SEC inquiry highlights importance of wireless subscriber numbers

Subscriber numbers are an important metric for the wireless industry because the industry is still growing, so an inquiry by a federal agency into how those numbers is calculated is important, said Rich Nespola, chief executive officer of the Management Network Group.”In wireless today, it is still a land-grab opportunity, so subscriber growth is something that all analysts look at,” said Nespola. Even though all analysts look at subscriber numbers, they are at the mercy of wireless carriers to know how many subscribers they serve because there is no independent way to figure this out, said Nespola. Nespola said he found the Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent inquiry into telecommunications subscriber numbers interesting.”Why isn’t the Federal Communications Commission asking these questions?” asked Nespola. “The FCC has a right to audit, or it could go to the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association and ask for all of this information.” The FCC gives carriers some guidance on how to determine subscriber numbers in the directions on its Form 477, which it uses to examine the extent of broadband deployment. There are no separate rules for wireless carriers.