WASHINGTON-The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association has filed reply
comments with the Federal Communications Commission arguing entities-including the Personal Communications
Industry Association-that say the spectrum cap should remain in place “misrepresent the current state of
competition.”
The spectrum cap limits carriers to 45 megahertz in a given geographic area. It was put in place
when the FCC created personal communications services as a way to encourage competition.
CTIA’s reply
comments were filed with the FCC at the same time PCIA submitted its reply comments, which included a study by
HAI Consulting Inc. using data from Telecompetition Inc. The study showed what PCIA called a lack of competition.
Since CTIA filed the same day, it did not respond to the PCIA data, but CTIA said in its filing that “commenters
misrepresent the current state of competition in the (commercial mobile radio services) market … These claims reflect a
misapprehension of the facts and the law.”
In November, the FCC began to review the spectrum cap spurred
in part by a CTIA forbearance petition. Congress established procedures in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that
allow entities to ask the FCC to “forebear” from enforcing rules that have become moot because of
competition. CTIA claims with multiple carriers in many markets, competition has arrived.
