A Sound Perspective
Hailing from the Puget Sound area of Washington state, U.S. Representative Jay Inslee sees first-hand the enormous innovation in wireless communication. He talks with Wireless Wave about that, a vibrantly competitive wireless marketplace, and much more.
Wave: What role do you think you and other members of the Subcommittee on telecommunications and Internet should play in terms of establishing policy that directly affects wireless communication?
Mr. Inslee: I believe our role is to set the stage to let the geniuses work. I’m from Puget Sound country in Seattle, and we’ve been able to closely watch the industry develop. A fellow that I was in law school with, last name of (Craig) McCaw, became involved in this early, and what he and others have created out of nothing is truly spectacular. These geniuses have built networks that more than
230 million Americans are now using, and it’s just astounding to see what’s happened.
I see Congress as supplying the Bunsen burner for the innovators to create these grand experiments that are so successful. We need to create a meaningful environment where their entrepreneurial skills can flourish, and I think the three ways we do that is by encouraging the competition that is giving people so many choices today, by making sure we keep things fair for wireless technology, and by generally employing a light regulatory touch. That last point’s important. It’s a big reason why the industry has provided so many benefits to so many people and has grown so impressively.
Wave: You raise some compelling points, but not all of your colleagues see the industry as you do. How do you convince them that the free market is why consumers are receiving so much value out of wireless, and that a heavy government hand will do more harm than good?
Mr. Inslee: I’m not sure there’s any magic answer to that except to let them know about what’s going on in the industry. I’m lucky because I’m in the middle of it up in Seattle, and I know many of those folks personally and appreciate their innovative spirit. I know how hard they work and their virtuous intent, and I just don’t see the black hats out there. Some other members of Congress might be a little suspicious, but in general, I don’t think that’s warranted.
