Cellular South bolts CTIA, says organization favors the big boys
By Chris Ziegler 
posted January 25th 2010 9:02PM
posted January 25th 2010 9:02PM
Years of bad blood between the States' rural carriers and the nationals -- particularly over roaming agreements -- looks like it's on the verge of boiling over with Cellular South firing one of the most damning volleys so far: withdrawal from the CTIA. For the record, the CTIA is the industry association that's supposed to be looking after all carriers' interests in Congress (it should come as no surprise that they're based in Washington, DC), but there are a few key issues where the little guys and the Big Four don't necessarily see eye to eye -- roaming spats aside, there are outstanding issues of handset exclusivity and spectrum allocation. Ultimately, it's unclear how going rogue is going to benefit an 800,000-strong player like Cellular South, but if this kicks off a domino-like exodus, maybe we'll see some interesting policy changes.
+1 for going rogue!
Heck yes!!! The more of this the better as far as the consumer is concerned. Get rid of exclusivity and we're close to purchasing phones completely separate from plans. If that happens, then you won't see inflated plan prices to recoup supposed subsidy costs. Then, we just might see contracts not be required.
I agree 100%. This should have been done by all smaller carriers. Maybe something good can come of this.