tmobilefan
08-07-2007, 03:45 PM
August 07, 2007: 05:25 PM EST
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Larger cellular carriers will be compelled to offer service to smaller wireless companies so their customers can automatically receive a signal when they travel around the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday.
At a public meeting, the commission's five members voted in favor of new rules forcing wireless carriers to offer terms to other cellular companies that are " reasonable and non-discriminatory."
The new rules don't impose a cap on how much cellular companies can charge for the service, saying instead they would leave it up to the marketplace to determine the terms of any agreements.
The obligation will include roaming agreements for voice service as well as text messaging and push-to-talk service, which is similar to a walkie-talkie and is being offered by Nextel Communications, a subsidiary of Sprint Nextel Corp. ( S).
But it won't include data, or broadband, service, which is an increasingly important part of wireless carriers' revenue.
FCC commissioners said they would accept comments from the public on whether these data services should be included in the new rules. Democratic Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein both said they were in favor of data service being covered by the new rules.
"I believe we should have taken another step forward today," Copps said at the meeting. "Consumers rely upon their mobile handsets these days for a dizzying array of data services, going well beyond those we cover in today's item."
Republican Chairman Kevin Martin said that, although he was sympathetic to some of the points made by smaller wireless carriers, he believed the market should be left to come up with a solution.
Clay Dover, executive director of the San Antonio-based Rural Cellular Association, said the ruling by the FCC was nothing more than an incremental step.
Dover said most smaller wireless carriers have some sort of roaming agreement with large companies for voice services, but many struggle to get a similar deal for data services from the large carriers like AT&T Inc. (T), Verizon Wireless - which is jointly owned by Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and Vodafone PLC ( VOD) - and Sprint Nextel.
"We enter into both voice and data roaming agreements at reasonable terms with other carriers, and we certainly are not aware of AT&T being the subject of any complaints on this issue to the FCC," said an AT&T spokesman.
Dover said "consumers of the rural carriers want the same services as folks in cities have. If they travel out of their current service area, they often don't have access to the types of services they would in their local area."
Dover's concern was echoed by a Washington-based telecommunications lawyer who works on behalf of U.S. Cellular Corp. (USM), the country's sixth-largest wireless carrier.
"The development of data services is getting to be a very important part of the service package that companies will be providing," said the lawyer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
In a recent filing at the FCC, cable giant Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) also expressed its desire to see a requirement that large wireless carriers sign roaming agreements for data as well as voice.
Comcast, along with Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) and privately owned Cox Communications, acquired significant amounts of spectrum in an auction held by the FCC last year, and is currently designing a strategy for an entry into the wireless market.
FCC OKs Wireless Roaming Rules To Improve Voice But Not Data (http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200708071725DOWJONESDJONLINE000625_FORTUNE5.htm)
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Larger cellular carriers will be compelled to offer service to smaller wireless companies so their customers can automatically receive a signal when they travel around the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday.
At a public meeting, the commission's five members voted in favor of new rules forcing wireless carriers to offer terms to other cellular companies that are " reasonable and non-discriminatory."
The new rules don't impose a cap on how much cellular companies can charge for the service, saying instead they would leave it up to the marketplace to determine the terms of any agreements.
The obligation will include roaming agreements for voice service as well as text messaging and push-to-talk service, which is similar to a walkie-talkie and is being offered by Nextel Communications, a subsidiary of Sprint Nextel Corp. ( S).
But it won't include data, or broadband, service, which is an increasingly important part of wireless carriers' revenue.
FCC commissioners said they would accept comments from the public on whether these data services should be included in the new rules. Democratic Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein both said they were in favor of data service being covered by the new rules.
"I believe we should have taken another step forward today," Copps said at the meeting. "Consumers rely upon their mobile handsets these days for a dizzying array of data services, going well beyond those we cover in today's item."
Republican Chairman Kevin Martin said that, although he was sympathetic to some of the points made by smaller wireless carriers, he believed the market should be left to come up with a solution.
Clay Dover, executive director of the San Antonio-based Rural Cellular Association, said the ruling by the FCC was nothing more than an incremental step.
Dover said most smaller wireless carriers have some sort of roaming agreement with large companies for voice services, but many struggle to get a similar deal for data services from the large carriers like AT&T Inc. (T), Verizon Wireless - which is jointly owned by Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and Vodafone PLC ( VOD) - and Sprint Nextel.
"We enter into both voice and data roaming agreements at reasonable terms with other carriers, and we certainly are not aware of AT&T being the subject of any complaints on this issue to the FCC," said an AT&T spokesman.
Dover said "consumers of the rural carriers want the same services as folks in cities have. If they travel out of their current service area, they often don't have access to the types of services they would in their local area."
Dover's concern was echoed by a Washington-based telecommunications lawyer who works on behalf of U.S. Cellular Corp. (USM), the country's sixth-largest wireless carrier.
"The development of data services is getting to be a very important part of the service package that companies will be providing," said the lawyer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
In a recent filing at the FCC, cable giant Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) also expressed its desire to see a requirement that large wireless carriers sign roaming agreements for data as well as voice.
Comcast, along with Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) and privately owned Cox Communications, acquired significant amounts of spectrum in an auction held by the FCC last year, and is currently designing a strategy for an entry into the wireless market.
FCC OKs Wireless Roaming Rules To Improve Voice But Not Data (http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200708071725DOWJONESDJONLINE000625_FORTUNE5.htm)