Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken along with with fellow Democrat Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) have introduced a bill to the U.S. Senate last week designed to force wireless operators to be more forthcoming about what customers can expected from services that are marketed as 4G.
Similar to the "Next Generation Wireless Disclosure Act," introduced in June to the House of Representatives byRep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), the proposed legislation would require operators to disclose the guaranteed minimum data speed, network reliability and network conditions that can impact the speed of their 4G applications and services.
The proposed bill also would required the FCC to evaluate the speed of 4G data services for the top 10 U.S. wireless operators.
The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) opposes the move. "This bill proposes to add an additional layer of regulation to a new and exciting set of services, while ignoring the fact that wireless is an inherently complex and dynamic environment in which network speeds can vary depending on a wide variety of factors, such as weather, terrain and foliage," said CTIA spokesman Jot Carpenter.
Operators use the term 4G for HSPA+, LTE and WiMAX services.
For more:
- see this Cnet article
Related articles:
Legislator proposes 4G bill requiring operators to guarantee data speeds
Verizon's Melone discusses '4G' marketing claims
Battle erupts over T-Mobile's 'largest 4G network' claims