Wireless Wave - Spring 2008 - (Page 38)

▼ ▼ LEGS, REGS, AND WIRELESS more than four fields until September 30, 2008. On its own motion, the FCC also granted all other affected entities additional time to implement the declaratory ruling, deferring the current deadline to July 31, 2008. The Commission noted that the interests of customers seeking to port their numbers will be served by giving entities more time to implement a new compliant system. Arizona Legislators Debate a “Bill of Rights” Commerce Committee heard the bill in February. Network Neutrality/ Internet Regulation A so-called “Cell Phone User’s Bill of Rights” was introduced earlier this year in the Arizona Senate. Senate Bill 1010 would impose specific billing and disclosure requirements on wireless carriers, as well as limit all cell phone contracts to one-year. CTIA—The Wireless Association® President and CEO Steve Largent responded to the legislation with an op-ed in the Arizona Capitol Times. Largent pointed to the progressive changes Arizona’s wireless consumers are seeing in their wireless services such as pro-rated early termination fees and enhanced contracting flexibility. “The competitive wireless industry works hard to stay in step with its customers and never hesitates to change in order to meet demand and provide consumers with a host of new and improved options,” wrote Largent. He also noted that wireless carriers already abide by CTIA’s Voluntary Consumer Code in all 50 states, which “has proven to a be an effective, marketbased approach to directly and consistently address the needs of wireless consumers.” The Senate Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), the chairman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, and subcommittee member Rep. Charles Pickering (R-MS) introduced the “Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2008” (H.R. 5353). The legislation is designed to provide the legal basis upon which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) could impose non-discrimination and open device regulations on broadband service providers. The bill would require the FCC to conduct a proceeding that is also designed to establish a legal foundation for Internet regulation. It would also require the Commission to conduct eight “broadband summits” around the nation, ostensibly intended to assess competition, consumer protection, and consumer choice issues related to broadband services. Given that there is substantial evidence that the broadband marketplace is thriving in a wide variety of respects–a conclusion bolstered by inquiries by the FCC, the Federal Trade Commission, and numerous independent analysts, CTIA—The Wireless Association® opposes the legislation. Telecom Accessibility are not left behind as technology changes and the United States migrates to the next generation of Internet-based and digital communications technologies. Wireless and telecom stakeholders have been meeting with disability advocates to find common ground and make suggested edits to the draft language. The wireless industry supports legislation that would ensure that individuals with disabilities have access to emerging communications capabilities, provided that the requirements of such legislation are “readily achievable” by carriers and equipment manufacturers, and provided that the legislation does not impose new reporting requirements on service providers. Largent Appears before U.S. House Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee Chairman Markey is also preparing draft legislation which seeks to establish new safeguards for disability access to telecom services. The “Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act,” would ensure that people with disabilities Detailing the industry’s strong belief in the need for a national framework of wireless regulation, CTIA—The Wireless Association® President and CEO Steve Largent appeared before the U.S. House Subcommittee on the Telecommunications and the Internet, on February 27, 2008. Largent was speaking on the staff discussion draft Wireless Consumer Protection and Community Broadband Empowerment Act of 2008. Largent told the committee that the wireless industry is a great consumer success story. In the 1980s the FCC authorized two companies per market to compete to provide analog voice service. Today CTIA member companies serve more than 250 million consumers, carry more than 1 trillion minutes of use on their net- LEGS, REGS, AND WIRELESS W ir e l e s s W a v e 38

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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