Cellular South bolts CTIA, says organization favors the big boys
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.
