Today I testified before the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittees on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection and on Communications, Technology and the Internet in a joint hearing called “Driven To Distraction: Technological Devices and Vehicle Safety.”

While you can read my testimony  and the statement, here are some of the key points. We believe there are three components to making safer drivers and safer roads. They are:

• Legislation:  The wireless industry joins Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in supporting a state and local ban on manual texting and emailing while driving. In fact, we are working with the National Conference of State Legislatures, the American Legislative Exchange Council, and other state organizations to craft model legislation that could be adopted across the country that would prohibit this activity. In addition, the industry supports restrictions on provisional or novice drivers from using their wireless devices while driving. 
• Technology:  We support technological advancements, but caution that they cannot be based on inflexible mandates that could stifle innovation. They must also be affordable and consumer-friendly.
• Education:  Last, but most importantly, CTIA and the wireless industry have a longstanding commitment and support to educating all drivers about the dangers of distracted driving. For almost 10 years, the association and many of our members have independently developed educational campaigns. We’ve launched several TV and radio public service announcement (PSA) campaign on safe driving. Most recently, CTIA and the National Safety Council launched our teen-focused “On the Road, Off the Phone” campaign. 

Please tell everyone you know that no one should be texting and emailing while driving. It will lead to safer drivers and safer roads for all of us.

Today, CTIA’s Executive Vice President Bobby Franklin issued the following statement after his testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit hearing on "Addressing the Problem of Distracted Driving":
 
"CTIA and the wireless industry appreciated the opportunity to participate at the House hearing on this very important issue. With so many Americans relying on mobile devices as a great safety tool, it's important to remind consumers that there is an appropriate time and inappropriate time to use them.
 
"Legislation, technology and education are three vital components that we believe are needed to develop safer drivers and safer roads. CTIA believes that manual texting and emailing while driving are incompatible with safe driving and join Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in supporting a state and local ban on this activity. In fact, we are working with the National Conference of State Legislatures, the American Legislative Exchange Council, and other state organizations to craft model legislation that could be adopted across the country that would prohibit manual texting and emailing while driving.
 
"We also support technological advancements, but caution that they cannot be based on inflexible mandates that could stifle innovation. They must also be affordable and consumer-friendly.
 
"Finally, we are proud of our long-standing educational activities, including our recent partnership with the National Safety Council to launch a teen-focused campaign, ‘On the Road, Off the Phone.' As part of the campaign, we developed a Web site and a television public service announcement which has been viewed thousands of times since we launched last month.
 
"CTIA and our members look forward to continuing to work with policymakers and stakeholders at all levels to combat distracted driving."
 
For more information about the CTIA and NSC "On the Road, Off the Phone" campaign, please visit: www.onroadoffphone.org.

Today, I issued the following statement in response to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller's (D-WV) introduction of “Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2009” (S. 1938):

"CTIA welcomes introduction of Chairman Rockefeller’s legislation, and we look forward to working with the Chairman and his colleagues to enact a solution to the problem of distracted driving.

“We are particularly pleased that the legislation includes a significant educational component since, as Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Ray LaHood has noted, legislative prohibitions alone are unlikely to solve this problem. We have partnered with the National Safety Council to co-brand a public service announcement (PSA) and Web site (onroadoffphone.org) focused on educating consumers about the dangers and consequences of distracted driving. Having the DOT echo this message can only help as we continue to seek to inform and educate the driving public.” 

While we have a fierce net neutrality debate within the wireless telecom and technology industries, the one thing we all agree on is that America’s appetite for mobile broadband services is increasing at a rapid pace. At CTIA, we like to call it the “virtuous cycle” where the multiple players within our ecosystem (such as a device manufacturer or network provider or app developer) are constantly investing, innovating, and competing in order to keep up with consumer demand. 

But, all of the cool apps, faster speeds, new devices and other innovations from the wireless industry are in jeopardy unless we get more spectrum and improve the tower siting process. 

We’ve heard a lot about the brewing spectrum crisis, but why is tower siting just as important? To expand their service offerings and meet consumer demand for “always-on” broadband, wireless carriers need to be able to build out their networks, which involves constructing new towers or adding new equipment to already existing structures.

Today, there is no timeframe for local zoning authorities to act on tower siting applications. CTIA surveyed our members and found that they collectively had more than 3,300 wireless siting applications pending before local jurisdictions. Of those, approximately nearly a quarter have been in queue for more than a year, and more than 180 such applications have been awaiting final action for more than 3 years. That’s just silly in a country that wants to expand broadband access and put people to work.

To remedy this problem, the industry is asking for a common-sense, reasonable solution that would establish 45 and 75 day “shot clocks” for zoning authorities to act on tower siting applications. You can read our petition with the FCC on the matter here.

During FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s keynote remarks earlier this month at International CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2009®, he pledged his support and commitment for getting the industry more spectrum and a tower siting shot clock. These are big – and complementary – steps that will help ensure that the U.S. maintains its world leadership in wireless.

Last week, U.S. Representatives Jay Inslee (D-WA) and George Radanovich (R-CA), Co-Chairs of the House Wireless Caucus, sent a letter  to Chairman Genachowski commending his commitment to setting a shot-clock on tower siting and calling on the Commission to act as quickly as possible on this petition. We applaud Representatives Inslee and Radanovich for staking out this pro-broadband, pro-investment, pro-jobs position, and we look forward to working with them and Chairman Genachowksi to get it done.  

I issued the following statement today in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) on net neutrality:

“We are pleased that Chairman Genachowski and the Commission acknowledge that ‘wireless is different,’ and that as part of the NPRM, the Commission will investigate ‘how, when, and to what extent’ the rules should apply to the mobile wireless broadband platform. 

“We agree wireless is different, and believe that whatever the case may be for applying rules to other platforms, applying these rules to mobile wireless broadband services during a period of dynamic innovation and change in the wireless ecosystem could have significant unintended consequences. Consumers benefit when innovation can occur BOTH at the edge and in the network. Rules that could impact the ecosystem from continuing to evolve, such as the ability of wireless carriers, device makers, and applications developers to optimize their devices, applications, and networks to work together will stifle innovation and harm consumers.
 
“Further, the imposition of net neutrality rules will degrade the value of unencumbered licenses purchased in the most recent auctions and threaten the integrity of the auction process. The FCC considered ‘openness’ requirements in the 700 MHz auction and chose to apply those requirements to a single block of spectrum. To extend that requirement, and more, now would raise serious legal issues and threaten the integrity of future auctions.
 
“We appreciate the extended comment period established by the Commission and its commitment to improving its understanding of the complex process of managing networks. Our member companies work every day to provide customers with a positive mobile broadband experience. We look forward to working with the Chairman and the Commission to ensure that Commission policies do not unintentionally harm the mobile wireless ecosystem and wireless consumers.”

This afternoon I issued the following statement in response to the net neutrality paper from Free Press:

"It is troubling that we are debating a filing on investment and job creation from an organization such as Free Press. The industry I represent directly or indirectly employs more than 2.4 million Americans and contributed over $140 billion in direct economic benefit to the U.S. economy over the last three years. An illustration of the gaps in the Free Press filing is that counter to their own conclusions, they based their ‘analysis’ on rhetoric and avoided specific factual evidence of what Net Neutrality would mean to wireless. In the 700 MHz auction, the larger, regulated ‘open access’ license sold for half the smaller non-regulated license. These, and many other shortcomings, are littered throughout the filing. I am confident that the FCC, through its fact-based analysis, will draw the same conclusion."

In a Hillcon Valley blog post on Monday, Ruth Milkman, FCC's Wireless Bureau chief said, "There is tremendous agreement that wireless is vibrant and contributes to the economy. It’s a phenomenal set of services and applications."
 
We couldn't agree more. While we may be a bit biased, I think all of us have been impressed by some wireless app, device, technology, etc. As I mentioned in yesterday's post on our filing to the FCC on innovation and investment, this is an industry that is responsive to consumers and fiercely competes with one another for each customer. 
 
In CTIA's wireless competition filing to the FCC  in response, we highlight numerous examples of how the wireless ecosystem (made up of carriers, infrastructure suppliers, device manufacturers, operating system providers, and applications developers) remains competitive at every level.
 
This means that consumers and businesses are benefiting from the lowest prices, highest minutes of use, most innovative services and devices, most robust mobile broadband networks, and least concentrated wireless market among our global competitors.
 
But this fiercely competitive state of the mobile industry was no accident: it emerged from long-standing, market-driven policies, embraced on a bipartisan basis, favoring flexibility over command-and-control and competition over economic regulation.
 
Finally, we also highlighted additional steps (starting on page 77) that the Commission can take to facilitate on-going competition and ensure that consumers will continue to reap tremendous benefits from the mobile wireless sector. 
 
After all, as John Donovan, AT&T’s CTO said in his keynote at CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment Show last week, “It’s a customer’s world; we’re just a part of it.”

To say CTIA's Regulatory Affairs team has been busy is certainly an understatement! Since September 29th, they've submitted nine filings to the FCC on various issues.
 
Over the next couple of weeks, we'll summarize the ones that have received the most attention and/or interest. Today's blog post is on the FCC's NOI wanting more information on the innovation and investment in the wireless industry  (GN Docket No. 09-157).
 
First, the filing discusses the industry's virtuous cycle, with innovation and investment happening within each of the five groups and putting pressure to the other groups to innovate and invest. It's a constant evolution with consumers as the winners.
 
But as readers of this blog know, the wireless industry needs more spectrum. When the FCC Chairman was at International CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2009®, he pledged his support and commitment to providing the industry with more spectrum and approving a tower siting shot clock. This is a vital key to the industry's ability to continue innovations whether it's new phones, new capabilities, new applications, faster Internet speeds, etc.
 
The virtuous cycle and spectrum needs are closely intertwined. By having network reliability, coverage, and capacity, carriers are able to compete and attract customers in the competitive industry. This also means carriers are constantly investing in their networks. In fact, over the past twenty years, wireless carriers committed more than $264 billion in capital expenditures -- a combined average carrier investment of more than $22.8 billion per year to expand and upgrade networks from 2001-2008.
 
In addition, we've seen an explosion of wireless making a positive impact on other industries such as health care management (mHealth), smart grids, mobile learning (mLearning), "green" innovative wireless technologies, etc.
 
While we have a tendency to focus on these "new" technologies that rely on wireless to make a difference, we frequently forget about the non-technical innovations. It's hard to believe it was only eleven years ago when the first "bucket" plan was offered. And now think about how the industry has evolved to now offer rollover minutes, family plans, nights and weekends, etc. Carriers also offer extended trial periods, detailed coverage maps, prorated early termination fees, prepaid plans, etc.
 
This is an industry that is responsive to consumers and fiercely competes with one another for each customer.
 
Finally, CTIA closed with some regulatory suggestions, including:

• Facilitating the timely deployment of wireless infrastructure by adopting CTIA’s petition on tower siting.
• Improving the process for identifying spectrum for future reallocation and, particularly the need for greater information, transparency and coordination between Federal and commercial entities in future relocations under the CSEA.
• Seeking input from the Technical Advisory Committee on technical issues.
• Taking steps to streamline equipment and special temporary authorizations.
• Exercising care to ensure that the Commission does not hamper efforts by the wireless industry to develop industry-wide standards for challenging issues.

I think the Regulatory team summed the wireless industry's innovation and investment best when they closed their summary by saying, "We are living in a period of intense innovation and investment in the mobile wireless communications marketplace. American consumers and businesses are reaping daily the innovation that results from a robust and competitive mobile ecosystem, and the FCC should take the necessary steps to ensure that the virtuous cycle of innovation and investment continues to advance."