Companies and Associations Join Together To Push For Fair and Reasonable Wireless Roaming Practices

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A group of companies and trade organizations representing providers of wireless services announced today that they have formed the Alliance for Fair Roaming Access to petition Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to address anticompetitive and discriminatory roaming practices within the industry.

Alliance members are promoting fair and robust competition in wireless communications and are asking the FCC to clarify that all wireless carriers are obligated to enter into automatic roaming agreements that are reasonable and nondiscriminatory.

These anti-competitive practices in the industry, if left unchecked by the FCC, threaten the quality, coverage and price structure of wireless services available to customers, particularly low-income, minority and underserved customers served by small, rural and regional carriers.

Consolidation in the wireless industry has reduced the number of roaming partners for small, rural and regional home carriers, and as a result, smaller carriers are frequently forced to purchase roaming services for their customers at unjustifiable high roaming rates. Some carriers are also restricting roaming to basic voice service and do not permit roaming for newer data services. The high wholesale charges smaller carriers are forced to pay have a disproportionate and negative impact on low-income, minority and rural consumers who often rely on small, rural and regional carriers for service.

While certain segments of wireless service are competitive, the current environment for automatic roaming services is not. Some carriers even refuse to provide roaming for new services such as e-mail. These types of predatory roaming practices established by large carriers stifle consumer choice, suppress competition and hurt the industry overall.

Customers who need access to roaming and sometimes can least afford to pay higher rates for wireless phone service deserve to have access to a full menu of wireless services at reasonable rates.

The FCC has acknowledged that issues exist with respect to roaming practices in the wireless telecommunications industry. Seven years ago, the FCC asked the public for input on numerous roaming issues. The FCC solicited public comments again in 2005. Recently, the FCC began to consider the issues.

The mission of the Alliance is to ensure that customers have telecommunications access whenever and wherever they travel throughout the US. Members of the alliance are noted below:

Cricket Communications

Cricket is a simple, affordable wireless service offering consumers and local businesses a flat-rate unlimited service. Designed for customers whose basic and advanced wireless needs have not been met by traditional communications companies, Cricket is the pioneer of unlimited services with no long-term commitments or credit checks required. www.mycricket.com

LCW Wireless, LLC

LCW Wireless, LLC is joint venture between Leap Wireless International, Inc., CSM Wireless LLC, and WLPCS Management providing Cricket wireless service in Oregon markets including Portland, Salem, and Eugene and Washington markets including Vancouver.

National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA)

Representing more than 570 locally owned and controlled telecommunications cooperatives and commercial companies throughout rural and small-town America, including 3 million subscribers across 44 states. www.ntca.org

Rural Telecommunications Group (RTG)

RTG membership represents 350,000 rural subscribers; representing rural wireless carriers who serve less than 100,000 subscribers. RTG’s members have joined together to speed delivery of new, efficient, and innovative telecommunications technologies to the populations of remote and underserved sections of the country. www.ruraltelecomgroup.org

SouthernLINC Wireless

SouthernLINC Wireless, a Southern Company (NYSE: SO), is an Atlanta-based regional wireless carrier covering the major metro and rural areas in Alabama, Georgia, southeastern Mississippi and northwest Florida. SouthernLINC Wireless bundles multiple communication options into one phone including push to talk, cellular service, text messaging, wireless Internet access and wireless data. More information about SouthernLINC Wireless can be obtained by calling 1-800-818-LINC (5462) or visiting the SouthernLINC Wireless Web site at www.southernlinc.com.

Mobi PCS

Mobi PCS is the only locally operated wireless network in the Hawaii. Owned by both investors and employees, Mobi revolutionized the state’s wireless market in January 2006 with the launch of the island of Oahu’s first-ever flat-rate, unlimited cellular service. Utilizing its own 3G CDMA network providing island-wide coverage, Mobi PCS is Hawaii’s only wireless provider to offer unlimited local, long distance and Web-access wireless calling plans to anywhere in the U.S. with no contracts, overage charges, credit checks or limits on inter-carrier calls. www.mobipcs.com

Organization for Promotion & Advancement of Small Telecommunication Companies (OPASTCO)

OPASTCO is a national trade association representing more than 550 small, independently owned local exchange carriers (LECs) and their affiliate telecommunications companies. Primarily serving rural areas of the United States and Canada, these commercial telephone companies and cooperatives range in size from fewer than 100 to as many as 100,000 access lines and collectively serve more than 2.5 million customers. www.opastco.org

Cleveland Unlimited, Inc.

Cleveland Unlimited, Inc. is a privately held company with headquarters in Independence, Ohio. Its Revol wireless service is a cutting edge brand aimed at enhancing today’s mobile lifestyle by offering simple, affordable mobile service to its customers that includes unlimited voice service and unlimited text and picture messaging over a high quality, all digital wireless network for a flat rate without requiring long-term contracts. The wireless service launched in Cleveland and Akron, Ohio in June 2005. Since then, Revol has increased its service areas to include Dayton and Toledo, Ohio, as well as Pittsburgh, PA. As of February 2006, Revol service is available in Youngstown, Canton and Columbus, Ohio and Indianapolis, Ind. For more information on Revol, please visit www.revol.us.

To learn more visit the Alliance’s website at www.allianceforfairroamingaccess.com.