Wireless Agenda, 2008
Lowell McAdam believes there's always a higher gear when it comes to hard work and providing better wireless service.
At the beginning of 2008, Wireless Wave sat down with current CTIA Chairman of the Board Lowell McAdam, President and CEO of Verizon Wireless, to get his thoughts on his goals and objectives as CTIA Chairman and the challenges and opportunities ahead for the industry.
Wave: What do you believe are key areas of focus for the wireless industry in 2008?
Mr. McAdam: Regulation is certainly at the top of that list. I think there’s a real danger of being regulated by those who regulated the wireline industry in the past. Wireless is totally different, and shouldn’t be considered with the same mindset. So, I think we need to get ourselves organized as an industry, and have a common set of objectives at the state and federal levels. That’s one of my main focus items at Verizon Wireless and it’s going to be one of the primary agenda items as I assume the CTIA chairmanship.
Wave: Is it just the regulators fueling that concern?
Mr. McAdam: To a degree, but they’re getting quite a bit of help, too. There are people outside the industry looking at diminishing cash flows in wire line and increasing cash flows in wireless, and they’re saying, “We’ve got to get in the middle of that.” I also think some interests have done a pretty darn good job of taking all of the benefi ts that make wireless the shining star it is and flipping those benefi ts 180 degrees to make us look like we’re the monopoly, we’re the old school, we’re the people that need to be regulated. They’re investing signifi cant time and money with consultants and lobbyists to make that fiction seem like fact. And they’ve had some success.
Wave: Is that the case in open access debate?
Mr. McAdam: I think the distortions might have fi rst surfaced in consumer rights discussions. Some special interests manipulated the discussion, conveniently forgetting all the great things the wireless industry has brought to consumers – the protectionsand services that we’ve been able to provide them, such as plans designed to give parents the ability to choose services for their children. These interests conveniently overlook all that, and have almost turned that against
us. This is why an information campaign for the industry is probably the second most important matter CTIA will be working on. We have to retake the high ground by communicating all of the tremendous benefi ts wireless has delivered to consumers and to the U.S. economy in 20-short years.
Lowell C. McAdam is President & CEO of Verizon Wireless, and is one of nine members of the Verizon Wireless Board of Representatives.
Prior to his current position, McAdam was the executive vice president and chief operating officer for Verizon Wireless. Previously, McAdam was President & CEO of PrimeCo Personal Communications, a joint venture owned by Bell Atlantic & Vodafone AirTouch. McAdam also worked in various apacities for AirTouch Communications & Pacific Bell & served in the U.S. Navy.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Cornell University and a master’s degree in business administration for the University of San Diego. He also spent six years in the U.S. Navy’s Engineer Corps and is a licensed professional engineer.