By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff | December 20, 2006 The Boston Globe
Calls fade out or break up. Calls are dropped altogether in mid-conversation. These are the afflictions of cellphone users. And as dependence on the devices grows, so does the annoyance level.
Now Michael W. Morrissey, the Senate chairman of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy, is putting forth legislation to impose new regulations on cellular phone companies to make them more responsive to consumers.
The bill, drafted by Morrissey, would force the companies to issue semiannual public reports detailing their signal strength, their dead zones, and gaps in coverage, along with the number of dropped calls.
In addition, the legislation would allow customers with poor service to terminate their contract with their cellphone company without having to pay hefty penalties. Consumers would pay only a pro-rated share of the early termination fee, based on how long they have had their service; currently, customers who wish to get out of a service contract are usually required to pay the full termination fee.
There are no similar laws in effect anywhere in the country, according to industry officials.