This fall’s COMPTEL PLUS Convention & Expo took place at an auspicious time: Wall Street was melting down, Congress had just passed the $700 billion bailout bill and the presidential election, probably the most important in recent history, was just around the corner. A perfect storm of economic and regulatory change had members even more tuned in to COMPTEL’s education sessions and show floor deals as the industry faced unavoidable change.
Perhaps the most telling moment in Orlando came when keynote speaker, Rep. Chip Pickering, R-Miss., denounced his party’s recent treatment of telecom policy. Pickering, who helped write the 1996 Telecom Act that presidential contender Sen. John McCain voted to reject, said the federal government started eroding competition principles as of 2001. Telecom committee leaders, the FCC and the Bush administration went from advocating competition to supporting “consolidation, concentration, elimination of competition,” he said.
Added Pickering: “I can say as a Republican, I am not proud of that change in policy and emphasis because I think it is dangerous, and I think it’s against the core beliefs and values from Teddy Roosevelt, who wanted to break up trust so that we would have a more diverse economy.”
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| Flanked by COMPTEL Chairman Sherm Henderson and CEO Jerry James, Molly Dorsey with show sponsor Excel Telecommunications cuts the ribbon at the show floor’s opening night. |
Shifting regulatory policy dominated much of COMPTEL members’ discussions. Prominent topics included intercarrier compensation/Universal Service Fund reform, forbearance petitions, net neutrality and the future of the telecom industry, post-election.
COMPTEL attendees also got to dive into important business issues such as planning disaster preparedness and recovery, connecting to the last mile by partnering with cable operators, and preventing patent litigation.
On the show floor, the mood felt more subdued than usual. Some exhibitors reported feeling skittish about Wall Street’s ups and downs, and the possible effects on their businesses. Many said they hadn’t yet been impacted by the economic turmoil but were bracing for pricing pressures and fewer customer orders. Still other COMPTEL members said a down economy actually was helping their companies grow. For example, a number of investor firms were demanding more bandwidth because trading in near-instant time has grown more crucial as the market has failed.
But some CLECs focused on the SMB sector — and who asked not to be named — said they fear users will turn off lines due to downsizing. They also expressed concern that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin will push through his numbers-based USF proposal, a plan that would increase the fees CLECs charge business users. Those customers generally pay for dozens of lines, so such a shift in USF contributions would burden already strained budgets, CLECs said, and lead to cutbacks.
Still, COMPTEL leaders were upbeat.
“Change brings out creativity,” said Jerry James, COMPTEL CEO.
Henderson agreed. The fluctuating market “means opportunities in communications,” he said.
COMPTEL reported attendance of more than 2,100.
