Wireless in the News

To learn the latest developments in the debate over USF funding for wireless services, please visit this page often for timely updates. Here you'll find recent articles and statements issued by Wireless Across America.

• Wireless Across America Comments on Potential Regulatory Threats to Wireless Expansion in Rural U.S. (Feb 28, 2008)
  On January 29, 2008, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released three Notices of Proposed Rulemakings (NPRMs) on universal service. One NPRM proposed eliminating the "identical support" rule. This statement by Wireless Across America calls attention to the harm that this proposed rule would cause to wireless service in rural areas.
• Wireless Companies Publicly Oppose Proposed USF Caps (Dec 13, 2007)
  This article in RCRWirelessNews describes a recent joint letter from 15 wireless companies to leaders of the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee and notes opposition to the proposed wireless USF cap from both sides of the aisle. (To read the letter, see the item below in the "What Others are Saying" section.)
• Chinook Wireless CEO Calls for Fair and Impartial USF Reform (Dec 12, 2007)
  Writing in a letter to The Hill, a leading Capitol Hill newspaper, Chinook Wireless president and CEO Jonathan Foxman describes the inequity between landline and wireless Universal Service funding and notes how a cap on wireless funding will make it even more difficult to meet the demand for reliable wireless service in rural areas.
• Wireless CEO Criticizes New USF Reform Proposal (Nov 27, 2007)
  US Cellular CEO John Rooney recently called attention to the negative impact that proposed USF reforms would have on wireless networks in rural areas. A recent Knoxville (Tennessee) News Sentinel article quotes Rooney, "These recommendations represent a turn of the clock back to an era of monopoly providers and inadequate service and thwart what Congress set out to accomplish with the Telecommunications Act of 1996."
• Wireless Companies Oppose New USF Reform Proposal (Nov 21, 2007)
  The Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, an advisory group to the FCC, recently announced a proposed set of reforms to the Universal Service Fund that would cap payments for wireless service and restrict future investments in wireless networks. This article describes how the proposed rule changes would harm wireless service in rural areas.
• USF Reform Nears Showdown (Nov 09, 2007)
  An article in RCR Wireless News describes opposition from wireless companies and CTIA-The Wireless Association to the FCC's proposed cap on Universal Service funding for wireless service.
• FCC Preparing to Implement USF Cap on Wireless Carriers (Nov 06, 2007)
  An article from National Journal describes several pending proposals at the FCC to reduce the level of USF funding for wireless carriers. The article notes opposition from congressional leaders, including Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK).
• Article Describes How USF Cap Would Hurt Rural Coverage (Oct 28, 2007)
  A recent article in the Kennebec Journal notes the negative impact of the proposed wireless-only USF cap on rural Maine and describes how Gov. John Baldacci has called on Maine's congressional delegation to stop the cap.

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What Others are Saying

Find out what key Congressional leaders and others are saying about the need for competitively neutral USF reform:

• Growing number of North Dakotans go wireless (Jun 02, 2008)
  North Dakota Public Service Commissioner Tony Clark noted in a recent statement that the number of wireless phones continue to rise in his state while the number of wired telephone lines are consistently dropping.
• Wireless Companies Urge Senate Committee to Reject Cap on Wireless Funding (Dec 11, 2007)
  In a joint letter to Senate Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI) and Ranking Member Ted Stevens (R-AK), the leaders of 15 wireless companies from across America called attention to the negative impact of a proposed cap on wireless USF funding, as well as harmful long-term proposals recently recommended by the Joint Board.
• Senator Dodd Opposes Wireless-Only USF Cap (Oct 18, 2007)
  Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd (D) noted in a recent letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin that capping funding available to wireless carriers could "seriously undermine efforts to make reliable wireless service available to all Americans."
• Arkansas Governor Opposes Cap on Wireless Use of USF (Jul 16, 2007)
  Governor Mike Beebe (AR) called on the FCC to vote against the proposed wireless-only USF cap, calling the proposal "anticompetitive" and "a huge disservice to rural consumers." Governor Beebe added that, "in a country that prides itself on equality, we must not restrict access to rural citizens simply because of geographic location."
• CTIA Runs Ads Calling Attention to Negative Impact of Wireless-Only USF Cap (Jul 12, 2007)
  In a series of recent advertisements in Communications Daily and other publications, including the Washington Times, CTIA - The Wireless Association describes how wireless service has benefited the lives of rural Americans and calls on the FCC to vote against a USF cap on wireless funding.
• National Domestic Violence Group Urges FCC to Stop Wireless-Only Cap (Jun 12, 2007)
  The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence recently described to the FCC how the proposed cap would affect victims of domestic violence, saying that "reliable wireless service can literally mean the difference between life and death."
• Kansas Governor Joins Opponents of Wireless-Only Cap (Jun 08, 2007)
  Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius recently wrote to FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate, noting the health, public safety and economic consequences of a wireless-only universal service cap.
• Oglala Sioux Tribe Expresses Opposition to USF Cap (Jun 07, 2007)
  In a letter to the FCC opposing the proposed wireless-only cap, Oglala Sioux Tribe President John Yellow Bird Steele notes that the cap would "result in a terrible disservice to rural consumers in general and Native Americans on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in particular."

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