New rules will help consumers deal with cellphone “bill shock" from their carriers.
October 17, 2011- The Federal Communications Commission has reached a deal with the wireless industry that will be announced on Monday. The new deal will give cellular and other mobile device users a warning before they reach or exceed their monthly data, text or talk limits.
A minimum of two alerts will be placed in the wireless system within the next 12 months. One of those being implanted in the first round will be for international roaming charges. All the new warnings must be implanted within the next 18 months. The Cellular Telecommunication Industry Association adopted the guidelines with the help of the FCC. The CTIA covers more than 97% of all wireless users in the U.S.
Last October the FCC started to consider such alerts after receiving several customer complaints. The FCC studied what they called “bill shock.” The response the customer makes when they receive a bill that has increased unexpectedly. Their investigation found that one out of six users had received unexpected spikes in their monthly statements and of those, 23% said the increases were over $100.
Wireless carriers then decided to work with the FCC in finding voluntary guidelines before the FCC proposed its own rules. The Chairman of the FCC, Julius Genachowski, called the agreement a victory for all the 300 million wireless users.
