Federal Communications Commission FCC 10-81 STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER MICHAEL J. COPPS, APPROVING Re: Implementation of Section 6002(b) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, Annual Report and Analysis of Competitive Market Conditions with Respect to Mobile Wireless, including Commercial Mobile Services, WT Docket No. 09-66. I welcome the Mobile Wireless Competition Report before us today. It is far-and-away the most informed and informative Competition Report that we have seen over the years. For the first time in my nine years at the Commission, I find the kind of comprehensive and granular analysis that I have been looking for since I got here. I commend the Bureau staff for the hard work that went into producing a truly worthy report to Congress on the state of competition in our commercial mobile services markets. This competition analysis comports with the expert input of the Department of Justice and reflects the richness and complexity of our mobile wireless ecosystem. Recognizing the obvious – that wireless is not just about voice anymore – the Mobile Wireless Competition Report takes an important step forward by integrating the range of exciting wireless products and services into our analysis. It’s hard to believe how far the wireless industry has brought us in terms of wireless innovation. Mobile wireless providers offer an ever- expanding array of mobile voice, messaging and broadband tools. The future of mobility holds even greater promise to us individually and to us as a nation. Today’s Report provides us with a solid going-forward analytical foundation. As we build upon this foundation in addressing the countless wireless policy challenges we face, our decision-making must be informed by the reality of its findings. This is all the more timely given the critical role that wireless will play in ensuring that the goals of our National Broadband Plan are met and that all Americans reap the benefits of enabling technology. A robust wireless future—part of a robust broadband future—depends in no small part upon robust competition. Competition is about benefiting consumers. The FCC is about benefiting consumers, too, so we must always be working to ensure the reality of a competitive environment. Competition has proven itself time and time again to be the most reliable tool to bring innovation, choice, value and quality to consumers. Unfortunately this report’s findings are not always encouraging. Some are downright sobering—and worrying, too. Specifically, the Report confirms something I have been warning about for years—that competition has been dramatically eroded and is seriously endangered by continuing consolidation and concentration in our wireless markets. One number sticks out like a sore thumb: the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index—a widely-recognized and highly-credible measurement of industry concentration—shows that the concentration of mobile wireless service providers has skyrocketed to a weighted average of 2848. That’s a jump of nearly 700 since we first calculated this metric a mere 7 years ago! So without denying those things that are right in the wireless world—and they are many—the facts also tell us that some things are not right. And that should flash a bright caution light for this Commission as we go about the business of advancing competition and consumer well-being in the Broadband Age. We are going to need an extra dose of vigilance going forward and use whatever policy levers we have available to ensure good outcomes for American consumers.