Wireless pinstripes

Are cellphone carriers becoming the New York Yankees of then wireless world? Or is it worse?
● A federal judge last week said it was ridiculous that AT&T Mobility (then Cingular) had a clause in its customer contracts that said customers cannot sue the carrier without first going through mandatory arbitration. Forget that arbitration is usually a sane route for negotiation that saves both sides from paying exorbitant legal fees, the upshot of this is that a class-action lawsuit is moving forward, and will probably perpetuate negative publicity that will propagate customer complaints about shoddy service from greedy carriers. Strike 1.
● Google said it probably would bid in the upcoming 700 MHz auction, now set for Jan. 16. The word “probably” led to a frenzy of Google coverage, and in tandem, the benefits of open access. I am incredulous that powerful Google is not feared by public-interest groups and consumer-focused nonprofits, but rather has their support. And once again, wireless carriers and cable companies are on the wrong side of the public’s goodwill. Strike 2.
● While reading a few blogs on the Minnesota bridge collapse, I was shocked to see a significant number of angry comments about cellphone service near the bridge. Instead of reading how carriers quickly deployed COWs and COLTs, there were nasty diatribes about which carriers’ service was worst. How could there be more anger directed at cellphone coverage instead of, oh say, those responsible for a structurally deficient bridge?
● Finally, in our very own pages of RCR Wireless News, we did a story earlier this month on the MMS disconnect. We tested several phones and several ways to get an MMS message between AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless. We didn’t succeed.
However, we’ve been assured that nearly all MMS messages go through: unless you are using an old handset, unless you are using smartphones (which was our mistake) and unless you are using a particular feature-rich handset that will remain nameless because I don’t want to get into a shouting match over whose fault that is. The “unless-es” seem a little deceptive to me. But I understand that interoperability is tricky, and I ultimately believe the industry will resolve any remaining snags in the system. Consumers don’t seem that patient.
The wireless industry needs to revive its reputation in the court of public opinion or risk becoming the industry everyone loves to hate.