California's Mobile Phone Users' Bill Of Rights
We've discussed this before, but it looks like California's proposed Telecommunications Bill of Rights is about to be voted on. The bill would require mobile phone carriers to be much more explicit in explaining their terms while also guaranteeing a 30 day opt-out for users who discover that (oops!) their carrier's service doesn't work in their home or at their office. It sounds like the original policy has been modified slightly to make it more reasonable in a couple areas where the original had problems. However, on the whole, we see no reason not to support such a bill. None of the requirements seem particularly onerous for mobile phone carriers - no matter what they seem to say about it. While, for the most part, we don't like to see regulation where none is needed - this is an area where carriers have been able to take advantage of consumers for too long. Derek Adds: Altough I'd rather see this done on a national basis instead of piecemeal acoss the many states.
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