- The Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) meets in New Orleans this week for its annual convention
- One of the hot topics will be how rural carriers can work with satellite companies in the direct-to-device (D2D) space
- CCA CEO Tim Donovan wouldn’t say whether spectrum sharing is on the table, but he made clear there are multiple ways these partnerships could come together
SpaceX’s desire to crush big wireless carriers gets a lot of attention these days. The smaller wireless carriers – the ones in rural areas where SpaceX’s Starlink broadband service already competes – not so much.
But SpaceX and its rivals in the direct-to-device (D2D) market are expected to be part of the conversation at the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) convention in New Orleans this week – and not in an entirely negative or alarmist way.
CCA used to be known as the Rural Cellular Association (RCA) but changed its branding in 2012 as consolidation ripped through the rural cellular community. The group set out to expand its membership and even changed its bylaws to accommodate larger carriers – those with fewer than 80 million subscribers.
At that time, only two operators had more than 80 million subscribers – AT&T and Verizon. Since then, T-Mobile merged with Sprint and continually added customers to top out at more than 142 million subscribers.
T-Mobile remains a member of CCA despite its gigantic subscriber count. In contrast, most CCA operator members serve less than 1 million customers each.
CCA President and CEO Tim Donovan said T-Mobile’s longevity in CCA is due in part to the fact that T-Mobile’s focus in recent years is on its rural buildout and a lot of its core mission remains the same.
T-Mobile VP of Partnerships Jeff Giard is set to deliver keynote remarks at the CCA show on Tuesday.
Satellite players welcome here
To be sure, being a large company doesn’t exclude entities from being part of CCA, even if its main lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., revolve around smaller operators.
SpaceX/Starlink also joined CCA, and discussions are underway with Amazon LEO and some other companies in the D2D space that don’t fit in the traditional definition of a CCA member but could be valuable partners, according to Donovan.
Since CCA’s last annual convention, Amazon launched Amazon LEO, which will be competing in the D2D space alongside Starlink Mobile. Amazon LEO is not a member of CCA, but discussions are underway on how CCA might work with them.
Amazon LEO and AST SpaceMobile are both expected to be represented at the show this week, Donovan said.
“There’s a lot of conversations that are taking place right now,” he said, declining to get into the specifics of what’s being discussed – whether it’s sharing spectrum resources in rural areas or something else. “There’s a lot of different ways that you can piece it together.”
Of all the carriers, T-Mobile probably has the most experience offering a real-world service and it’s been outspoken about the role of D2D as a complementary offering versus competitive.
Satellite is an important tool for filling coverage gaps and it can serve customers where there may never be a business case to put a terrestrial tower, Donovan said.
Hot topics for competitive carriers: BEAD, convergence
Other topics on the show’s agenda are convergence and BEAD. Matthew Plaster, senior advisor for Strategy at NTIA, will be at the convention to discuss NTIA initiatives that are relevant to CCA members, including spectrum.
One of the benefits of hosting a smaller show is it draws industry leaders and decision-makers that might not otherwise be accessible at a bigger convention.
“It’s of a size that you can actually have meaningful discussions,” not only in scheduled meetings but by running into people in the hallways. “It makes it such a more productive event for everyone involved,” Donovan said. “We’re able to focus on what matters and some of the meaningful relationships.”
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