On January 23rd, RTG along with Bright House, Cincinnati Bell, Leap Wireless, MetroPCS, NTCA, RCA and U.S. Cellular, filed an intervenor’s brief in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. Virtually the entire wireless industry—that is, every carrier but Verizon and AT&T—strongly supports the Order, as do leading consumer groups and other public interest organizations. The isolated opposition of Verizon and AT&T is not surprising, given that the Order arose in response to their dominant positions and their exercise of market power to deny rural, small, and mid-sized carriers access to data roaming services that are essential to competition.

Verizon and Comcast have announced that the SpectrumCo owners and Verizon have “entered into several agreements, providing for the sale of various products and services.” Through these agreements, the companies “will become agents to sell one another’s products and, over time, the cable companies will have the option of selling Verizon Wireless’ service on a wholesale basis. Additionally, the cable companies and Verizon Wireless have formed an innovation technology joint venture for the development of technology to better integrate wireline and wireless products and services.” Accordingly, we believe that the applications in this proceeding can only be fairly reviewed in the entirety of the proposed transactions.

Others signing the letter along with RTG include:

• C Spire Wireless
• Computer & Communications Industry Association
• Consumer Federation of America
• DIRECTV
• Free Press
• Media Access Project
• New America Foundation
• NTELOS Holdings Corp.
• Public Knowledge
• Rural Cellular Association
• Rural Telecommunications Group, Inc.
• Sprint Nextel Corporation
• T-Mobile USA, Inc.

Following this request, Verizon, SpectrumCo and Cox have agreed to make the agreements available under the terms of an FCC protective order.

The Rural Telecommunications Group (RTG), in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking input on what rules to adopt as part of Phase II of its Mobility Fund, has filed comments with the FCC that promote the deployment of new mobile broadband services to rural markets while still protecting rural consumers who receive crucial voice and data coverage today.

“More than anything else, the Commission should make sure that in its quest to push rural 4G service with Phase II funding it does not inadvertently allow whatever level of mobile voice and data service is in rural markets today to deteriorate,” said Carri Bennet, RTG’s General Counsel. “Existing rural services should not be harmed in any way and rural consumers currently receiving service should be protected at all costs.”

As part of its recommendations to the Commission, RTG encourages the FCC to adopt a rule that would prohibit carriers from blocking their customers from accessing the networks of other carriers when such access covers area unserved by the blocking carrier. A more open roaming environment will make rural carriers less dependent on Mobility Fund support and allow customers of nationwide carriers to access voice and data services in rural markets that they are currently prevented from accessing by some of the largest carriers.

RTG also recommends that the FCC:

• Determine that any provider offering 3G or better service at the time of a Mobility Fund Phase II auction in an area for which it receives Mobility Fund Phase I support is not considered an unsubsidized carrier.
• Establish a date by which it will: (1) clarify whether each Tier I carrier will be classified as subsidized or unsubsidized; and (2) identify areas of eligibility based on whether there is 4G coverage.
• Create a process to ensure that American Roamer data is both current and accurate, and if it is not, allow carriers to challenge the coverage designation.
• Adopt the same road miles standard in both Phase I and Phase II and consider local and unpaved roads, private roads and vehicular trails when calculating linear road miles.
• Consider grouping areas that lack 2G coverage or any form of basic mobile service in an auction separate and apart from those areas in which carriers are seeking to upgrade from 2G, 2.5G and 3G services to 4G services.
• Grant carriers bidding credits for meeting additional criteria that are deemed in the public interest such as meeting the definition of small business and demonstrating rural coverage to low population density areas.

To maintain integrity in the process and to comply with the law, RTG states that only carriers with an ETC designation should be eligible for Mobility Fund support. Finally, RTG suggests that the FCC refrain from adopting any final rulemaking on Phase II support until Phase I has been completed so that the industry as a whole can take any “lessons learned” from the Phase I process and apply those to Phase II.

RTG remains optimistic that the Commission’s Phase I and Phase II Mobility Funds will be effective tools to promote rural mobile broadband while still protecting rural consumers who rely on rural carriers to provide them with voice and data services today in adverse economic and geographical conditions.

About RTG – Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Rural Telecommunications Group, Inc. (RTG) is a trade association representing rural wireless carriers who each serve less than 100,000 subscribers. RTG’s members have joined together to speed delivery of new, efficient and innovative telecommunications technologies to remote and underserved communities. ruraltelecomgroup.org @RTGwireless

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Planet Cellular is a global provider of new wireless handsets and accessories. Planet Cellular’s Joe Reynolds is already actively engaging with RTG and will assist in the development and growth of the Wireless Devices Council.

Judge Huvelle: AT&T “Flatly wrong on the law”

The Rural Telecommunications Group (RTG) supports the decision by the Department of Justice to file a motion next week to either stay or dismiss its lawsuit to block AT&T’s takeover of T-Mobile and sympathizes with Federal Judge Ellen Huvelle’s opinion that AT&T is “presumptuous” to think it can stick to an unrealistic timeline and salvage this anticompetitive deal. At a court hearing earlier today, Judge Huvelle stated that she was “shocked” by AT&T’s pleadings and dismissed AT&T’s argument that “nothing has changed” in the case despite its decision to pull its FCC applications.

“AT&T was being too clever by half when it pulled its FCC applications,” said Carri Bennet, RTG’s General Counsel. “Judge Huvelle saw through this tactic and rightfully spotlighted the utter waste of time and taxpayer dollars that AT&T is propagating by it trying to game the federal court case while stubbornly ignoring its failed FCC bid for approval. Everyone in the universe seems to know this deal is dead except for AT&T and yet it still is trying to tilt at windmills. It’s time AT&T rode off into the sunset.”

About RTG – Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Rural Telecommunications Group, Inc. (RTG) is a trade association representing rural wireless carriers who each serve less than 100,000 subscribers. RTG’s members have joined together to speed delivery of new, efficient and innovative telecommunications technologies to remote and underserved communities. ruraltelecomgroup.org @RTGwireless

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ORLANDO, FL, December 6, 2011—ClearSky Mobile Media, Inc., a leading provider of mobile data services to regional wireless carriers, today announced its acquisition of wireless data service provider, GetLisa Information Services, Inc. The addition of more than 30 new clients, along with 50 existing clients, brings ClearSky’s total customer base to over 80 wireless carriers, serving more than 8 million subscribers.

The purchase of GetLisa solidifies ClearSky’s position as the leader in the regional wireless carrier market by driving innovation, reliability and efficiency, and allowing the company to:

• Increase its scale to operate more efficiently and provide a broader range of services.
• Facilitate the addition of a geographically redundant data center.
• Expand coverage hours for customer support.
• Offer premium and standard rate SMS shortcode services (including local shortcode programs) with an industry-leading roster of SMS aggregator partnerships.
• Augment its existing team of seasoned professionals by adding talented and experienced personnel.

“We look forward to taking advantage of our combined strength to further improve the range and quality of ClearSky services,” said Bill Poellmitz, President and CEO of ClearSky. “We consider the purchase of GetLisa to be an important strategic element of our continued growth as the leading provider of data services for regional wireless carriers.”

“Our products and services are highly complementary, so combining the two companies was a logical step,” said George Woodward, CEO of GetLisa Information Services. “This acquisition promotes cross-selling of products to GetLisa customers and vice versa, thereby enhancing ClearSky’s broad service offering and improving satisfaction across our combined customer base.”

About ClearSky

For more than a decade, ClearSky Mobile Media has been a leader in providing mobile data solutions for regional wireless carriers, enabling them to compete effectively with national carriers such as AT&T, Sprint and Verizon. ClearSky’s powerful array of products and services include Multi-Generation Short Messaging Service (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and mobile Internet gateway, along with carrier-branded content portals. Headquartered in Orlando, ClearSky now provides mobile data services to more than 80 wireless operators serving 8 million subscribers across the Americas. For more information, visit www.csky.com.

About GetLisa

Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, GetLisa Information Services is a leading provider of wireless data services in North America. Its carrier customers include GSM and CDMA, post-pay, pre-pay and advance-pay operators who partner with GetLisa for its infrastructure messaging solutions, rich content, ad-serving and reporting platforms, SMS shortcode services, and advanced MicroLocal™ applications that can help carriers differentiate themselves from their competition.

Media Contact

Nichole White
Marketing Communications Specialist
ClearSky Mobile Media, Inc.
407.749.8886
nwhite@csky.com

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Today, the Rural Telecommunications Group (RTG) requested that the FCC withhold taking any action on the AT&T/Qualcomm applications pending final resolution of the AT&T/T-Mobile transaction. Earlier this year RTG and other parties filed a Joint Motion to Consolidate the AT&T/T-Mobile and AT&T/Qualcomm transactions. In an August 8, 2011 letter to AT&T and Qualcomm, the Commission stated that the two proposed transactions “raise a number of related issues, including, but not limited to, questions regarding AT&T’s aggregation of spectrum throughout the nation, particularly in overlapping areas” and that “the best way to determine whether either or both of the proposed transactions serve the public interest is to consider them in a coordinated manner.” Yesterday, the Commission released an Order allowing AT&T and T-Mobile to withdraw their applications, without prejudice, but still permitting those parties to re-file applications for the same transaction at a later time and in the same docket. RTG believes that these two proposed transactions are inextricably tied together, and that so long as the AT&T/T-Mobile deal remains open, no action should be taken by the FCC on the AT&T/Qualcomm transaction.

“The Commission has already stressed to both AT&T and Qualcomm that a coordinated review of their proposed deal with the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile deal is the ‘best way’ to proceed. So long as AT&T doggedly pursues a takeover of T-Mobile, the Commission needs to put the Qualcomm transaction on ice given the vast amounts of nationwide spectrum involved in each transaction,” said Carri Bennet, RTG’s General Counsel.

About RTG – Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Rural Telecommunications Group, Inc. (RTG) is a trade association representing rural wireless carriers who each serve less than 100,000 subscribers. RTG’s members have joined together to speed delivery of new, efficient and innovative telecommunications technologies to remote and underserved communities. ruraltelecomgroup.org @RTGwireless

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“After spending untold millions of dollars trying to convince regulators and consumers that the proposed takeover of T-Mobile is in the public interest, AT&T has failed. The FCC’s report concludes (as RTG surmised from the very beginning) that this transaction is not in the public interest. No amount of lipstick on this pig of a deal is going to change the fact that AT&T has been trying to eliminate a robust competitor,” said Carri Bennet, RTG’s General Counsel. “The FCC has spent over 8 months analyzing why this deal is terrible to consumers and it is a prudent decision by Chairman Genachowski that the fruits of that labor be shared with Judge Huvelle who is presiding over the antitrust cases.”

About RTG – Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Rural Telecommunications Group, Inc. (RTG) is a trade association representing rural wireless carriers who each serve less than 100,000 subscribers. RTG’s members have joined together to speed delivery of new, efficient and innovative telecommunications technologies to remote and underserved communities. ruraltelecomgroup.org @RTGwireless

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