There is one universal truth about Mark Crosby, longtime president of the Industrial Telecommunications Association-he speaks his mind, and he speaks it often. In a regulatory era that has been rough on private wireless carriers, Crosby is optimistic that things will get better, beginning in 1997. Looking out for the welfare of his constituents, Crosby and company have spent the last year stumping Congress and the Federal Communications Commission on such issues as auctions, refarming, additional spectrum and lifting license freezes. On the eve of ITA’s annual Washington conclave, Crosby took some time to address these concerns with RCR Washington reporter Debra Wayne.
RCR: How do you rate FCC Chairman Reed Hundt regarding his attention and commitment to private wireless issues?
Crosby: That’s a difficult question to answer when you have to live and work and breathe in Washington’s telecommunications community. It shouldn’t be any surprise to anyone that we don’t see eye to eye on the approach to licensing assignment and pools. Auctions are wonderful in certain applications, but no one philosophy works 100 percent of the time. Maybe there are some other tools in your arsenal to maximize your objective. ITA is pleased to have some of the telecommunications leaders on the Hill agree that every social-action issue should not be funded through auctions.
RCR: What about the FCC’s position on freezes? How have ITA members been affected?
Crosby: Freezes have been very difficult for the private wireless industry. Some freezes the industry has asked for, and rightfully so. The freezes at 800 MHz, specifically the freeze on the General Category pool, deal with speculation, but there are other ways of dealing with speculation. This freeze has been deadly, and I would suggest that the commission take another look at that conclusion. And if their strategy is to preserve the value of that spectrum for future auctions, I suggest they take another look at that also. It sounds like they have written off that band by just labeling it for specialized mobile radio without doing due diligence on it beforehand. We have 3,400 private wireless entities in there, and we deserve another look. If the objectives of telecom policy are to promote jobs and commerce and American productivity, freezing the 800 MHz General Category pool did not accomplish that.
RCR: Does ITA still support user fees in lieu of auctions?
Crosby: Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I have changed my position somewhat to move toward efficiency-based lease fees, because there would be a reward if you are using efficient technologies. If you want to be a spectrum hog, you pay. I think there is some sensitivity to this issue. I’ve been working on it for more than a year, and I will continue our educational efforts on Capitol Hill. I also think that the FCC thinks that, at a certain time, fees may be applicable to specific private-wireless issues.
I think that there’s a chance fees may be adopted. There are a lot of wise people out there who say auctions aren’t everything. You can buy things and you can lease things; in some cases, it’s better to lease because you can maximize use of the spectrum. Other times, it’s better to sell.
RCR: What is ITA’s official stance on the consensus agreement put together by the American Mobile Telecommunications Association, SMR Won, Nextel Communications Inc. and the Personal Communications Industry Association?
CROSBY: We wrote a letter to Wireless Telecommunications Bureau chief Michele Farquhar that said the industry consensus plan doesn’t hurt and doesn’t help private wireless-no harm, no foul. I look at the motivation. Why would a private wireless entity want to marry his system with a commercial partner? It’s not his core competence.
I really couldn’t jump on board, although we were lobbied by everybody; if I were to support this, I would have to support the auction of the General Category pool. So we wrote the `no harm, no foul’ letter. It’s a solution, but I want to get rid of the people who have an ulterior motive. And when I look at the deals that could be put together as a result, you can do them now. Why does it need official sanction?
RCR: How has the delay of the adoption of refarming affected the private wireless industry?
CROSBY: The other significant freeze, although I have been calling it `license abeyance,’ is the status of refarming. That thing has been going on for so long, and the longer it does, the marketplace gets thinner and thinner. I think the marketplace is down 50 percent because of this holdup. Manufacturers’ stock is falling. But I see the light at the end of the tunnel. The Land Mobile Communications Council has been working on some critical components of refarming like the electronic interexchange of information among the frequency-advisory committees; new procedures on compliance issues; and new, technically based deployment strategies.
RCR: Now for your favorite subject-How is the new personal communication services clearinghouse coming?
CROSBY: We’re having a ball. We’ve got two software people going full time now to develop new services, an engineer, and several others. Some days I work full time on it. We have two major A-and B-block companies on board, and we’re working with the C-block people. We still have some unresolved business regarding the FCC’s order. Having two clearinghouses (the other being one run by PCIA) will be extremely helpful to the industry, where competition is real. It was prudent of the FCC not to force the industry to go to only one place for the information.
