CARRIERS TO ALERT CONSUMERS TO IMPENDING OVERAGES

The nation's wireless providers have announced a deal with consumer groups and the Federal Communications Commission that will set up a system to alert customers to overage fees. The FCC had been set to announce new rules to combat so-called "bill shock", which it introduced last year. Under the terms of the deal, the wireless carriers agreed to set up a system to alert customers to voice, data, text, and roaming overages. Two of those four must be in place within a year, and the entire system ready within 18 months.

In return, the FCC would suspend its own efforts to pass new regulations. Both groups believe that the system will be implemented well before the deadline. "These alerts will give consumers the information they need to save money on their monthly wireless bills", FCC chairman Julius Genachowski says in prepared remarks. "Consistent with the FCC's ongoing efforts, these actions harness technology to empower consumers, and ensure consumers get a fair shake, not bill shock".

While the FCC is allowing the industry to self-regulate, it would keep its own efforts open in case carriers fail to act. CTIA president and CEO Steve Largent said the process of getting the system set up would not be easy, and would take some time to implement.

Many carriers already offer overage alerts, but only on an opt-in basis. The deal would require that the system become opt-out.

NEW BILL WOULD FORCE CARRIERS TO REVEAL TRUTH ABOUT 4G

Though 4G’s definition is now anything but clear -- first it was fake, and then some solid lobbying on carriers’ parts convinced the International Telecommunication Union to sing a new tune that would allow telcos to call LTE, WiMAX and even certain 3G technologies “4G” without blatantly lying -- carrier marketing soon could be.

A new bill currently in hands of the U.S. House of Representatives could potentially require U.S. wireless service providers to define guaranteed minimum data speeds that customers can expect of their networks. Since two tin cans and a piece of string can basically be called a 4G network according to the ITU’s loose guidelines, this bill, dubbed the Next Generation Wireless Disclosure Act, would be a big step toward weaving through marketing tomfoolery and letting customers know just how 4G their 4G network really is.

While the benefits to subscribers are fairly obvious, whether or not the proposition might become law depends largely on how much lobbying carriers are prepared to do.