WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission last week reaffirmed resale rules for most commercial wireless carriers, but carved out exemptions for rank-and-file dispatch operators and start-up mobile phone firms not owned by incumbent wireless carriers.
The ruling was generally well-received, but got a thumbs down from resellers.
“It’s a very short-sighted decision,” said David Gusky, executive vice president of the Telecommunications Resellers Association.
Gusky, disagreeing with the agency’s claim that revised resale rules will promote competition, said the FCC plan to sunset resale rules in late November 2002 makes little sense in view of massive consolidation occurring in the wireless industry.
TRA lost an appeals court challenge to the sunset date. “We’ll continue to do everything we can to overturn the sunset decision,” vowed Gusky.
The FCC, which again rebuffed the Personal Communications Industry Association’s call to repeal resale rules, agreed to remove customer premises equipment, or CPE, in bundled packages from the scope of resale rules. The wireless industry had lobbied for that change.
“I think it’s a real victory for traditional SMRs (specialized mobile radio),” said Alan Shark, president of the American Mobile Telecommunications Industry Association.
Shark, though pleased with the decision, lamented the fact that it has taken more than five years to convince federal regulators that traditional dispatch operators-though categorized as commercial mobile radio service providers-should not be subject to common-carrier obligations designed for mobile phone licensees and others.
The agency’s rules reiterated that enhanced SMRs-those like Nextel Communications Inc. and Southern Co. with in-network switches-are covered by FCC resale rules.
Nextel, however, contends ESMR resale is not technically feasible. The FCC is investigating the matter.
“Most of those complaints [against Nextel] are still pending,” said an FCC staffer. Asked how many parties have complained about Nextel’s refusal to resell service, the staffer responded, “There are a bunch of those complaints.”
PCIA, despite failing to convince the FCC to reconsider the 2002 resale sunset date, applauded the resale order.
“We’re very happy. We were quite pleased the FCC decided to give relief to newer licensees,” said Mary McDermott, senior vice president and chief of staff at PCIA.
McDermott said PCIA believes some geographic markets are highly competitive and therefore qualify for forbearance of FCC resale enforcement. As such, she said the association may petition the FCC to refrain from applying resale rules in those markets.
The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, like PCIA, applauded the FCC’s decision to remove CPE from resale rules.
Michael Altschul, vice president and general counsel at CTIA, said the agency should not have included CPE in resale regulations in the first place in view of the highly competitive market for consumer wireless equipment.
Altschul also applauded the FCC reaffirmation to end resale rules in 2002.
While the FCC said it would not apply resale rules to independent C-, D-, E- and F-block PCS carriers (not owned by cellular or A- or B-block PCS carriers), the commission said “it would entertain waivers … that may not fit under the literal terms of the exclusion on a case-by-case basis.”
The official date the FCC intends to sunset resale rules is Nov. 24, 2002.
