The U.S. wireless market is less competitive than the CTIA and the four major carriers maintain, the Rural Cellular Association said in reply comments on the FCC's coming report on mobile competition. The Consumer Federation of America and other public interest group said the U.S. wireless market is one that only the dominant carriers could love. But AT&T repeated its position that competition is flourishing, and so did the CTIA. The competition report may provide an early indication of whether the Obama FCC under Julius Genachowski will reinstate a spectrum cap, put controls on handset exclusivity agreements between wireless carriers and equipment makers, require automatic roaming for data or approve a host of new regulations sought by small carriers and public interest groups. nnAT&T said all signs point to a thriving and competitive market. "Searching for signs of effective wireless competition is like looking for hay in a haystack," AT&T said. "Even in a weakened economy, wireless entry, expansion and broadband investment are at record levels. Every day brings new and improved services, prices, devices and applications as carriers scramble to optimize and differentiate their offerings.?T-Mobile largely agreed with AT&T's analysis but said three fixes are needed. The FCC should ensure that additional spectrum is allocated for licensed use by carriers, deal with the high price of special access paid and repeal the home-market exclusion approved by the FCC in its automatic-roaming rules, T-Mobile said. But the record indicates that competition is flourishing otherwise, it said.
展开▼
