WASHINGTON-U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake stopped cold the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions’ legal efforts to shut down IFAST Ltd., the Maryland-based firm that assigns codes enabling foreigners to operate their cell phones in this country.
ATIS, an industry standards group that used to house IFAST, sought a preliminary injunction against the International Forum on ANSI-41 Standards. ATIS argued Ed Hall, a former wireless technology expert at several industry associations, illegally conspired with others to take IFAST from the association and turn it into a private company.
Blake, best known in the wireless industry for having dismissed an $800 million brain-cancer lawsuit in 2002 and five class-action headset suits in 2003, disagreed. She delivered her ruling from the bench in a 45-minute hearing this morning in Baltimore.
“I think the judge was absolutely correct. ATIS did not come close to meeting the standard for a preliminary injunction,” said Barry Reingold, an attorney for IFAST. “The judge ruled IFAST is an independent organization.”
IFAST has had revenues totaling about $1 million during the past couple of years. IFAST charges a one-time application fee of $175 per international roaming mobile identification number and an annual maintenance fee of $175 per IRM. Each IRM supports 1 million wireless subscribers. The IRM allows foreign travelers’ mobile phones-excluding GSM handsets-to operate on U.S. wireless networks.
The global roaming forum was created by what is now Telcordia Technologies, and CTIA, in 1996. IFAST stayed with CTIA until 1999, when the Telecommunications Industry Association took over management of IFAST. In 2000, IFAST became affiliated with ATIS. Four years later, Hall took IFAST private under a new Maryland corporation named TelecomXchange International. Former CTIA official Art Prest is part of the IFAST leadership as a member-at-large.
