Released: September 15, 2006

Who should cegulate cellphone carriers?

Source: By Annys Shin, Washington Post (Free Registration)

There’s a new Mr. Smith in the Metro station ads in DC; this time he’s a lobbyist for cellphone companies. (Check out the ad.) at http:\\www.mywireless.org.)

MyWireless.org is a non-profit bankrolled by the wireless industry and the ads try to persuade consumers they would be better off with a “national wireless policy.” Why now? Because there’s a Senate bill that is pending on the Hill that would switch wireless regulatory authority from the states to the federal government.

“The freedom, choice and value wireless consumers enjoy today are threatened,” the group’s Web site says, because “a confusing tangle of costly wireless regulations and taxes.”

“If wireless is ruled by 50 different sets of state laws and regulations, consumers can expect less innovation, fewer choices among services and providers, and higher prices,” the Web site continues.

Just like your wireless bill, though, the rest of the story is in the fine print.

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