FCC Issues Orders on Mobile Roaming

The FCC issued an Order on Reconsideration that aims at expanding the availability of mobile voice services by eliminating a home roaming exclusion. By eliminating the exclusion, the Order encourages carriers of
all sizes to reach commercially reasonable voice roaming agreements, and promotes competition, fosters
innovation and empowers consumers, while creating a fair process for the Commission to handle disputes
that may arise in an expedited and equitable manner. The Order on Reconsideration also affirms that
carriers must provide push-to-talk roaming upon reasonable request.

In a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission opens a new phase in its
examination of data roaming, seeking comment on whether to extend roaming obligations to data services
such as mobile broadband and Internet access services. The FCC said a more detailed and updated record will be useful in developing policies for broadband data roaming.
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