WASHINGTON-Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) this week plans to re-introduce legislation that sets mobile-phone service standards and directs the Federal Communications Commission to monitor complaints of dropped calls, busy signals, dead spots, improper billing and other wireless consumer problems.
Also early this week the FCC is expected to release an order affirming an earlier decision that said state courts can award monetary damages for breach of contract, consumer fraud and other violations by mobile-phone operators. The industry asked the FCC to reconsider the ruling. The FCC last week adopted the order-which rejects the industry’s arguments-but the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau is making final changes before it will be released.
Serena Torrey, a spokeswoman for Weiner, said the Cell Phone Consumer Protection Act of 2001, will be introduced on Thursday.
Last June, Weiner sponsored the pro-consumer wireless bill after hearing complaints from constituents and experiencing problems himself on his cell phone.
Complaints like those identified by Weiner are increasing in number around the country as the popularity of mobile phones pushes subscribership to nearly 110 million.
Indeed, the mobile-phone industry is scrambling to deal with a growing consumer backlash in the United States.
Mobile-phone complaints are getting the attention of other lawmakers as well.
Last month, Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) re-introduced a bill to prohibit the transmission of spam-unsolicited promotions and advertisements-to mobile phones. Other lawmakers are pushing Internet privacy legislation, an issue of growing importance as wireless and Internet technologies converge.
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) introduced a bill late last month to require customer consent before carriers can provide wireless call location information. The wireless industry is pushing a similar measure at the FCC.
Wireless complaints routinely are registered with the FCC, states attorneys general and others. Some subscribers have even taken wireless carriers to court. Last year, the FCC-over wireless industry objections-allowed state courts to make monetary awards. For some consumers, litigation is not always possible because of restrictions in service contracts that force aggrieved mobile-phone subscribers to use an arbitration process set up by the cellular industry. The legality of such consumer arbitration clauses was upheld by a divided U.S. Supreme Court late last year.
Today, no one entity collects mobile-phone complaints from around the country. In addition, no minimum quality standard for mobile-phone service exists.
Of the little rough data available, Weiner found that mobile-phone complaints received by the FCC have skyrocketed in recent years. The FCC, according to Weiner, expects wireless service complaints to continue to grow.
“I would love to see a grade of service standard established by Congress and the FCC,” said Carl Hilliard, president of the Wireless Consumers Alliance. WCA originally asked for the declaratory ruling that the FCC is expected to affirm this week.
The wireless industry opposes the Weiner bill, suggesting problems experienced by mobile-phone subscribers in Queens and Brooklyn, N.Y., are isolated.
“We continue to be prepared to help address his unique concerns but we believe legislation is not the appropriate response. We believe that consumers have choice and they can act to choose the best providers, unlike many sectors of the telecommunications industry, ” said Travis Larson, a spokesman for the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association.
Larson added, “Dropped calls are not always the fault of wireless carriers, as is assumed in this legislation. Lack of spectrum and zoning laws for antennas can all hinder quality signals and service. We don’t believe imposing a regulatory regime, which his constituents and our customers will end up paying for, is the answer.”
As for the Holt bill, Larson said there already is a vehicle to address mobile-phone spam. Last year, the House overwhelmingly passed an anti-Internet spam bill sponsored by Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.). The bill died in the Senate as time ran out in the 106th Congress. A Wilson spokesman said the measure will be re-introduced soon.
Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, Senate Finance Committee Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) last week introduced legislation to repeal the 3-percent federal excise tax on wireless and wireline telephone calls. A companion bill has been introduced in the House.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), meanwhile, is sponsoring legislation that would provide a tax credit to wireless and other telecom carriers that deploy broadband Internet service to low income and rural areas.
