Mr. Mark Goldstein, Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues, United States Government Accountability Office

 

Mr. John E. Rooney, President and Chief Executive Officer, U.S. Cellular Corporation

 

Mr. Paul Roth, President, Retail Sales and Services, AT&T Services, Inc.

Mr. Robert M. Frieden, Pioneers Chair and Professor of Telecommunications and Law, The Pennsylvania State University

 

Ms. Barbara S. Esbin, Senior Fellow and Director, The Progress and Freedom Foundation

 

Mr. Hu Meena, President and CEO, Cellular South, Inc.  

 

 

“We have too many places in this country where wireless call quality is low and service is unreliable—places where wireless broadband is only a pipe dream. This is absolutely unacceptable to me.”

“At the heart of this issue is this question: is it better or worse for competition, for innovation, and for the American consumer if the carrier controls the decision over what devices can and cannot operate on their network?” said Sen. John Kerry.  “I think the Commerce Committee should consider how the wireless industry is functioning and whether current practices are in the best interest of competition and the consumer.” 

“FCC has not articulated goals that clearly identify intended outcomes for its efforts to address wireless consumer complaints and lacks measures to demonstrate how well it is achieving intended outcomes.”

“Despite their size and huge spectrum holdings, the Big Four carriers have decided not to serve many rural areas. These carriers focus on providing service in densely populated urban areas, and their coverage is much more limited in rural areas, especially away from major highways.”

“Exclusive handset distribution arrangements encourage the necessary collaboration that optimizes handset performance and accelerates the delivery of next-generation features. They increase a carrier’s incentives to make purchase commitments and to invest in promotions, network improvements and special training of sales staff. They lower manufacturer entry barriers and serve as a key tool to maintain brand value. And, as an important form of competition, they encourage other carriers and manufacturers to do better, by improving their own handset portfolios or the prices, features and other characteristics of their existing offerings. “

“The wireless handset will provide a ‘third screen’ for users, no less important than what the first screen, television, and the second screen, the personal computer monitor, have provided. Wireless handsets have started the migration from cordless telephones to a much more diverse ‘Swiss Army Knife’ collection of features and functions. But the scope of innovation in handset design depends on a difficult balancing between the sometimes divergent interests of consumers, carriers, and handset makers.”

“On the basis of my research into the issue, it is my conclusion that the wireless service and handset markets are effectively, if not robustly, competitive; that exclusive handset arrangements have brought palpable benefits to both consumers and competition within the wireless sector; and that regulatory intervention to prohibit such arrangements would be ill-advised.  Any actual consumer harm arising from demonstrable anticompetitive activity or unfair and deceptive practices would be better handled through our antitrust and consumer protection authorities.”

“Our country’s banking and finance policy mistakenly believed that free reign in the marketplace with little oversight was the best course of action and that certain institutions were simply too big to fail. This reasoning will lead to the same market failures in the wireless industry. Congress must take action now to ensure that the wireless industry remains the competitive and innovative marketplace that Congress intended for consumers to have.”

Mr. Hu Meena, President and CEO, Cellular South, Inc.  

 

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