Last week, we learned that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin wanted to revisit a commission mandate regarding carrier roaming. While the idea was to force carriers to provide roaming services to rivals, an exception was made for companies who owned spectrum in a market, but hadn’t built out a network. The clear intention is to prod these companies into actually building the network. However, given the recent spectrum auctions, the commission is looking into the exception again. Leap Wireless, one company gradually rolling out networks with newly-acquired spectrum, has filed an ex parte letter with the FCC regarding this exception, according to Wireless Week.
Leap isn’t stopping at the newly-acquired spectrum, though. They claim that no evidence exists that mandatory roaming agreements lead to companies being lazy and not building out networks. In fact, that makes little sense. It’s not like these companies can roam for free on other networks. They have to pay, so there is certainly incentive to build out a proprietary network in the same market, if available.
National carriers, of course, don’t want these mandated roaming agreements at all. Gee, ya think?
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Joe,
Word in DC is that Chairman Martin will circulate an order to eliminate the in-market exception rule soon. The order will only pertain to voice and not data (another thing some of the rural carriers were seeking)… The main reason for the relief is that some of the spectrum that carriers won in the AWS I auction is still encumbered by certain federal agencies.
Best, Chris
Yeah, I can see data being a slippery issue, considering carriers are relying more and more on it for growth. Given the new spectrum out there, and as you mention, the unavailability of some of it (T-Mo has had huge problems with this), eliminating the exception makes sense at this time.