Lawmakers debate mobile consumer rights bill

LAWMAKERS DEBATE MOBILE CONSUMER RIGHTS BILL
[SOURCE: InfoWorld, AUTHOR: Grant Gross]
A proposed consumer rights bill for mobile telephone service drew mixed reviews during a hearing in Congress Wednesday with detractors saying the legislation would place too much regulation on a competitive industry. A draft bill, proposed by House Telecom & Internet Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-MA), calls for the Federal Communications Commission to make rules requiring mobile carriers to offer unsubsidized handsets to customers, to offer service with no early termination fees and to detail charges like termination fees. Some lawmakers complained about early termination fees and the inability of customers to take their phones from carrier to carrier. Two major carriers, Verizon Wireless and AT&T, announced mobile-phone portability plans in recent months. Four witnesses at the hearing, including the head of the CTIA, said that they like parts of the bill. The bill moves toward pre-empting state regulation of mobile carriers, said Steve Largent, president and CEO of CTIA, the trade group representing wireless carriers. But several mobile carriers are already moving toward many of the changes required in the bill, Largent said.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/02/27/Lawmakers-debate-mobile-consumer-rights-bill_1.html