Once a luxury, cell-phone service has become the No. 1 convenience we love to hate. But not content to leave well enough alone, politicians are promoting regulations that will begin to gut much of the convenience right out of the service and make us pay more for the privilege to boot. That’s not the picture Jim Guest, the president of Consumers Union, painted in “Something new: Understanding your cell-phone bill, finally” (Commentary, Feb. 27), but it’s likely what would come to pass if the General Assembly passes House Bill 4143.
Chicagoans today can choose from about eight wireless carriers.
This vigorous competition has resulted in average monthly wireless bills falling from $95 per month in 1998 to about $40 per month in 2003.
Politicians and self-styled consumer advocates are attempting to begin imposing regulations that will displace free-market control over many of the terms and conditions of wireless service. Implementation costs of rules like those contained in HB 4143 may translate into an increase in the average wireless customer’s bill of about $5.75 per month.
Customers of smaller carriers may see their bills rise by $10 to $12 per month. The popularity of wireless communication rests in its mobility and convenience.
If you want, you can go into the neighborhood Best Buy or Circuit City, buy a phone-in-a-box, then go home and activate it online or over the phone. Under HB 4143 you can pretty much say goodbye to that convenience, because the bill would require a written authorization from the customer before service can be initiated.
The same goes for any changes in service the customer may want to make. Today most carriers will make almost instantaneous service changes online and over the phone. That won’t happen if the customer has to mail a signed change authorization.
Also at risk is the dynamic innovation that is the hallmark of wireless service. Service providers compete on being first to market new services.
Requiring that carriers post the terms of new services guarantees delay and ensures any new service submitted for review will lose all competitive advantage because competitors will get a peek at it too. You could not design a process more likely to stifle innovation.
