Competitive Carriers Association Asks FCC to Create a Wireless Competition Task Force

Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) filed a whitepaper with the Federal Communications Commission entitled, “A Framework for Sustainable Competition in the Digital Age: Fostering Connectivity, Innovation and Consumer Choice.” Over the past several years competition in the U.S. wireless industry has diminished, and earlier this year the FCC released a sobering report stating that -- for the third year in a row -- the FCC could not conclude that the industry is effectively competitive. To restore competition in the marketplace and bring numerous benefits to consumers and the US economy, CCA proposed the creation of a Wireless Competition Task Force at the FCC, charged with analyzing, developing and implementing plans for promoting wireless competition.

Specifically, the Task Force should begin its focus on six initiatives:

1. overhauling the FCC’s spectrum screen,
2. designing pro-competitive auction rules,
3. ensuring commercially reasonable data roaming agreements,
4. promoting access to devices,
5. maintaining connectivity as the industry moves to an all Internet Protocol world, and
6. ensuring competitive neutrality for universal service mechanisms.