Wave: Let’s talk a little about public policy, specifically how important you believe it is to combat or avoid government regulation.
Mr. Whitacre: I’ve had a lot of experience with the wireline and the wireless businesses. The wireline business has been heavily regulated, while there hasn’t been nearly as much on wireless. And what’s happened? The wireless business has developed much faster. It’s more competitive. It’s more innovative. It has more
new products. And I think that says consumers really benefit when you let the free market work. It’s as simple as that.
Wave: Another critical area in which the industry interacts with government is spectrum. How would you assess the importance of predictable schedules
and planning?
Mr. Whitacre: That’s high on our list as well. You have to be able to allocate the dollars needed to provide consumers the best services possible, and knowing those things as far in advance as you can is very important.
Wave: On the tax front, certainly we’ve seen a lot of discriminatory and arbitrary taxation of wireless consumers.
Mr. Whitacre: Back to the Spanish-American War, right?
Wave: At least we got rid of that one.
Mr. Whitacre: Yes, we did, and I think it’s very important that we don’t put more taxes on consumers, and to also take a step back and look at how governments are taxing them now. You know every governmental agency wants more revenues. Actually, every authority does, and they look to places they can get it, be it a local telephone service or wireless or wherever. But I think that puts a burden on
consumers. It also has a dampening effect on the growth of the industry, and I think we’re much better off avoiding or eliminating all the taxes we possibly can.
Wave: Now that the merger’s been approved, what do you think it means to the industry?
Mr. Whitacre: We’re trying to be the only communications and entertainment company you need. This deal added greatly to our ability to bring all those services to the largest area we can at the best price possible. It’s a scale business. The more TV customers you have, great. The more telephone customers you have, great. The more wireless customers you have, great. That’s about assembling the assets to bring about this convergence. That’s what we tried to do. I really think it’s a great way to bring good deals to customers, and I think there are a lot of efficiencies for us and for the customers. I think that’s the way it’s going to go.
