AT&T/T-Mobile Barely Mentioned as CTIA Fall Shows Starts
The CEOs of Sprint Nextel and AT&T Mobility hardly mentioned AT&T’s proposed buy of T-Mobile in keynotes to the CTIA conference, which started Tuesday in San Diego. Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, current CTIA chairman, talked about the industry’s environmental record and the campaign against distracted driving. AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega spoke about his company’s Innovation Pipeline and the importance of wireless to IT.
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At CTIA’s last major show in March, which started the day after AT&T/T-Mobile was unveiled, Hesse warned for the first time of what he called the competitive harms that could be caused by the merger (CD March 23 p1). In the aftermath, Sprint made blocking the deal its major policy focus for the year and is seeking to join the Department of Justice’s case against the merger. Unlike the March show, there was no panel among carrier CEOs, but each spoke separately Tuesday, making any clashes less likely. In March the CEOs also had to handle tough questions from CNBC commentator Jim Cramer.
"In reflecting on the CTIA Orlando convention back in March … I'm reminded of the question, ‘Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?'” Hesse said. Hesse went on to note the resemblance between de la Vega and Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth, an actor known for his good looks. “That’s supposed to be a compliment,” he said. De la Vega said he appreciated the complement from Hesse, the star of numerous Sprint ads on TV and “the best actor in wireless we have today."
In other merger news, U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Huvelle designated Richard Levie as special master overseeing the government’s case against AT&T/T-Mobile. Levie, a retired federal judge, was the consensus choice of both sides for the job (CD Oct 7 p 14). Huvelle issued an order putting Levie in charge of “all disputes or matters related to discovery” as the case unfolds.
CTIA President Steve Largent said Tuesday implications of CTIA’s latest subscriber growth numbers (see related report this issue) are clear: “There’s a catch and it’s a big one. … We have to get more spectrum.” Cisco estimates that smartphones use as much spectrum as 24 traditional cellphones, and Android and iPhone devices as much as 100 cellphones, he said. The U.S. faces “one heck of a traffic jam” in a few years if more spectrum is not brought online for wireless broadband, he said. “We need to have more spectrum to keep wireless broadband working the ways hundreds of millions of Americans want."
The number of U.S. wireless subscriber connections (327.6 million) surpassed the U.S. population (315.5 million) for the first time in history, CTIA said in its semi-annual report. The U.S. wireless penetration rate is 103.9 percent, up from 300.5 million connections a year ago. Lots of growth was a result of increased use of smartphones. By the latest count, 95.8 million smartphones and wireless-enabled PDAs were in subscriber hands, compared to 61.2 million a year ago. Data use also continued to soar, up 111 percent in a year to 341.2 billion megabytes. The cost of the average monthly account rose 1 percent from mid-year 2010 to $46.47 for voice and data service.
Largent also cited estimates that an incentive auction of broadcast spectrum would raise $30 billion in bids from carriers. “I don’t know of many industries that are eager to step up and write checks like that to the government, but we are,” he said.
Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead emphasized in his keynote the importance of collaboration among all industry players wherever possible. “Our industry has been a stunning success” he said. “A truly open customer-driven market with limited government intervention is the only way to ensure a competitive, vibrant future. We have a responsibility as we go forward to make sure that we are operating as an industry with the highest level of integrity so we don’t unnecessarily incur government intervention.”
De la Vega noted a recent survey of top IT officials at 300 companies in which some 60 percent said their IT budgets are likely to climb in 2011. “What’s driving this newfound resurgence in IT?” he asked. “In my view, it’s clearly mobility and the benefits that it affords.”