words in rules implementing the digital wiretap act. The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association asked the FBI to reconsider its definition of the word “deployed” and to …

More than one person in the wireless industry has referred to the government’s auction of C-block personal communications services licenses as a bad dream. Now, it seems, the Federal Communications Commission agrees. And, like with all nightmares, the commission is …

WASHINGTON-A much ballyhooed victory by the telecommunications industry to get the dates for compliance with the digital wiretap act extended is less certain as both sides in the continuing debate argue over the significance of last week’s House vote. The …

WASHINGTON-Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) will oppose a universal-service proposal endorsed by the Personal Communications Industry Association last week that would earmark half of the 3-percent telephone service excise tax for discounted school and library Internet connections. Pia …

They say a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, a lesson paging carriers learned in a painful way last Tuesday evening when an estimated 90 percent of all paging subscribers in the country found themselves without service …

WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission late Thursday announced it would hold off until June 8 an anticipated decision on a request by the Personal Communications Industry Association that certain rules, including resale obligations, not be enforced because they are no longer …

WASHINGTON-The Automobile Association of America said last week it should be given “quasi public-safety” status by the Federal Communications Commission. This status would allow it the right of first refusal when others want to use spectrum formerly in the Automobile …

Metawave Metawave Communications Corp. appointed Scot B. Jarvis to its board of directors. Jarvis helped build McCaw Cellular Communications cellular business through aggressive acquisitions of cellular licenses. During his nine years with McCaw, Jarvis held many positions including vice president …

WASHINGTON-A federal appeals court here Friday told the Federal Communications Commission to re-evaluate its decision on pay-phone compensation but left in place rules that require pay-phone operators to be paid 28.4 cents for each toll-free call placed from a pay …

WASHINGTON-As the compliance deadline for the digital wiretap law looms ever closer, policy makers last week again attempted to gain advantage on the legislative, regulatory and standards fronts. On the legislative side, the fallout from an aborted attempt by a …

Are Judge Judy, Judge Koch and Judge Wapner behind this move in the wireless industry to settle disputes in court? Remember, it was Doug Llewelyn of People’s Court fame, who spouted the wisdom that if you find yourself at loggerheads …

ALEXANDRIA, Va.-The 1998 Eugene C. Bowler award was presented to David Siddall, legal adviser to Federal Communications Commissioner Susan Ness at the Personal Communications Industry Association’s Eighth Annual Eugene C. Bowler Dinner & Awards Presentation last week. House Commerce Committee …

Here’s something to ponder: Is the FBI to blame for the current CALEA fiasco, as the wireless industry has long claimed? Or does this rather serious controversy reflect the wireless industry’s failure to negotiate a better deal when the Communications …

WASHINGTON-The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association and the Personal Communications Industry Association, unable to get wireline carriers and manufacturers on board, moved forward on their own last week with a lawsuit against the Justice Department and the FBI over the implementation …