TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Bill Would Rein in Cellphone Firms / More Rights Sought For Users

Bill Would Rein in Cellphone Firms / More Rights Sought For Users

Monty Solomon (monty@roscom.com)
Thu, 21 Dec 2006 00:00:15 -0500

By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff | December 20, 2006
The Boston Globe

Calls fade out or break up. Calls are dropped altogether in
mid-conversation. These are the afflictions of cellphone users. And as
dependence on the devices grows, so does the annoyance level.

Now Michael W. Morrissey, the Senate chairman of the Joint Committee
on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy, is putting forth
legislation to impose new regulations on cellular phone companies to
make them more responsive to consumers.

The bill, drafted by Morrissey, would force the companies to issue
semiannual public reports detailing their signal strength, their dead
zones, and gaps in coverage, along with the number of dropped calls.

In addition, the legislation would allow customers with poor service
to terminate their contract with their cellphone company without
having to pay hefty penalties. Consumers would pay only a pro-rated
share of the early termination fee, based on how long they have had
their service; currently, customers who wish to get out of a service
contract are usually required to pay the full termination fee.

There are no similar laws in effect anywhere in the country, according
to industry officials.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/12/20/bill_would_rein_in_cellphone_firms/

Post Followup Article Use your browser's quoting feature to quote article into reply
Go to Next message: telecomdirect_daily: "TelecomDirect News Daily Update - December 21, 2006"
Go to Previous message: Reuters News Wire: "Siemens Sets New Network Speed Record"
Next in thread: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com: "Re: Bill Would Rein in Cellphone Firms / More Rights Sought For Users"
May be reply: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com: "Re: Bill Would Rein in Cellphone Firms / More Rights Sought For Users"
May be reply: DevilsPGD: "Re: Bill Would Rein in Cellphone Firms / More Rights Sought For Users"
TELECOM Digest: Home Page