I’m struck by a resurgence of old arguments from some in the policy community that rehash the same old stories from American technology’s long-gone past.  In a new book, and in a recent NY Times interview, one colleague argues that: Wireless is a “unique” market separate from the rest of the connected world.  U.S. communications are in “crisis” because there is no competition.  And—an oldie but a goodie for those who believe government must be more hands-on with U.S. innovation policy—if only we could be more like Europe.

While the claims are contradicted both by data and by consumers’ day-to-day experience, this call for the Europification of US innovation policy is cause for concern.   The analysis also stands in stark contrast to the conversations currently underway in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress.  A major headline this year is the fall-out of Europe’s aggressive telecom regulations, where price controls and other market-intervening measures have dramatically slowed the arrival of 4G services on that continent.

As Bernstein analyst Robin Bienenstock bluntly explains, “they don’t invest, they just cut costs and tweak pricing, locking themselves in a vicious cycle of selling an increasingly commoditized service.”

To her credit, Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission, has been earnestly waving her arms, warning that Europe is at risk of being “flattened” by the global competition for its lack of investment in information infrastructure. 

Europe’s challenge?  “This attachment to 20th century policy mindsets and business models is hurting Europe’s economy,” Kroes warns.  “We are shooting ourselves in the foot by under-investing.” In other words: If only we could be more like the U.S.

Vodafone CEO Vittorio Coloa was even more blunt:  "The European industry should look very carefully at the American model and more seriously ask ourselves why there is such a successful model for customers, shareholders and governments that we seem not to be able to replicate."

What’s different here?  Last year, the nation’s competitive wireless companies invested more than $25 billion in mobile networks and infrastructure.  Why?  They have no other choice.  U.S. consumers have a voracious appetite for mobile Internet.  With data usage surging and multiple companies competing for U.S. wireless customers, carriers are in a flat-out race to ensure their networks stay competitive and offer both value and quality service to consumers who can take their business elsewhere.

This is why, for example, the U.S. leads the world in ultra-fast 4G network deployment.  In fact, in a recent test of U.S. speeds of state-of-the-art LTE networks, no less than four U.S. carriers were in this bleeding-edge race. 

“Crisis” indeed.

Some of the voices calling for more, not less regulation, like Professor Susan Crawford, are principled advocates for expanding access to high-speed broadband services to all Americans.  Though I agree fervently with her on this important end – as do the members of Mobile Future, including a range of wireless innovators, operators and technology companies both small and large -- I diverge with her on what should be the best means for our nation and our innovation economy to achieve this goal.   

Fortunately, consumers can assess the arguments for themselves.  Is wireless a “unique” market?  From a network engineering perspective, yes.  But the answer from a consumers’ point of view shows modern technology blurring the lines.  One-third of Americans have made the choice to have no landline at home. Among younger households, half are now wireless only.  Smartphone sales now outpace PCs and will soon be the primary means by which we connect to the Internet.  Competition is hardly a conversation solely about carriers.  It now encompasses search, operating systems, apps stores, devices and more.

It is indeed a new world. What we know from the first two decades of the Internet and the rise of the mobile web is that innovation advances most rapidly when government exercises a certain degree of humility.  Prescriptive rules cannot keep pace with technology’s rapid progress.  As we see in Europe, a government-led approach holds back the innovation and investment at the core of the public and national interest.

Today 3.8 million Americans owe their jobs to mobile innovation.  And, nearly 90% of Americans consider their mobile devices so valuable that they keep them within arm’s reach as they sleep.  From state-of-the-art networks to a mobile innovation community that is the envy of the world, our nation is in prime position to lead the mobile future, and bring the benefits of broadband to every American.  But we should not take for granted what got us here. 

The U.S. too should heed the warnings from across the Atlantic and avoid turning back the clock.  There are many lessons to be learned from the past.  One of the most important is that sometimes it’s best for outmoded ideas to stay there.

Headed to SXSW? Mobile Future and Supermechanical, the company behind Twine wireless sensors, are bringing together innovators and entrepreneurs in the mobile and wireless space for an informal meet-up.

Join us for Mobile Margaritas @ SXSW and RSVP here.

• Video to Reach 90% of Mobile Data Traffic by 2017.  As FierceBroadbandWireless reports, Ericsson shared some industry predictions at the company’s briefing Monday and announced that within the next 3-4 years, video will account for 90% of all mobile broadband traffic and that there will be 6.5 billion mobile broadband subscriptions globally by 2018.

• Europe Falling Well Behind Competitors in Global 4G Race.  A Reuters piece highlights the growing difference between European and United States’ telecom companies ability to invest in advanced networks and the impact this has on consumers. European carriers suffer from a heavily regulated market with aggressive price controls, which has led to the continent falling well behind the United States and other global competitors in the race to state-of-the-art 4G wireless networks and services.   As Bernstein analyst Robin Bienenstock notes in the article, “If you are an American consumer, especially in a big city, there has been a tangible improvement in what you’re being offered on mobile speeds, whereas for Europeans, there has been a deterioration in quality.”

Be sure to keep an eye on @mobilefuture as we monitor the top news coming out of #MWC13.

• Android takes lead in U.S. smartphone race.  comScore’s U.S. Digital Future in Focus report highlights the rapid adoption of wireless devices in the U.S.  Among the report’s main findings: There are now 58 million tablets in use and half of all smartphone users are on the Android platform.

• 4G LTE speeds accelerate.  The U.S. leads the world in 4G infrastructure and option.  No surprise then that FierceWireless is reporting robust LTE speeds for American wireless users.  The data comes from OpenSignal, which also underscored the importance of continued wireless infrastructure investment in countries that face “the difficulty of rolling-out LTE over a larger geographic area.”  Fortunately, average U.S. wireless network investment over the pats 10 years has stood at $23 billion annually.

•  Mobile data traffic doubles globally.  The recently released Ericsson Mobility Report Interim Update highlights mobile’s continued growth around the world. The report notes 140 million new mobile subscriptions in Q4 of last year, bringing the global total to 6.3 billion mobile citizens of the world.  Specifically, the report found global mobile data traffic doubled in the past year alone.

Highlights from the report include:

• Mobile users in North America are the hungriest for data: They lead the world in consuming the most data per subscriber per month.
• Mobile video consumption to skyrocket: On average, users will consume 10 hours of video per month on their mobile device by 2017.
• 4G on the rise: 4G users consume 19 times more data than a non-4G connection. In 2013, there will be 135.2 million global 4G connections.
• Increased data consumption: Smartphones generate as much traffic as 50 basic-feature phones; tablets generate as much as 120 basic-feature phones.
• More mobile devices than people: In 2013, mobile connected devices will exceed the world’s population and by 2017, there will be over 10 billion mobile connected devices.

To learn more and read the full report, go here.

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Fortunately, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recognizes the urgency of addressing the spectrum crunch and is working to swiftly and responsibly free up more spectrum for mobile broadband. Last year, the Commission secured Congressional support to conduct "first of its kind" spectrum incentive auctions to free underused broadcast TV spectrum to increase wireless capacity for mobile consumers. Now the challenge is creating an auction design that can appropriately navigate the minutiae of these complex transactions to ensure the end result our nation wants and needs - less time with that dreaded loading signal and more access to the next wave of wireless innovation.

While both broadcasters and wireless companies have participated in spectrum auctions before, the process, economics and strategy of this particular auction all are breaking new ground.
Unlike its predecessors, the upcoming incentive auction process envisions using a reverse auction to reclaim the airwaves from broadcasters coupled with a forward auction to distribute spectrum for commercial wireless use. Given this added complexity, this auction will not be the easiest process to design, or to implement -- which is why it is a good thing the Commission is taking the appropriate time and effort to make sure they get the auction blueprint right. The Commission has pledged to begin the auctions next year -- it is important both for our consumers and our economy that this schedule stays on track.

There are a few smart, common-sense and easy-to-implement approaches that, if embraced early by the Commission, can proactively address areas of potential uncertainty and confusion, and at the same time, do away with unnecessary delays, including

• Encouraging wide participation by broadcasters and wireless operators alike by ensuring all aspects of the auction process are as simple and transparent as possible - from bidding to the pricing structure - and continuing outreach so broadcasters can make informed choices about auction participation.
• Guaranteeing that all qualified entities can participate in these new auctions.
• Permitting wireless bidders to place package bids in the auction, and including guard bands in the band plan that are only as large as necessary to protect against interference, in order to maximize the amount of useful spectrum available.
• Allowing market forces and the well-established standards-setting process, rather than prescriptive regulatory mandates to operate to provide wireless companies greater flexibility in making possible the next wave of innovation.
• Reallocating broadcaster spectrum as quickly as possible following the auction, so wireless companies can move quickly to expand and upgrade their services
• By making more spectrum available and freeing innovators to put it to its most innovative uses, the FCC will be taking a big step toward ensuring the future of mobility, and securing America's continued leadership in mobile technology. The United States leads the world in 4G LTE deployment, and consumers and our economy are only beginning to realize the full potential of these powerful, next generation networks.

As the nation migrates to 4G LTE advanced networks, the future of the communications marketplace is nearly boundless. The transition to 4G is bringing faster speeds and profound new cycles of mobile-fueled innovation for consumers.

Spectrum auctions are critical to ensuring our nation continues to have a broadband infrastructure that is the envy of the world. In innovation, government often does and should take a back seat to the innovators. Here lies the rare opportunity for Government to lead. Now all eyes are on the FCC to get it done fast--and get it done right.

This article was originally posted on Huffington Post.

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“The message is loud and clear--today's wireless networks are fast and pervasive and smartphones and tablets are intuitive and easy-to-use. In other words, the roadblocks to innovation that kept many other industries on the sidelines of the mobile revolution have been removed. Now there's nothing stopping developers from creating compelling wireless services and applications.”

To learn more, click here.

But no device is complete without apps:

• 1 billion app downloads per week in late November (Flurry predicts this will be the new norm in 2013).
• 328 million app downloads on Christmas Day.
• 604 million app downloads by U.S. consumers between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve (34.3% of the global total).
• 2 billion app downloads per week predicted for October-December 2013.

To learn more, click here.

For tips on enhancing the security of your smartphone, go here.

In between sharing YouTube videos, checking in on Foursquare, and sending out tweets adorned with holiday hashtags, the Mobile Future team has put together its third annual Mobile Year in Review video taking a tour through an eventful 2012.

Here are five mobile gifts we have to celebrate this holiday season:

• Global Competitiveness. Love your smartphone and all of its capabilities? You're in the right place. The U.S. leads the world in next-generation - 4G LTE--adoption. In fact, seven out of 10 global LTE subscribers are here in North America.

• Ever Better Networks. Wireless companies are investing more than $23 billion annually in U.S. mobile infrastructure - by far more capital investment than any other sector in the U.S. economy. That's particularly good news given another development: U.S. mobile data usage doubled in 2012.

• Jobs & Recovery. What's behind big statistics such as the prospect of 500,000 U.S. jobs created by making more spectrum capacity available to expand the wireless web? Consider this one fact: Apple sold more mobile devices in 2012 than the company has sold computers ever. Some reports predicted that iPhone 5 sales could single-handedly grow the $15 trillion U.S. economy by a half percent.

• Innovation. From Uber to Pinterest, nouns are becoming verbs across the mobile/social landscape, ushering in a fresh wave of progress that makes our lives easier, healthier, wealthier and more interesting in so many ways.

• Democracy. At 31 million tweets, Election Day 2012 was the most tweeted event in history. What does the electorate want next? Six in 10 Americans say they want the right to vote -- via wireless.

We hope you enjoy the video. And, we look forward to all that the new year has to offer mobile consumers and innovators alike. Have a favorite 2012 mobile moment of your own? Please share. That, after all, is the whole spirit of the season.

This article was orginally posted on Huffington Post.

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The commissioners will, no doubt, reinforce their oft repeated warning: unless we act swiftly to make more spectrum available for mobile broadband, spectrum capacity in the U.S. could exceed supply as soon as next year. For consumers, that will mean more than longer downloads and more dropped calls. It will mean missed opportunities, and slower innovation, and slower job growth. As FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has rightly pointed out, “the spectrum crunch is the single biggest threat to one of the most promising parts of our economy.”

To read more of Jonathan Spalter's post on Politico, go here.

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Both levies go to the heart of the call for "fairness" in our tax system, since far too many consumers today pay more than what they should in taxes on mobile goods and services. With leadership in Washington, both can be converted into public-spirited victories perhaps in time for the holidays--putting an end to some of the most regressive and counterproductive tax schemes in our nation.

In the wake of Cyber Monday, we are reminded anew just how much the digital realm is central to modern commerce--and especially modern bargain hunting. Yet while consumers increasingly rely on mobile in our lives, wireless taxes are higher than average sales taxes in most states. Today, more than 30% of American adults live in mobile-only households, and they pay federal, state and local taxes and fees on their wireless bills that average over 17%. This is more than double the average state sales tax. These exorbitant taxes work directly against mobile's strong track record of helping close the digital divide. Could mobile broadband be cheaper for us all? Yes, if mobile taxation weren't so egregiously inflated.

It's time to right this wrong and have wireless tax policies that are consistent with the broad goal of connecting all Americans to mobile broadband. Legislation before Congress, the Wireless Tax Fairness Act of 2011, would help limit this tax inequity that's currently imposed on nearly 90% of U.S. consumers. This legislation would impose a five-year moratorium on all new discriminatory taxes on consumers' mobile phone bills. The bill already has passed the House of Representatives and now awaits Senate action. It deserves prompt action. As more Americans depend on mobile broadband for connectivity, it is imperative that tax policies encourage, rather than discourage, mobile adoption and usage.

Have you ever downloaded a book on vacation? Purchased a digital movie or TV show at the airport? Buy your favorite song online from, well, anywhere? If you have then you have a stake in a second piece of tax legislation, too. The Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act prohibits state and local jurisdictions from imposing multiple, or discriminatory, taxes on digital goods and services. Under the current system, when a consumer purchases digital content, they can be taxed over and over again by several jurisdictions. The Digital Goods Act's national framework would prevent the possibility of multiple taxation by allowing only the consumer's home state to impose taxes on a digital purchase--if the state chooses to do so.

This bill, too, should have priority in the current tax debate. With more than half of us owning a smartphone and a third of us adding a video-friendly tablet to our wireless repertoires, buying an app or other digital content should be safe from multiple and discriminatory taxation.

The digital economy is key to our nation's growth and prosperity. While Congress wraps up it's significant to-do list this year, it should put an end to unfair tax treatment of wireless consumers. The Wireless Tax Fairness Act and the Digital Goods and Services Tax Fairness Act would be a huge win for tax fairness for the nation's mobile subscribers.

This article was orginally posted on Huffington Post.

According to a Wall Street Journal article about Thanksgiving holiday shopping, "Online spending on Friday alone topped $1 billion for the first time." Even more compelling, "Merchants with strong web presences were positioned to be the big winners: For the first time, more than half of consumers said they shopped on the Internet over the weekend."

Mobile devices, (smartphones and tablets), accounted for 16 percent of online sales, up from 10 percent last year and these same devices accounted for 24 percent of site traffic, up from 14 percent last year. The average online shopping session length was 6 minutes and 39 seconds.

This explosion of e-commerce and online retail opens up opportunities for those of us living in rural America in two ways. First, as a buyer, I no longer have to drive long distances to make purchases from large national retailer stores. I can sit in the comfort of my living room and let my fingers do the shopping. If I'm physically in a store, I can easily check via my smartphone to make sure that the price I'm about to pay for an item can't be beat someplace else. E-commerce has also made me a better shop-local shopper. Last year, I wanted to buy a particular bicycle that wasn't available locally. So, I went to my local bike shop (which, by the way, is the best bike shop ever) where Craig, the owner, ordered it and sold it to me. I bought the perfect bicycle for me and the local Whitefish, Mont. bike shop made the sale.

The second benefit is for the retailers that live and work in rural and small town America. Historically, retailers had to own storefronts and were limited to the customers who lived in their communities. Now, by becoming web merchants instead of, or in addition, to storefront operators, the opportunity equation for these entrepreneurs has expanded exponentially.

We see it every day in my backyard. Retailers of all kinds of products, including organic soaps, nutrition supplements, clothing, books, original artwork, music, athletic gear and too many others to mention, are all accessing the global marketplace via the Internet. Since the global marketplace is much larger than, well, anywhere, this is a major shift in opportunity for small town and rural retailers. Experts expect online retail spending to rise 17 percent to $43.4 billion through the whole holiday season. That's way ahead of the retail industry's expectation for a 4.1 percent increase in overall spending this holiday. These are important new opportunities for retail entrepreneurs who want to live and work off the beaten path.

So this holiday season, I'm going to shop local. Equipped with my smartphone and my iPad, at my local retailers and from my living room, I'm going shopping. Happy Holidays!

This article was originally published on Huffington Post.

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As a rural entrepreneur, I have seen firsthand the remarkable growth opportunities our entire Nation gains by engaging rural and small town entrepreneurs and businesses. There are 59 million Americans who live in rural communities and another 29 million who live in "urban-clusters" with populations between 2,500 and 50,000 residents. Based on the 2010 U.S. census, that's almost one-third of our Nation's population (28. 8% to be exact. ) To spur growth for these Americans, three areas of federal policy will be vitally important.

First, Washington, D.C. must recognize and support rural and small town businesses and entrepreneurs. These communities are full of entrepreneurs looking to grow their businesses. Inventors, retailers, apps designers, tech and energy innovators, restaurant owners, artists, the list goes on. These companies, like every other start-up, need access to money, broadband, and brains. Congress can help with that. Policies that expand local bank financing, healthcare options that don't break the bank for micro-business owners and their employees, and new angel investing and crowd funding opportunities are all possibilities.

Second, broadband is the holy grail of rural and small town growth and entrepreneurship. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has jurisdiction here and the challenges are getting tougher. We need more spectrum for mobile broadband, pro-growth rules that encourage the transition to advanced networks built by new and legacy providers, and a universal service system that works for rural communities. Staring at a slow moving loading bar is simply an unacceptable outcome for the remote health, distance learning and e-commerce requirements of rural Americans and the FCC has to quickly move forward to ensure that doesn't happen.

Third, Congress needs to revisit America's energy policy. In rural America, we drive longer and rely more on shipping than our urban neighbors. We rarely have access to public transportation. In other words, for those of us living remotely, the price of energy matters. But so does climate change and the health of our environment. After all, for us, recreation typically means being outside. So, we have to solve climate change but we can't do it simply by increasing prices on fossil fuels to decrease demand. That causes disproportionate harm to the millions of Americans that live outside urban centers. Instead, Congress should refine its energy policies to meet two goals; improving climate change and keeping prices reasonable for everybody. I personally know energy entrepreneurs across America, some right here in Montana, that are working today to make that happen.

We are a remarkable nation, filled with inventors and innovators and we will meet the challenges of our time. But, we are not just an urban nation. Millions of us choose to live in rural and small communities and, with the proper policies, we will be at the forefront of the innovations that revitalize our economy and galvanize our future. Let's get started.

This article was originally published on Huffington Post.