CTIA to Oppose Any Strengthened Wireless Rules, Target Taxation in 2011, Largent Says
CTIA will oppose any effort to strengthen wireless rules in the FCC’s net neutrality proposal, President Steve Largent told reporters Friday. Besides net neutrality and spectrum, taxation is a 2011 priority for the group, CTIA officials said.
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"We're not happy about where he’s at, but we can live with the rules that have been proposed,” Largent said of Chairman Julius Genachowski’s net neutrality proposal. The chairman is trying to find a middle ground, and “we think we've compromised,” Largent said. CTIA would oppose any substantive change that would apply more regulation to wireless, he said. CTIA officials will meet early next week with Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael Copps, supporters of tougher wireless rules.
CTIA’s number one priority will remain adding spectrum in 2011, Largent said. “We have a crisis,” but the good news is that the industry has support from the FCC, Congress, the NTIA and the president, he said. The five- and 10-year plans to add spectrum are workable, though the industry would love to get more capacity than they call for, and sooner, he said. “We are trying to get ahead of the curve knowing that it takes so long to get the spectrum lined up in the first place,” Largent said. Carriers are working to get AWS and 700 MHz spectrum services to market, and hopefully that will create headroom, said Chris Guttman-McCabe, a CTIA vice president. But there will be constraints, which carriers are trying to deal with through the secondary market and spectrum trading, he said.
Despite the House Commerce Committee’s leadership changes, a major shift in the committee’s approach on spectrum is unlikely, said Jot Carpenter, a CTIA vice president. There’s interest on both sides of the Hill in crafting an incentive auction mechanism, he said. “We need spectrum” and “Congress needs revenue,” he said, noting that House Commerce Committee Chairman-designate Fred Upton, R-Mich., has a long history of involvement in wireless issues. But there are still questions about how the process will look and how it should be designed, he said.
Taxation is another priority for CTIA next year, Largent said. CTIA is opposed to the taxes imposed on all U.S. wireless users. Many wireless customers are not aware that they pay on average 15.3 percent in taxes and fees on their bills, and in more than 20 states, they pay even more, Largent said. The trade group is calling for a national framework for taxation on digital goods and services. It’s unreasonable for every state to charge taxes, meaning a consumer could be taxed multiple times on a single digital device purchase, Largent said.
The group will also continue its public safety “On the Road, Off the Phone” campaign and its “Be Smart, Be Fair, Be Safe” for responsible wireless use, in which CTIA promotes conversations between kids and parents about responsible use of wireless services, Largent said. CTIA’s state priorities in 2011 include issues like taxation, cellphone jamming and contraband, Vice President Dane Snowden said.