Muleta Expects Probe of Wireless Service Quality

But Muleta told reporters carriers shouldn’t fear that will mean more regulation. Instead, the probe is predicated on the growing use of wireless phones as a substitute for wireline service. Muleta also said the Commission hasn’t decided whether it will need to elicit more data from wireless carriers as it starts to analyze recent merger proposals by Nextel-Sprint and Alltel- Western Wireless.

The growing popularity of wireless phones, with 170 million in use in the U.S., inevitably means that more questions are being raised about service quality issues, Muleta said. “Do E-911 systems give you accuracy once you're in the building 3 floors up?” he asked. “You have to start thinking about where are areas that people use their phones. Mobile market was defined very differently early on. It was always outside. It was always on the road. Now this is about people using [wireless phones] inside. They use it as a substitute.” He cited the specific example of how wireless phones work in 100-story buildings.

Building more towers by itself may not address the growing use of wireless phones indoors, he said: “We don’t know if there are problems we can solve.” Muleta also said the initiative could mean a loosening of some requirements for carriers rather than more regulation. “There are technical issues,” he said. “More towers mean better grade of service. But if it takes you 3 years to get a tower up where you know you have demand today we fix those [technical issues].”

Muleta said that contrary to what some carriers hope, the FCC may need to collect additional data prior to disposition of the 2 pending major wireless mergers. The Commission collected truckloads of data before the recently concluded Cingular merger. “It’s premature for us to make a call on what information we need prior to having any sets of applications,” he said. “When the applications are filed and we've had a chance to review then we'll make a determination what data we'll need.”

Asked specifically if that could mean asking carriers for data beyond what they submitted as part of the Cingular-AT&T merger, he replied: “Every transaction is its own and we have to look at the very specific facts… We collected a set of data based on a set of transactions.” Muleta said the Cingular merger does set a “precedent” for how the FCC will look at other mergers that will make analysis easier to complete.

Muleta also discussed a meeting last month the Bureau held with carriers and the public safety community (CD Dec 29 p2) to discuss approaching deadlines for E911 compliance, especially a Dec. deadline for carriers who have chosen a handset rather than network based approach.

“[The FCC] explicitly asked them are they on target and the answer we heard is we think we're on target,” Muleta said, responding to a question by Comr. Copps. “What we said is we'd like for you to make sure that we're tracking this through the next year or so and there are no surprises.”

Muleta told reporters he expects intercarrier compensation and USF reform to be big issues for the bureau in 2005. Bureau staff are already members of FCC teams looking at the issue. “Intercarrier compensation is a very big issue, very complex. It has a direct effect on wireless carriers, but it also has a direct effect on cable carriers, etc.,” he said. “Whatever the forum is we plan to be at the table.”

A wireless carrier source said the initiative likely would be welcomed by the industry. “That’s consistent with conversations we've had with folks at the Commission,” the source said. “They've been open to helping us find ways to build out in ways that make sense.”