Mobile Regulation Continues: US Senators Push For Openess, Malaysia Tries To Stop Spam

Two US senators are pushing for a “wireless consumer protection bill” which will do away with early termination fees, prohibit cellular carriers from even listing fees other than those for wireless service and charges explicitly authorized by federal, state or local governments (stopping the practice of pretending that operational costs are mandated by the government) and directing the FCC to submit to Congress a study on handset locking and its effect on consumer behaviour and competition. Of course, this is being opposed by the mobile industry but supported by other organizations, reports RCR News. The combined effect of handset unlocking and no early termination fees means the cost of handsets will rise, which may delay the move to higher-capability handsets that content providers are hoping for. That being said, now that Apple has broken the ice on the concept of paying full-price for a quality handset (the recent price drop notwithstanding) maybe more people will be willing to fork out some dough for a decent device.

Over in Malaysia the government is pushing for mobile operators to develop a system to prevent spamming and spoofing (disguising messages so it appears they’ve been requested by the receivers) of mobile phones users, with Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik saying operators should have the preventive automatic system in place by the end of the month. They’ll also have to provide a billing system for prepaid users so they can check their accounts for unwanted charges, reports NST Online. By July the regulatory bodies had received 176 complaints relating to this, with 23 cases cited under the guidelines and the content providers having their SMS code suspended.

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