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FCC begins tracking wireless carriers' implementation of bill shock notifications
If you've ever mistaken your wireless bill for your phone number, only to discover a dollar sign in front of all those digits, you're far from alone. The CTIA estimates that one in six mobile subscribers have experienced bill shock, but thanks to the efforts of the nation's wireless carriers -- along with a bit of help from the FCC -- consumers will start to receive notifications of any potential overages, along with alerts when the threshold has been crossed. The program is still in its infancy, but the FCC has launched a website to track wireless carriers' implementation of the notification system, which will alert consumers to any voice, data, SMS or international roaming charges. Carriers have until October 17th to have alerts for at least two of these categories in place, and will have until April 17th of next year to implement all four. Consumers may track the monthly progress of individual carriers at the FCC's bill shock website, but for a current peek at their progress, just hop the break. [Bill shock photo via Shutterstock]
FCC and CTIA get set to hit back against bill shock
Bill shock? It's "a real consumer problem that needs to be fixed," according to FCC chairman Julius Genachowski. The department teamed up with the CTIA and the Consumers Union today to address the problem of unexpected mobile bill charges. The solution? Alerts about overages and international roaming sent to subscribers before they rack up bills they can't afford. It's a plan the organization talked up last year, thanks to the findings of a Consumer Task Force. The FCC hopes that a rollout of the plan will be completed in the next 12 months.
