Wireless Phone Industry Tactics Criticized

From MarketWatch
U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday took the wireless-phone industry to task, criticizing high early-termination fees and the inability to use mobile devices such as the new iPhone on different networks.
Before switching to another wireless provider, mobile customers usually have to pay $175 or more to terminate their current plan and they have to get a new phone. Devices that work on one U.S. wireless network rarely work on another - in part because carriers use different technologies or have exclusive marketing arrangements with handset makers.

The new iPhone by Apple Inc. is a case in point. The device, costing $500 to $600, is only available via AT&T Inc., with an early-termination fee of $175. Yet the AT&T network on which the iPhone operates is much slower than rival networks when it comes to Internet access. Rep. Edward Markey, chairman of a key House committee on telecommunications, noted that customers who don't like AT&T's network can't move to another provider.

"You're stuck with your iPhone and you can't take it anywhere," the Massachusetts Democrat said.

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