FCC 'bill shock' reg might exclude smaller carriers

The Federal Communications Commission notice of proposed rulemaking on so-called “bill shock” rules seeks comment on whether smaller providers and prepaid providers should be exempt from the proposed rules or given extra time to implement them.
The agency today issued an NPRM that would require carrier to alert customers when they are approaching or over their monthly allotments of minutes or data; when they are about to incur roaming or international charges and would require providers to clearly disclose any tools to set usage limits or review usage balances. The FCC also is seeking comment on whether carriers should be required to offer the option of capping usage based on consumer-set limits.
In May, the agency released a survey noting that one in six people experience bill shock on their cellphone bills. CTIA immediately disputed the survey.
Comments are due 30 days after publication in the Federal Register and reply comments 30 days after that.
“We agree with the FCC that the goal is to keep all customers happy, but we are concerned that prescriptive and costly rules that limit the creative offerings and competitive nature of the industry may threaten to offset these positive trends,” said Chris Guttman-McCabe, VP of regulatory affairs for CTIA. “We look forward to continuing to innovate and meet the needs and demands of our 292.8 million customers.”