McLean, VA., USA, May 29, 2001 – In a filing to the US Federal Communications Commission today, the Mobile Satellite Users Association (MSUA) asked the Commission to reject the petition for rulemaking filed by the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association asking the FCC to reallocate the 2 GHz spectrum from mobile satellite services to terrestrial wireless services. MSUA asked the Commission to deny the petition out-of-hand because it is tardy, duplicative, prejudicial to due process, specious and harmful argued that the proposed petition is late filed,process and harmful, given the three years and numerous proceedings that have lapsed since the FCC allocated the spectrum to mobile satellite services.

Commenting on the CTIA petition, Dr. Ahmad F. Ghais, MSUA President, warned that "if the FCC accepts CTIA’s arguments and initiates a proceeding, it would delay and likely even destroy many of the mobile satellite applicants." This outcome," he observed, "would eliminate desperately needed mobile satellite competition and innovative services at the expense of the mobile satellite user community which has been waiting for these applications to be acted upon granted."

George Zachman, Chairman of MSUAZachmann, Chairman of MSUA, added that the consolidation referenced by CTIA only serves to permit a rationalization of the conjestedcongested 2 GHz band for greater MSS competition,competition and should not be allowed by the Commission to become a "land grab for every other service without regard to process and commission rules.."Commission rules."