Wireless Wave - Spring 2008 - (Page 14)

The wireless industry has changed the world, and I think we need to recognize the contributions it is making to society in so many different ways. healthy. In a rural state such as mine, competition is a necessity. If you don’t count the five most populated counties in Arkansas, you still have about two million people spread out in the other 70 counties. We have a lot of communities that are just five thousand, 10 thousand, or 20 thousand people. Wall Street isn’t really excited about investing in those communities because there isn’t a lot of return on that. So part of my thought is to establish a landscape that will create some efficiencies on the consumer side, and that will ultimately encourage more capital to be spent in urban and rural areas all over the country to improve networks and service. Wave: That’s a message that I think would transcend a lot of borders or a lot of different philosophies. Have you had discussions to that effect with some of your colleagues here or even those on the state level who might see this as a threat of some type? SEN PRYOR: I have. You know, what happens in Congress is kind of textbook. We tend to react. What I’d like to do instead is act in a proactive way, really try to understand the universe of concerns that consumers have with the wireless companies, and to address those in a reasonable way. I’d like everybody to come together, not shouting at each other, and try to sit through and work out these differences, whatever they may be. I think we can come up with a package everybody can be proud of and live with and succeed in using. The idea is to try to get ahead of this issue before Congress reacts and does 14 something in the end that probably won’t be good for the consumer, but will make some in Congress feel good about going after the wireless companies. I talk to colleagues about this all the time and I feel like we can put together good bipartisan support for this. Wave: If you can get a bill passed, what would you like to be able to say regarding the new landscape and what benefits stemmed from the law? SEN PRYOR: I’d like to see one set of protections that would be very consumer-friendly, but one that the industry could really live with and abide by once it understood the rules of the road. We need a national standard that everybody knows is not going to change. Right now we have about 20 states that either have or are looking at more consumer protections in the wireless industry. There’s quite a variety of areas being addressed, so we’re getting into this patchwork quilt of regulation and legislation in the states that doesn’t do anyone any good in the long run. So, let’s see if we can find the wisest policies and put them into a national standard. Consumers will then stand to gain even more from the technology than they have already. I really think this is the best way to go. Wave: You mentioned competition a little bit ago; is that the characteristic that stands out the most when you think about wireless and what the industry represents? SEN PRYOR: Absolutely. I think of competition because for the wireless industry that leads to so many other things. Companies competing for customers is good. That continues to drive costs down and increases the features on the phone. It’s given people more choices and more types of plans to choose from, and I think all that’s good. The wireless industry has changed the world, and I think we need to recognize the contributions it is making to society in so many different ways. Everything in this country is going wireless. It might be a remote control for your car or for your television set or your wireless access to the internet or your camera, but we’re going wireless and it’s all going to happen on one device over cellular networks. That’s good. I want to make sure rural America’s not left behind, and that’s why I’m a big believer in universal service funds helping deploy rural broadband. I think you’re going to see W ir e l e s s W a v e

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Wireless Wave - Spring 2008

Wireless Wave - Spring 2008 Contents A Letter from Our Chairman A Letter from Our President Pryor Approval The Promise of M-commerce Moving Targets Foreign Service Multiple Choice Legs, Regs, and Wireless Wireless News The Supplier’s Voice CTIA Welcomes New Members Index of Advertisers Roaming with….

Wireless Wave - Spring 2008

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