A Global Industry

Much was made of the tech and telecom bills in Congress, inside our industry and out, in the past few weeks as Congress approached recess amid furious legislating. I even praised one of those very bills last week. But if the current U.S. congressional recess has anyone thinking there are no telecom policy storms developing in other countries, think again. The examples from this week alone tell a very different story.

Vendors of Wi-Fi, RFID and other unlicensed spectrum devices won a big victory in Japan last week as the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) ruled against imposing the same Radio Utilization Fee on unlicensed spectrum that is normally applied to its licensed counterpart. The fee, used to manage developing technologies that use spectrum in Japan, would have cost TIA members hundreds of thousands of dollars, especially in a country where unlicensed spectrum plays a crucial role in technologies ranging from subway cards to video shops and pharmacies. TIA and other groups rallied to defeat the proposal by convincing MIC of the profound difference between business models built around the two spectrum types.

The United States is holding Bilateral Dialogues on ICT trade issues Vietnam, Brazil and of course India.  The "Bilats," as they're called, are in various stages, and TIA has been front and center on all three, with member companies attending summits and informing the U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR) Office of their key issues.  TIA even served as co-chair for U.S.-India telecom working group and has become increasingly involved with next month's talks in Vietnam.

And in Europe, TIA is engaged with the World Trade Organization’s information technology agreement (ITA), which eliminates tariffs on most telecom equipment products. European Union (EU) authorities continue to impose duties on a number of ITA-covered products under the guise of technological convergence. Recently the EU reclassified another product to a non ITA category: PDAs (and possibly cell phones) with GPS receivers. TIA is analyzing the product to see whether the EU’s reclassification directly affects any of our members, but the trend is alarming. TIA continues to encourage the USTR and is working closely with the High Tech Trade Coalition (HTTC) in its advocacy efforts to guide the EU toward the elimination of tariffs.

International issues will also be key when Congress returns.  Four major free trade agreements (FTAs) loom large as most major sectors, especially high tech, push for the reduction of trade barriers. The United States has FTAs on the table with Korea, Peru, Panama and Columbia, all waiting for congressional approval.  While some doubt Congress's committment to getting U.S. products into foreign markets – again especially in the ICT sector – TIA remains committed to free commerce, and I think we have the votes on our side.

The ubiquity of technology and telecommunications issues in the global policy arena belie the strength and growth of our industry worldwide. It's inevitable that as broadband and wireless connect more and more people, all governments will be in a position to help – or hurt –- deployment of networks for all their people. TIA is committed to representing its members to assure that the greatest number of people around the world have the most choice and greatest opportunity in how they communicate.

Thank you,
Grant Seiffert
TIA President
Telecommunications Industry Association