Subject: [NEXTEL-1] CTIA: Breaking Boundaries

From: Marcelrf <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 16:47:13 -0500

MARCH 2004 : ISSUE HIGHLIGHTS

CTIA: Breaking Boundaries
March 26, 2004

Keynoters advocate looser regulation, compelling services.

No downturn here, said the six wireless leader keynoters during day
three of CTIA. Hosted by recently appointed CTIA President Steve
Largent, day three CTIA’s keynote featured all six of the major wireless
players who converged upon a stage to talk about the state of the
industry and the challenges it will face in the coming year. Unlike
other segments of the telecom market, all six operators said that 2003
was one of the best years for service with continued uptick in adoption
and revenue.
“I think the misconception is that the industry had a downturn,” said
John Stanton, chairman of T-Mobile USA. “The worst year was 2002, when
we added 13 million customers to the industry. Revenue per subscriber
was strong, and in 2003 the wireless industry generated $11 billion in
free cash flow. During the period of time when it was perceived as
declining, the industry grew to the point that it’s now larger than the
local exchange business.”

Although many issues were discussed, compelling customer services and
the impact of regulatory rules -- especially WLNP (wireless local number
portability) -- came to the forefront. As often is the case with this
industry, conferences tend to focus on cool technologies, 3G and
migration paths, even if end users are mostly interested in services
that are convenient and simple. Wherever an attendee went on the show
floor, there were a bevy of new wireless gadgets, new services, such as
Verizon’s latest EVDO expansion into other markets, push to talk and the
move into the enterprise market.

“To make wireless data take off, we need to make it easy. Far too often
we make it complex,” said Stan Sigman, president and CEO of Cingular
Wireless.

Along with services, the talk of the town centered on regulation. It was
just last November that carriers had to implement LNP, an FCC mandate
that enables consumers to keep their phone numbers when they change from
one carrier to another. In May, the FCC will require the remaining
regional wireless operators to provide customers with the ability to
port numbers.  But while many wireless pundits were bracing for the
worst, panelists argued that LNP has not had the effect people thought
it would.
“Remember what Wall Street said: On day one, a million customers were
going to leave their carriers for another one,” said Denny Strigl,
president and CEO of Verizon Wireless. “In fact, those estimates were
way off. When you look at the expenses involved, and we said this for
years, you have to ask, was this really worth it? Customers like LNP,
but it’s nowhere near the huge impact that many outside the industry had
predicted.”

In addition to the LNP mandate, panelists thought that restrictive
regulations were inhibiting the further growth of wireless. One option
put forth by moderator Steve Largent was that a rewrite of the 1996
Telecom Act could help boost wireless services. While it’s possible that
federal preemption via the Telecom Act might be that key, Sprint PCS
President and COO, Len Lauer was doubtful that the Act would be
rewritten anytime soon.

T-Mobile’s Stanton argued that overregulation actually creates a bad
wireless experience. “It’s not like we’re gouging our customers on
price, services or products,” he added. “Often state and local laws,
such as zoning restrictions, actually make wireless worse. I can’t get
service in my garage.”

Beyond simple porting between wireless carriers, the real challenge
facing operators is the ability to port numbers between the wireline and
wireless networks. Sometimes referred to as wireline to wireless
integration, an end user could have one phone number follow them from
cell phone to wireline and back again with an integrated package of
services. This concept has been bandied about for years, including the
notion that you could have one number with a common voice mail
programmed to work in between wireless and wireline modes. When asked if
intermodal multimedia messaging service between wireless carriers could
be possible, every panelist responded with a resounding: “let’s do it.”

-- Sean Buckley

http://www.telecomflash.com/default.asp?journalid=5&func=articles&page=0403tf0413&year=2004&month=3&rsno=1

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