Facing an unprecedented onslaught of criticism of its pricing practices, exclusive handset deals and other moves, the wireless industry is gearing up to defend itself in hearings before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other government groups.
“The wireless industry in the U.S. has the coolest handsets, the applications are more robust, and the networks have the highest speeds with the lowest pricing,” said Christopher Guttman-McCabe, vice president of regulatory affairs at the CTIA in an interview. “Can things get better? Yes. But things will get better.”
The CTIA, an association of carriers, handset makers and a growing number of wireless ecosystem players like Google Inc., says it is a bit confused by the level of criticism heaped upon the industry in recent weeks. Critics have leveled a variety of complaints ranging from what they contend is a lack of wireless innovation to overcharging for monthly services, Guttman-McCabe said.
“I think it's extremely hard to understand the criticism we're hearing,” Guttman-McCabe said. “People pay … a hell of a lot less than they paid [for wireless services] 15 years ago, and think of what you get now that you couldn't get then.”
The CTIA is planning to carefully watch the FCC's meeting on Thursday to consider whether to conduct three probes, or “inquiries,” into the wireless industry. The FCC will decide whether it will work to find ways to encourage wireless vendors to be more innovative, competitive and open in providing information to consumers looking to buy wireless services.
Guttman-McCabe said CTIA expects the FCC to go forward with the inquiries, which will provide the industry with an opportunity to defend itself against the criticism. The CTIA won't testify or file written comments on Thursday, but it does expect to be given an opportunity to respond later, he said.
While several industry critics and the FCC have recently laid myriad wireless concerns on the table, generating a spate of bad publicity, the CTIA noted that actual customer complaints to carriers this year have declined in nearly every category, in actual numbers and in complaints per million customers.
The only area where complaints have risen is among consumers concerned about wireless telephone solicitations from a variety of companies, including those looking to sell car warranty extensions. Some of the carriers have aggressively fought those calls, many of which are made illegally by advertisers using auto-calling devices, Guttman-McCabe said.
He also noted that most carriers have implemented over the past 18 months new plans that allow customers to drop a plan or change a phone without penalty during a 30-day trial period. “I would put our industry up against any other in terms of the customer experience,” Guttman-McCabe said.
The CTIA has already attacked the results of a survey conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that found that the price of wireless services in the U.S. is among the highest in the world. However, Guttman-McCabe countered today that the OECD's estimated average U.S. user cost of $53 a month is “beyond me.” Some U.S. carriers offer plans that provide voice and texting for what he called the average global user for less than $14 a month.
He also questioned those who say the U.S. wireless industry isn't innovative, noting that most of the top selling wireless handsets around the world were first introduced in the U.S.
At the same time, he noted that 100,000 software wireless applications are now being sold in at least six major application stores. No stores were available as recently as 14 months ago, he said. Also, the U.S. has by far the most users of the fastest HSPA and EVDO networks.
“I'm willing to debate where the industry is from an innovation perspective, but it's not fair to say we're not innovative,”Guttman-McCabe said.
He also said that he would welcome a discussion or debate on exclusive handset deals such as the one AT&T Inc. has for selling the iPhone. “That's a good policy topic,” he said, noting that some of the deals are difficult to understand.
Arguments that wireless costs are unfairly higher than wired broadband costs don't hold water either, Guttman-McCabe added. Some critics have noted that a wired DSL line might cost a home computer user as little as $13 a month while wireless services can average about 60 a month for voice, data and texting.
“As to whether wireless service is not really worth it, I'd say 80% of my Internet use is on my BlackBerry and not my laptop,” he said. “I rarely bring my laptop on a trip anymore.”
Guttman-McCabe said that a recent event, he was able to use his BlackBerry to review a document sent by a colleague, check the weather in a foreign city he was traveling to, and tweet about his talk to his followers. “It's about productivity,” and about placing a value on that, he said.
