Telecommunications

CCIA's Mission

CCIA straddles the two worlds of telecom and IT. Our association is committed to vigorous competition in every market and submarket of our industry. CCIA supports open interfaces and non-discriminatory access to networks. We believe that no one company should dominate any network.

CCIA's Policy Objectives

Most homes in the United States have a traditional phone line and a coaxial TV cable connection. Once distinct and limited, these wires now offer a wide range of competing services. Now cable companies offer phone service, phone companies offer television, and they both offer Internet access. Led by the migration of legacy technologies to IP networks, technological "convergence" is blurring the line between these once distinct mediums and allowing for expanded voice, data, and video offerings from wireline carriers. Wireless services are also quickly evolving and beginning to compete with wireline carriers on their home turf. However, the largest two wireless carriers are also the largest two wireline telecommunications providers. The blurring of the line between traditional telephone service and Internet technology is forcing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and lawmakers to reexamine traditional telecommunications policies and definitions.

CCIA and its members support the dynamic change that characterizes the current telecommunications arena. Unfortunately, entrenched incumbents who feel their existing or planned business models threatened often resist change and the increased competition it will bring. To realize the benefits of convergence, lawmakers and government agencies must update our nation's policies to comport with the new telecom realities, while reducing barriers to entry and striving to foster free and open markets.

Currently, the Universal Service Fund (USF) is woefully outdated and does not support "advanced telecommunications services," such as broadband deployment in rural areas, as called for by the Telecom Act of 1996. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a promising technology that is poised to transform the voice communications marketplace if it is not regulated into extinction. Decades old spectrum management policies threaten to drastically limit the awesome mobile telecommunications potential of our airwaves. It is against this backdrop that policy makers must now act. Congress and federal agencies must work quickly to enact policies that will increase connectivity for all Americans and preserve U.S. competitiveness and restore leadership in telecommunications.