Cell-Phone Users Need a Bill of Rights
The San Jose Mercury News has more info on Charles Schumer's Cell Phone Bill of Rights proposal that we spoke about last week. There seem to be three main elements to the proposal - all of which sound good. First is guaranteeing number portability (something that was supposed to be guaranteed by the FCC by the end of this year, anyway). The second is clearer disclosure of contract terms, so that the carriers can no longer get away with hiding the killer details in the small print. Finally, and most importantly, it will force the carriers to reveal real service coverage information. I'm sure the many people out there who signed onerous contract terms on their mobile phone only to return home to discover their house was a "dead spot" will appreciate such a bill.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
