FCC Record, Volume 13, No. 12, Pages 7754 to 8408, Supplement Page: 8,091

                                
Federal Communications Commission

FCC 98-27

balance of these interests that Congress expressly directed, as explained in the Conference
Agreement.44
40.    We also reject U S WEST's claims, in support of the two category approach,
that Congress' failure to mention CMRS in the legislative history suggests that it did not view
CMRS as a separate service offering,145 but rather that CMRS is more appropriately treated as
a technology or functionality of both local and long distance telecommunications service.'46
We do not find Congress' silence in conneetion-with CMRS as dispositive, and reject the....
notion that CMRS is not a separate service offering. Indeed, as the Commission recently
recognized in its Second Annual CMRS Competition Report,'47 although CMRS offerings are
increasingly becoming substitutes for each other in the public's perception,148 and may
someday directly compete with wireline service, "wireless services do not yet approach the
ubiquity of wireline telephone service. "'49 Moreover, we believe that the two category
approach would not protect sufficiently privacy and competitive concerns, and would thereby
violate the statutory intent expressly set forth in the legislative history. As Arch, Frontier,
'a  Joint Explanatory Statement at 205, supra note 2. As discussed supra 1 35, although the discrete
category approach is also protective of privacy and competitive interests, as several parties suggest, see, e.g.,
CFA Comments at 4: CPSR Reply at 6-7; NTIA Further Reply at 10, 12, 13: Texas Commission Comments at
7-8: we do n6t believe it is the only, or most appropriate balance. Unlike the total service approach, it fails to
factor reasonable considerations of convenience and benefit to the customer that accompany permitting carriers to
use CPNI for certain marketing purposes within the existing service relationship.
'45 U S WEST Comments at 10, 12.
hi. at 13.
147 Annual Report and Analysis of Competitive Market Condlitions with Respect to Commercial Mobile
Senrices. Second Report. FCC 97-75 (rel. March 25. 1997) (Second Annual CMRS Competition Report).
'' Id. The report acknowledged that. while mobile telecommunications initially consisted primarily of
discrete services, inter-service competition has increased dramatically, particularly with respect to cellular, PCS,
paging and interconnected SMR.
fr Id. at 53. On the other hand, because CMRS offerings are viewed as substitutes of each other, we
decline to designate two separate categories for narrowband CMRS (e.g., paging and narrowband PCS) and
broadband CMRS (e.g., cellular, SMR, broadband PCS). as Arch proposes. Arch Comments at 6. Rather, we
agree with AirTouch. PageNet and PCIA that CMRS should be viewed in its entirety. AirTouch Comments at 2
n.2: PageNet Comments at 2-3; PCIA Comments at 3-4. We likewise reject, as unsupported,.U S WEST's
suggestion that' if we do not let all CMRS float, we should at least let paging and broadband PCS float because
paging is "used in" the provision of a telecommunications service under 222(c)(l)(B), and broadband PCS is a
form of exchange access that offers functionalities like wireline service. U S WEST Comments at 14.

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