Is the cell phone industry united on a single way to fix interference problems?
No. This is a difficult battle we’re waging; it’s against one of our own prized members, Nextel Communications. I hate getting involved in issues like this. The CTIA’s position is we believe we can resolve the public safety interference differently from Nextel’s own proposal. Have you been putting pressure on Nextel to drop its competing proposal for ending the interference? We don’t work that way. Will carriers, especially in rural areas, meet the federal mandate for locating every caller that dials 911? The next deadline is the end of 2005, and we’re going to see delays again, I believe. But this 911 issue is a three-legged stool. The 911 call centers and police departments are also involved here, and unlike cell phone service providers, there’s no regulatory group holding their feet to the fire. The technology won’t work if these other two groups aren’t ready. My prognosis for the other two groups? Cell phone service providers have made more progress. Is it fair to say that wireless
