NEW YORK-A pair of state legislators from New York City has written twin bills, identically worded to ensure expedited review, that would bar wireless phone companies from rounding up airtime charges to the next minute.
Assemblyman Scott M. Stringer, (D-Manhattan), and state Senator Guy Velella, (R-Bronx), are authors of the “Wireless Consumer Protection Act of 2000.”
“We are introducing these as `same as’ bills so that if both houses pass them, the legislation goes straight to [Gov. George Pataki] for signature,” John Banville, communications director for Velella, said.
“Otherwise, if there are differences in the language, bills tend to get hung up in committees and die.”
The state Legislature, which is wrangling over an overdue state budget, is hopeful of adjourning in June, Banville said. The budget will take priority this session.
However, both he and Julie Greenberg, Stringer’s chief of staff, said they expected the companion proposals to receive quick assignment of bill numbers. These are a prerequisite before the appropriate committees in each house can consider them. On the Senate side, the Energy and Telecommunications Committee is most likely to consider the legislation. In the Assembly, the Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee is the most probable forum for review.
“I would guess by the response we’ve been getting from our constituents that this has broad public support,” Greenberg said.
The Stringer-Velella legislative proposal would require wireless communications companies to bill customers by the second, instead of by the minute as most currently charge.
“Long-distance (wireline) companies generally also bill by the minute, and we’d be happy to do this to them also,” Greenberg said.
The companion bills also include three prohibitions. Wireless carriers would be barred from charging their customers for any calls placed that are not completed, including those that get no answer or a busy signal.
Service providers also would be banned from imposing any charge on outgoing calls until the customer has entered a phone number and, when necessary, a personal identification number.
Under their legislation, wireless retailers would be prevented from “bundling” sales, or allowing customers to purchase a cell phone only if they also sign a contract for cellular service.
“This practice prevents a consumer from shopping around to find a cellular phone and cellular phone service contract at the best price,” Stringer said in a press release issued April 2.
Greenberg said the assemblyman’s staff began looking into the practices of wireless telecommunications providers recently through a survey comparing rates. They called the six carriers doing business in New York state: AT&T Wireless Services Inc., Sprint PCS, MCI WorldCom Inc., Nextel Communications Inc., Bell Atlantic Mobile and Omnipoint Communications Inc.
“We got information about different rate plans and how much they charge per minute for local and long-distance once you use up the free minutes in the plans,” she said.
Nextel emerged as the White Knight because it alone bills by the second. However, Greenberg said Stringer’s staff did not consider related issues like Nextel’s reputation for charging generally higher prices for its handsets.
“The survey … revealed that consumers are cheated out of as much as $81.48 per month and up to $977.76 per year because cellular telephone service providers bill in one-minute increments, rather than the actual time of each call,” Stringer said in announcing the results April 2.
Depending on the number of minutes they bought in bulk, customers of Omnipoint lost between $2.35 and $81.48 monthly, according to the survey.
Bell Atlantic Mobile customers lost anywhere from $1.32 to $50.04. Similarly, subscribers to MCI Worldcom’s Local Calling Plan lost $1.20 to $50.04, and those subscribing to its Long Distance One Rate Plan between $14 and $44.40.
Sprint PCS customers lost from $13.60 to $47.84. Those who purchased the AT&T Digital One Rate Plan lost from $21 to $48.50, while subscribers to its Advantage Calling Plan fared better, losing between $4.94 to $20.70.
