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You Axed the Wireless Tax!
On March 11, after weeks of getting bombarded by thousands of letters, phone calls, and e-mails from Oklahoma consumers, the Commission unanimously voted to postpone consideration of the statewide toll-free calling plan. The vote effectively “Axes the Wireless Tax” for now. MCA supporters who contacted the Commission deserve full credit for helping the Commissioners realize the proposal needed to be more carefully examined. Congratulations for making sure your voices were heard!
Axe the Wireless Tax Campaign Timeline
In mid January, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC), the state agency tasked with regulating utilities across the state, began a process to study whether a statewide toll-free calling area would be a good idea.
After the process began, The Oklahoman ran an article about the proposal that looked at arguments both for and against the plan. The next day, the Tulsa World ran an editorial which pointed out that the OCC’s “toll-free” plan would not really be free – after all, someone would have to pay for it, right?
Soon after, The Oklahoman reported what the Tulsa World editorial writers had already guessed – that the plan would cost consumers roughly $2.00 per month per line in additional fees. This new fee would be for ALL phone lines, regardless of whether they are landlines, cellular lines, or Internet phone lines. The $2.00 figure was only an initial estimate from the OCC staff, which meant the additional monthly fees could end up being even higher.
Well, it didn’t take long for the Commission staff to revise their initial estimate. On February 22nd, Commission staff released a supplemental economic analysis which showed a new estimate of $3.19 per month per line, which was quickly reported by The Oklahoman.
The media initially reported that the OCC had until April 1st to send their proposal to the state legislature. Once it became clear that the OCC plan was a serious possibility, opinions started rolling in about whether statewide toll-free calling made sense for Oklahoma consumers.
Leading off those opinions was the Hughes County Times in Wetumka, (PDF file), and it wasn’t good news for the OCC’s plan.
On February 19th, Mid-American Communications Alliance filed an official comment with the Commission opposing the plan and began a statewide grassroots effort to convince the OCC to scrap the proposal.
On February 24th, the Tulsa World published an editorial publicly opposing the Commission plan, calling the proposal a “waste of time” and “a bad deal for most telephone users in Oklahoma.”
On February 25th, the Oologah Lake Leader published an editorial in opposition of the OCC proposal, (PDF file) calling the plan “a child of Satan that should be strangled in its cradle before it can get any bigger and cause Oklahoma irreparable harm.”
On February 26th, The Oklahoman, the state’s largest newspaper, published an editorial opposing a statewide toll-free calling plan and urging the Commission to “hang up on this idea.”
On March 4th, The Oklahoman reported that debate surrounding the OCC proposal was raging and that there were questions about whether the Commission even had the legal jurisdiction to implement the plan.
On March 5th, the Tulsa World published a letter to the editor from MCA’s Executive Director urging the Commission to scrap the toll-free calling plan.
On March 11, after weeks of being inundated by thousands of letters, phone calls, and e-mails from MCA supporters and other Oklahoma consumers, the Commission unanimously voted to postpone consideration of the statewide toll-free calling plan. The vote effectively “Axed the Wireless Tax,” putting the brakes on a rushed and ill-conceived proposal.
Axe the Wireless Tax
A Better Life With Wireless Forum in Edmond, OK
On May 29th, a panel of national, state, and local technology experts led an educational seminar at Oklahoma Christian University to discuss how wireless technology is changing lives throughout Oklahoma and the rest of the world.
The seminar, hosted by the Mid-American Communications Alliance and co-sponsored by the Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce and Oklahoma Christian University, showcased the increasingly important nature of wireless technology in our lives and how Oklahoma is leading the nation in wireless technology adoption.
Click here for more information and photos from the event, or click here to watch a video of the event on MCA’s YouTube channel.
Also, be sure to watch this video clip from the local FOX affiliate in Oklahoma City about Oklahoma Christian’s mobile InTouch application that was highlighted at MCA’s wireless event.
Check out video from MCA's Oklahoma Wireless Event
Click here to watch the FOX 25 video on the InTouch application that is referenced in the video.
Experts Applaud Oklahoma’s Wireless Growth
Check out Tuesday’s Edmond Sun which had a front page article highlighting MCA’s recent wireless event at Oklahoma Christian University.
Wireless Growth Impressive - Oklahoma City Oklahoman Op-Ed
The Oklahoman newspaper in Oklahoma City ran an opinion piece by Jonathan Spalter in today’s paper about wireless technology in Oklahoma. Jonathan, Chairman of Mobile Future, will be a featured speaker at the “Better Life With Wireless” forum this Friday at Oklahoma Christian University. The forum is sponsored by MCA, the Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce, and Oklahoma Christian.
Click the link above to read what Jonathan had to say.
Cell Phone-Only Households Continue to Rise
A study released on March 11, 2009 by the National Center for Health Statistics, shows that Oklahoma leads the nation in cell phone-only households with 26.2% of all households using only a mobile phone. Here’s how other the MCA states placed:
Arkansas – 4th with 22.6% of households
Kansas – Tied for 18th with 16.8% of households
Missouri – 41st with 9.9% of households
Read the Associated Press report here
Read the entire NCHS study here
Online advertising networks are tracking consumers’ online activity to market to them with highly-targeted ads. This process, known as “behavioral advertising,” is raising questions about privacy and consumers’ control over their own information, according to the Mid-American Communications Alliance (MCA), which hosted a panel of national privacy experts at the University of Oklahoma on December 2, 2008.
The luncheon was hosted as privacy issues have been increasingly elevated at the national level, according to Todd Abrajano, executive director of MCA. In September 2008, the U.S. Senate held hearings on behavioral advertising, and in November the Washington Post reported, “President-elect Barack Obama has cited privacy as one of the technology issues his administration would address, setting the stage for a debate over standards for online publishers and advertisers.”
“Our goal for the event was to examine the issues surrounding online privacy and to explore consumer-friendly policies that provide greater transparency and more individual control of personal information,” said Abrajano.
“The protection of consumers’ personal information should be paramount,” said Abrajano. While some consumers are comfortable with websites requiring certain information to conduct business transactions or make their online experience more rewarding, a majority of consumers are not as willing to let companies monitor their e-mail or keep track of what websites they visit in order to target them with advertising.”
Consumers said as much in two studies released in 2008, one published by Consumer Reports and the other conducted by TRUSTe .
With an introduction by Andrew Coats, Dean of the OU College of Law, panelists included Christopher Wolf, co-founder of the Future of Privacy Forum and chair of the Privacy and Data Security Practice Group for Proskauer Rose LLP; Fred Ramos, owner of information security company RGF Inc. and former executive director of the State Hispanic Chamber of Oklahoma; and Keith Epstein, Associate General Counsel for AT&T.
Telecom Regulators from 15 States to Meet in OKC in June
The Tulsa World had an interesting piece on the 2008 Mid-America Regulatory Conference that will be held from June 14-18 in Oklahoma City. More information about the conference can be found at www.marc2008ok.com
These are the state regulators that deal with utilities including cable and telephone companies that provide local and long distance phone service, wireless phone service, and television and internet services.
As pointed out in the newpaper article, some notable names in the communications industry will be on hand to comment on the state of the industry, including Randall Stephenson, Chairman and CEO of AT&T, and executives from Embarq, Sprint/Nextel, Quest, Cox Communications, and XO Communications. Curt Stamp, president of the Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance is also scheduled to speak.
According to the conference schedule, there will be a session on June 18 entitled “Telecommunications Wrap-Up – ETC: what is the right number and its impact on USF?”
An “ETC” is an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier and USF is an acronym for Universal Service Fund. Click here for a good primer from the Kansas Corporation Commission on what ETC’s are all about and their connection to USF’s . These issues are especially important for the states represented by the Mid-American Communications Alliance.
