Cingular Wireless and 3 rural carriers asked FCC to reconsider pa...

Jan. 1, 2003, and raising it to 55 MHz in all markets during transition period (CD Nov 9 p1). Before change, rule had limited ability of carrier to have ownership or other attributable interests in cellular licenses on different channel blocks in overlapping geographic area. FCC said it kept rule intact for rural markets because cellular incumbents generally continued to dominate market in those areas. In petition for reconsideration filed Feb. 13, Dobson Communications, Western Wireless and Rural Cellular asked FCC to eliminate immediately cellular-cross interest rule for RSAs. Alternately, they wanted Commission to sunset rule for rural areas at same time as spectrum cap itself is phased out. Distinction between urban and rural markets “does not rationally reflect the state of competition or the impact of the rule in specific geographic markets and is paternalistic and fundamentally arbitrary,” they wrote. If rule continues to be applied, it will create “adverse impacts,” petition said. Carriers said it would limit their ability to secure financing from carriers with 5% or more interest in other cellular licensee in given RSA to expand wireless service in such markets. Restriction would prohibit “economically efficient mergers,” they said. “The Commission’s promise to consider waivers of the rule is well intentioned but inadequate to resolve these concerns.” Petition said rule would prohibit investment and consolidation in regionalized markets by treating RSA parts of such markets differently from urban markets without factual basis. “Petitioners are in the difficult position of either limiting the pool of potential merger or financing partners to noncellular licensees or negotiating transactions that involve disaggregating overlapping cellular markets,” carriers said. In separate petition, Cingular said: “Given today’s trend towards national and regional calling areas and plans (in many cases coupled with either free or inexpensive long distance service), individual RSAs are simply not segregable from metropolitan statistical areas from a customer service standpoint,” Cingular said. Examining competition only on basis of individual RSA “skews the competitive analysis in a way that does not reflect the relevant geographic market,” petition said. Cingular said although local wireless service still could be purchased, it was rare that service was limited to single RSA due to proliferation of regional and national calling plans. MG