GN Docket No. When we commenced this proceeding in November of last year, I thought it was an excellent opportunity for the Commission to review whether market conditions justify continued prospective, prophylactic regulation of the wireless telecommunications industry. Here, we carry out part of the mandate from the 1996 Telecommunications Act to review our ownership rules every two years. At the time we adopted the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, I applauded this effort to take a sober and realistic look at the CMRS ownership limitations in light of the current and foreseeable competitive environment in the wireless market. Truthfully, this item before us today is not what I expected.
Prices are down and falling.
Innovation, churn and penetration are up and still climbing. And, as this item points out, the newer PCS licensees are adding more new customers than the incumbent cellular carriers. Yet, as the record in this proceeding reveals, there are still some lingering concerns left over from the vestiges of the original cellular duopoly, which if you measure market share in terms of subscribers still has the lion's share. So, despite the positive state of competition in this segment, I had thought back when we started this review that, if we can meet the burden of showing that the cap is still necessary in the public interest, then we may keep it. I also said that this cap should not last forever, but if we do nothing this time, we would have to review it again.