The Federal Communications Commission will undertake a comprehensive review of the wireless industry and its practices, the agency has announced. Commissioners plan to begin discussions at next Thursday’s regular meeting.
Seperate inquiries will be launched into innovation and competition in the industry, and the FCC also plans to take a look at wireless billing to see if changes need to be made to regulations governing how charges are presented so that consumers easily understand charges on their bills.
Chairman Julius Genachowski has already said recently that the FCC would look at handset exclusivity arrangements such as the one with AT&T and Apple for the iPhone. Critics claim they are anti-competitive and limit consumer choice, especially in rural areas.
Experts say that the FCC will likely put Verizon and AT&T in its crosshairs, since the two control about 60% of the market in the US. They would look for evidence of anti-competitive behavior by either operator. Add in Sprint and T-Mobile, and four carriers make up 90% of the cell phones here.
What exactly can be done is unclear. The FCC in the past has allowed either provider to grow as big as it has, never batting an eye when approving mergers which allowed either company to become progressively larger. If we have anyone to blame for this situation, it’s likely ourselves.
#1 by Wolf75 on October 22, 2009 - 5:08 pm
Privacy may involve the manipulation of mechanisms, and it may be regulated by policy, but it occurs on the frontlines through meaningful social practice. ,