January 10, 2005

The mobile-phone industry is evaluating a plan that draws on tried-and-true political strategies that phone carriers hope will attract customer support and media attention, while putting city and state officials on the defensive.

The advocacy initiative, which CTIA President Steve Largent is expected to touch on at a Tuesday press briefing, represents a dramatic shift in industry lobbying heretofore concentrated in the nation's capital even as industry increasingly faces some of its biggest challenges outside the Beltway in the form of new taxes, regulations and lawsuits.

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"It's going to be very scientific," said Largent in a recent interview.

At a minimum, the campaign-whose cost has not been disclosed-will have industry putting foot soldiers in key battlegrounds, buying advertising and trying to propagate its message through newspaper editorials and white papers.

The industry will try to generate grassroots support to fight unwanted taxes, regulations and laws, reaching out to rank-and-file cellular consumers that comprise a national 174-million subscriber base.

But it won't stop there. Industry will try its hand at grass-tops lobbying, a sophisticated strategy aimed at getting political, business and civic leaders on the bandwagon.

"We need to close some of these loopholes to address regulations and taxes," said Largent, whose congressional experience and pro-football Hall of Fame celebrity status could boost lobbying forays in local communities around the country.

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While major federal issues continue to require attention and high-powered lawyers are still needed to go to war in courts, the maturing cellular industry is watching a grand dynamic playing out in sometimes budget-crunched states whereby lawmakers, regulators and taxing authorities are flexing their collective muscle.

States are leveraging a savings clause in a 1993 law that barred them from rate-and-entry regulation of wireless carriers, but left to them jurisdiction over terms and conditions of service.

Source: RCR News

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