Some Random Thoughts..........

Small wireless carriers chalked up a victory recently when the FCC struck down the home roaming exclusion that allowed wireless carriers to decline roaming requests from other operators if the requesting operator offered voice services in the market it was requesting voice services.  Congrats!  Now its time to “focus like a laser” on handset exclusivity and data roaming……….The FCC’s National Broadband Plan proposes the creation of a national framework for the taxation of goods and services provided over the Internet and imposing a fee to establish and maintain a national public safety wireless network.  Predictably, the proposals are raising the ire of anti-tax types including Timothy Lee, vice president of legal and public affairs for the Center for Individual Freedom, who recently wrote in the Washington Times that the FCC’s logic echoes Ronald Reagan’s portrayal of government logic: “If it moves, tax it.  If it keeps moving, regulate it.  If it stops moving, subsidize it.”  Reportedly the proposed public safety network would cost between $12b and $16b and be constructed over 10 years.  No big deal according to the FCC – fees charged to support the public safety network would amount to less than one dollar per month…….That brings us to the FCC’s recent survey that indicated that 30m Americans – or one in six mobile users – have experienced “bill shock,” a sudden increase in their monthly bill that is not caused by a change in service plan.  Steve Largent, former Seattle Seahawk wide receiver, NFL Hall of Famer, former Congressman from Oklahoma’s 1^st District, and the current president and ceo of CTIA-The Wireless Association, struck back saying, “If the FCC is interested in controlling ‘shock’ on consumer bills, they should address the most egregious part of the consumer’ bill, which is the almost 16% rate of taxes and fees imposed by federal, state and local governments on wireless consumers.”  No big deal Steve!  Those fees are only about $7.50 per month!....We’re starting to see some cracks form in Clearwire’s (Nasdaq:CLWR) commitment to the WiMax 4G standard.  During CLWR’s 1Q10 earnings call, the company said that it had renegotiated its contract with Intel, one of its principal investors and a WiMax supporter.  CLWR had committed to WiMax until February 2012, but can now terminate that agreement with no more than a 30 day notice.  All part of the plan says Mike Sievert, CLWR’s chief commercial officer. “We have been saying for some time that we are a technology-agnostic company that is focused on rolling out WiMax 4G services to 120 million people this year.  But we are open minded, and we are studying and watching them.  We’ve built an all IP-based network, so we could do it for a modest cost…It’s prudent to take steps so we can execute.  Should we need it, it’s there.”……..Comcast (Nasdaq:CMCSA) chief technology officer Tony Werner was recently quoted by Broadband DSLReports.com’s Karl Bode as saying he doesn’t think CMCSA will be embracing FTTH any time soon.  Werner believes there’s “lots of gas left in DOCSIS.”  CMCSA’s DOCSIS 3.0 upgrades have already increased speeds up to 50 Mbps for 90% of the company’s markets and 100 Mbps speeds should be available to 20% of the company’s markets by the end of 2010.  According to Bode, at least one analyst has noted, “Why deploy fiber when you can just run ads pretending you do.”