A Regulatory Shock from the FCC

Diane Katz / October 28, 2010

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has set its regulatory sights on wireless telephone providers for instigating a supposed epidemic of “bill shock” across the land. But a review of complaints to the agency, as well as government survey data, casts considerable doubt on the agency’s claim that consumers are terrorized by their mobile phone charges.

As illustrated in the accompanying graph, complaints to the FCC related to billing and rates for wireless telephone service accounted for a mere 3 percent of complaints overall in 2009—a significant decline from 17 percent in 2002. (Radio and TV broadcasting drew the largest number of complaints, at 51 percent.) Among complaints related specifically to wireless services, the category of billing and rates comprised only 19.5 percent.

In fact, the vast majority of mobile phone subscribers are coping just fine. A 2009 survey by the Government Accountability Office found 84 percent of adult wireless users to be “very” or “somewhat” satisfied with their wireless service compared to only 10 percent who were “very” or “somewhat” dissatisfied. Moreover, there was little difference in the proportion of subscribers who stated dissatisfaction with “billing” (12 percent) and the level of dissatisfaction with other elements of service, including call quality, contract terms, explanation of service, and customer handling. (more…)