Tech Analyst Jeff Kagan Comment on FCC Report Competition in Wireless Industry

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Atlanta, GA, June 28, 2011 — ~ Comment to the Media ~

This is two years in a row that the FCC did not take a position on the state of wireless competition. What, they have no opinion?

What that says to me is, like all of us, they are confused. There is no one comment, which is accurate. All the mergers we have seen over the last decade have transformed the industry.

There are both good and bad parts to that fact.

The number of competitors has shrunk due to mergers, and the few companies that are left are enormous. Have we reached the point where competition is reduced so much that prices will stay high and innovation may slow?

That is the fear after a massive wave of consolidation that changes any industry like we have seen in wireless. The problem is, merging is still occurring. Just think of the giant AT&T, T-Mobile merger. That will change the entire industry.

Solution to Growing Problem

What the FCC should be talking about is how to fix this long-term problem that is building in the industry. Ignoring it won’t fix it and won’t make it go away.

Demand for wireless data is exploding. We auctioned off the spectrum years ago when demand was slow. Now that demand is high that model no longer works. Remember AT&T’s problem with the iPhone.

One solution I have proposed is for some central authority to take the spectrum back and manage it. Make it available to every carrier and every handset maker. That way when one band is full the device will simply go to the next band. No one will have these bottlenecks.

We have to see bold people stand up and offer real long term solutions.

I think if you asked AT&T they would admit they simply need more spectrum, which is why they want to acquire T-Mobile. The problem is that would not solve anything. It would only delay whatever corrective action is necessary.

However it would also shrink the size of the marketplace and number of competitors. Is that what we really think is right now in this marketplace? There are still more mergers to come, but it might be better for the marketplace is we let smaller competitors grow, don’t you think?

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Please quote as: Jeff Kagan, Tech Analyst with www.jeffKAGAN.com

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Jeff KAGAN| TECH ANALYST | www.jeffKAGAN.com

Wireless, Telecom, HealthTech, CableTV & IPTV, Technology

Phone 770-579-5810 Email jeff@jeffKAGAN.com

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