Have you ever wondered how CTIA picks its speakers for our tradeshows? Or perhaps you’ve thought, “Gee, I’d make a great speaker/moderator/panelist.” 

Today, we issued a Call for Speakers for our spring trade show taking place March 22-25, 2010 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

We’re accepting submissions beginning today until December 11, 2009 from experienced and innovative company executives and members of the media. 

CTIA’s educational sessions highlight the important topics, trends and policy issues that are affecting the wireless ecosystem. Thousands of show attendees go to these sessions to learn from the valuable experiences of seasoned industry executives from trendsetting companies as they share their knowledge and understanding of wireless solutions, key applications, implementation approaches and experiences, best practices and case studies. 

Some of the proposed educational session topics for International CTIA WIRELESS 2010 include:

• Augmented Reality
• Intelligent Transportation
• Location Aware Applications
• mHealth Solutions
• Mobile Marketing & Advertising
• Mobile Music & Games
• Retail and Mobile Payments

You can submit an application or get more information on the application process at:  www.ctiaspeakers.com.

When Congress tasked the FCC with developing a National Broadband Plan that includes “a plan for the use of broadband infrastructure and services in advancing . . . energy independence and efficiency,” we were pleased that the Commission identified “smart grids” – the integration of information and communication applications with the electric power grid – as a promising way to achieve these objectives. 

Then, late last month, President Obama announced $3.4 billion of stimulus grants that will be allocated to 100 smart grid projects tasked with modernizing America’s energy efficiency and increasing reliability on renewable resources (e.g. wind and solar power). 

Clearly, smart grid technology has captured the nation’s attention for its numerous benefits and promising potential. 

In our comments  to the FCC last month, we highlighted wireless communications as a critical component of smart grid deployments. Commercial wireless networks can satisfy, and are currently satisfying, the communications requirements of smart grid applications. 

The benefits of smart grid technology can be profound, and wireless is an important part of the equation. A joint report by Accenture and Vodafone  found that wireless technology can be used to:

• Reduce carbon emissions in European Union (EU) member countries by 113 metric tons per year in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).
• Cut energy cost by £43 billion (approximately $70 billion), with more than 80% of these savings attributable to machine-to-machine communications.

But when thinking about deploying wireless communications for smart grids, we ask policymakers to consider these two points:

• If net neutrality rules were applied to wireless, it is an open question regarding how a non-discrimination regulation would impact devices like smart meters or supervisory control and data acquisition (“SCADA”) system equipment. Further, if a provider or vendor devises an innovative smart grid communications technology or transmission algorithm to limit the impact of network congestion, would such a technology be permissible under new rules? If so, must the details be fully disclosed? It also is entirely plausible that certain communications in a smart grid solution will require prioritization. An overreaching network management policy may jeopardize the innovation for smart grid development and deployment.
• With the increasing demand for more spectrum, it would be inefficient to dedicate spectrum for smart grid-specific networks when commercial networks can and are already satisfying smart grid systems. 
  

In a Hillcon Valley blog post on Monday, Ruth Milkman, FCC's Wireless Bureau chief said, "There is tremendous agreement that wireless is vibrant and contributes to the economy. It’s a phenomenal set of services and applications."
 
We couldn't agree more. While we may be a bit biased, I think all of us have been impressed by some wireless app, device, technology, etc. As I mentioned in yesterday's post on our filing to the FCC on innovation and investment, this is an industry that is responsive to consumers and fiercely competes with one another for each customer. 
 
In CTIA's wireless competition filing to the FCC , we highlight numerous examples of how the wireless ecosystem (made up of carriers, infrastructure suppliers, device manufacturers, operating system providers, and applications developers) remains competitive at every level.
 
This means that consumers and businesses are benefiting from the lowest prices, highest minutes of use, most innovative services and devices, most robust mobile broadband networks, and least concentrated wireless market among our global competitors.
 
But this fiercely competitive state of the mobile industry was no accident: it emerged from long-standing, market-driven policies, embraced on a bipartisan basis, favoring flexibility over command-and-control and competition over economic regulation.
 
Finally, we also highlighted additional steps (starting on page 77) that the Commission can take to facilitate on-going competition and ensure that consumers will continue to reap tremendous benefits from the mobile wireless sector. 
 
After all, as John Donovan, AT&T’s CTO said in his keynote at CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment Show last week, “It’s a customer’s world; we’re just a part of it.”

To say CTIA's Regulatory Affairs team has been busy is certainly an understatement! Since September 29th, they've submitted nine filings to the FCC on various issues.
 
Over the next couple of weeks, we'll summarize the ones that have received the most attention and/or interest. Today's blog post is on the FCC's NOI wanting more information on the innovation and investment in the wireless industry  (GN Docket No. 09-157).
 
First, the filing discusses the industry's virtuous cycle, with innovation and investment happening within each of the five groups and putting pressure to the other groups to innovate and invest. It's a constant evolution with consumers as the winners.
 
But as readers of this blog know, the wireless industry needs more spectrum. When the FCC Chairman was at International CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2009®, he pledged his support and commitment to providing the industry with more spectrum and approving a tower siting shot clock. This is a vital key to the industry's ability to continue innovations whether it's new phones, new capabilities, new applications, faster Internet speeds, etc.
 
The virtuous cycle and spectrum needs are closely intertwined. By having network reliability, coverage, and capacity, carriers are able to compete and attract customers in the competitive industry. This also means carriers are constantly investing in their networks. In fact, over the past twenty years, wireless carriers committed more than $264 billion in capital expenditures -- a combined average carrier investment of more than $22.8 billion per year to expand and upgrade networks from 2001-2008.
 
In addition, we've seen an explosion of wireless making a positive impact on other industries such as health care management (mHealth), smart grids, mobile learning (mLearning), "green" innovative wireless technologies, etc.
 
While we have a tendency to focus on these "new" technologies that rely on wireless to make a difference, we frequently forget about the non-technical innovations. It's hard to believe it was only eleven years ago when the first "bucket" plan was offered. And now think about how the industry has evolved to now offer rollover minutes, family plans, nights and weekends, etc. Carriers also offer extended trial periods, detailed coverage maps, prorated early termination fees, prepaid plans, etc.
 
This is an industry that is responsive to consumers and fiercely competes with one another for each customer.
 
Finally, CTIA closed with some regulatory suggestions, including:

• Facilitating the timely deployment of wireless infrastructure by adopting CTIA’s petition on tower siting.
• Improving the process for identifying spectrum for future reallocation and, particularly the need for greater information, transparency and coordination between Federal and commercial entities in future relocations under the CSEA.
• Seeking input from the Technical Advisory Committee on technical issues.
• Taking steps to streamline equipment and special temporary authorizations.
• Exercising care to ensure that the Commission does not hamper efforts by the wireless industry to develop industry-wide standards for challenging issues.

I think the Regulatory team summed the wireless industry's innovation and investment best when they closed their summary by saying, "We are living in a period of intense innovation and investment in the mobile wireless communications marketplace. American consumers and businesses are reaping daily the innovation that results from a robust and competitive mobile ecosystem, and the FCC should take the necessary steps to ensure that the virtuous cycle of innovation and investment continues to advance."

Wireless technology can provide both traffic management systems & drivers with real-time data to better identify highway congestion & to ultimately save time, money & reduce emissions. Nokia's Quinn Jacobson talks about his company's efforts to help drivers & traffic specialists better handle our crowded highways. Take a listen.

To kick off the first day at International CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment 2009®, we released our Semi-Annual Wireless Industry Survey. 

While you can read the specifics about the survey, I thought I’d highlight a few interesting statistics that clearly demonstrate the wireless industry’s continued growth:

Wireless data service revenues for the first half of 2009 climbed to more than $19.4 billion—a 31% increase from the first half of 2008.

• There are more than 276 million wireless subscribers.
• More than 740 billion text messages were reported for the first half of 2009—breaking down to 4.1 billion messages per day— which is nearly double the amount of texts reported for the first half of 2008. 
• 1.1 trillion minutes were used in the first half of 2009—breaking down to 6.4 billion minutes-of-use per day.
• More than 246 million data-capable devices are in the hands of consumers today.  More than 40 million of these devices are Smartphones or wireless-enabled PDAs and more than 10 million are wireless-enabled laptops, notebooks or aircards.

This impressive industry growth wouldn’t be possible without the fiercely competitive and innovative wireless marketplace where companies continue to rise to the challenge to meet consumer demand. I’m looking forward to visiting our exhibitors this week to see this incredible innovation on display.

If you would like to learn more, please listen to our podcast with Dr. Robert Roche, CTIA’s VP of Research who elaborates on our mid-year survey's key findings & discusses the industry’s continued growth.

It’s been a busy time for us at CTIA this week with FCC filing deadlines, Hill activities, Distracted Driving Summit and of course, our International CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & Entertainment show next week.

But on Tuesday, we submitted a very important ex parte filing  to the FCC requesting more spectrum because, to put it simply, it is the backbone of our industry. 

It’s not something that most people think about, but it’s what allows the wireless industry to create and develop the great things that you and I take for granted everyday. As Steve said in his statement about the filing, spectrum drives the innovation and competition.

In our filing, this was the first time we had suggested a specific amount of spectrum to be identified and allocated. We said that the goal should be at least 800 MHz of additional spectrum over the next six years. We also requested policymakers to meet short-term spectrum needs by pairing and allocating readily-available spectrum.
 
To read the filing, please click here.

Here are a few of the media stories on our filing:

• mobihealthnews, CTIA to FCC: More spectrum for mHealth
• WIRED, Wireless group tells FCC: Show us the spectrum
• Broadcasting & Cable, CTIA wants more spectrum
• WirelessWeek, CTIA Petitions FCC for More Spectrum
• mocoNews.net, CTIA To FCC: Without More Wireless Spectrum, ‘Demand May Outpace Supply’
  

I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of snopes.com, but it’s a Web site that takes urban legends and either proves they’re true or debunks them.  

One urban legend that I seem to keep hearing about the wireless industry that I wanted to debunk is the rumor about the speed that U.S. consumers have versus the rest of the world. 

Without getting too complex, the majority of U.S. consumers use either GSM or CDMA technology.  Examples of GSM carriers are AT&T and T-Mobile while CDMA carriers are Verizon Wireless and Sprint.  

3G GSM is called High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA).   

According to a July 2009 release from the GSM Association, the U.S. has 32 million HSPA subscribers out of the 131 million worldwide. The U.S has 7% of all GSM subscribers in the world but has 23% of all HSPA subscribers in the world. 

The 3G CDMA technology is called Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO).   

According to Informa Telecoms & Media Group’s June 2009 report on World Cellular Information Service (WCIS), the U.S. has 63.1 million EV-DO  subscribers out of 106.78 million worldwide. The U.S. has 23% of all CDMA subscribers yet has 59% of EV-DO subscribers in the world.    

And while we have the most 3G subscribers in the world, we are also leading in the evolution to 4G. Verizon Wireless has announced that they'll be launching Long Term Evolution (LTE) in up to 30 markets by 2010 while Clearwire/Sprint's WiMax service is available now in 4 cities and another 10 cities by September 2009. AT&T has also announced their HSPA network upgrades here. 

I hope this clarifies and finally puts to rest the urban legend about the wireless technology speeds in the U.S. versus the rest of the world.