Wireless Wave: What is your regulatory philosophy as it relates to competitive
industries, such as wireless?
Chairman Martin: Competition in the marketplace is certainly the best means of driving innovation, driving prices lower, and protecting consumer interests. I prefer competition in the marketplace to regulation.
That doesn’t mean that there isn’t an important role for government to play. The
government plays an important role in setting the rules for competition, such as protection from harmful interference. And the government plays an important role where markets don’t fully address an issue. For example, with regard to disability access, the marketplace alone might not completely address the situation.
Wherever possible, though, I think we should rely on market competition instead of
regulation. Wireless Wave: What is your take on concerns raised about inconsistent state and local requirements increasingly imposed on wireless carriers?
Chairman Martin: By law, the Commission has the primary responsibility for regulating the wireless industry. The states and localities have some role to play in the context of general consumer protection.
A uniform national scheme of regulation has provided benefits for the wireless industry, and I think we should try to build on this approach whenever possible.
There are also important national consumer protection goals. And I’ve been an advocate for some of them at the Commission — like E911 capability and local number portability.
To your point, I think we should be cautious about the role of state and local
governments when it comes to specific regulations for the wireless industry. While states and localities do have a role to play in consumer protection, it is a generalized role, not specific to the wireless industry.
Wireless Wave: A question about reforms: What reforms do you believe are necessary in the areas of inter-carrier compensation and the universal service system?
Chairman Martin: In both of these areas, I think it is important for the Commission to make some changes. We certainly appreciate the wireless industry’s constructive involvement in submitting proposals on these issues.
