Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Consumer Reports Calls for Improvements in U.S. Cell Phone Service

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 07 Jan 2003 13:12:48 -0500

Consumer Reports Calls for Improvements in U.S. Cell Phone Service

In a survey of nearly 22,000 of its magazine subscribers, Consumer Reports
found that a third of them are considering changing cell phone service providers
because of frustrations with service quality. Those in the survey cited problems
with complicated calling plans, dead spots in coverage areas, dropped calls
and billing problems. A separate survey of 11,500 subscribers to the Consumer
Reports Web site found that 15 percent of the 1,880 who had attempted to use
a cell phone to call 911 emergency services in the previous year had difficulty
getting connected. A spokesman for the Cellular Telecommunications &
Internet Association said that funds that wireless companies could spend on
making service improvements are being diverted to meet mandates from the
Federal Communications Commission and the federal government. For
example, it will cost wireless companies an estimated $1 billion to enable
customers to change carriers w ithout changing phone numbers - money that
could be spend on call quality improvements. The Consumer Reports survey
evaluated wireless service in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, San
Francisco and Washington, D.C. provided by six carriers: Verizon Wireless,
Cingular Wireless, AT&T Wireless, Sprint PCS, Nextel and T-Mobile.
Information on the Consumer Reports cell phone survey will be available at
www.consumerreports.org free for one month. The Consumers Union is also
launching a new Web site, www.consumersunion.org/wireless for information
on wireless calling plans and filing complaints about wireless service

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