Lawmaker questions the iPhone’s termination fee

The chairman of a House subcommittee on telecommunications and the Internet Rep. Edward J. Markey is very upset by the fact that the iPhone has a US$ 175 termination fee. He said that the phone essentially becomes a very expensive paperweight if owners decide to discontinue their AT&T plan.

To put things into perspective, he was quoted at saying that the phone has “Hotel California service. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave—you’re stuck with your iPhone and you can’t take it anywhere.” This entire argument started from a hearing regarding the cellphone industry’s wish to pre-empt states from regulating wireless phone companies.

So far the state public utility commissions have no authority over the pricing of wireless plans but have control over the terms and conditions of wireless service agreements. Be that as it may a law professor at Columbia University Timothy Wu had another take on the entire system saying that our current cellular phone industry is a “spectrum- based oligopoly” and that we, as consumers, have already given up our property rights.

He gave a very good example on this: “Imagine buying a television that stopped working if you decided to switch to satellite or a toaster that died if you switched from Potomac Power to ConEd.” Now it’s time to ask yourself, is this the way we want things to be run? Or do we want more from the system.

Via BreitBart

The chairman of a House subcommittee on telecommunications and the Internet Rep. Edward J. Markey is very upset by the fact that the iPhone has a US$ 175 termination fee. He said that the phone essentially becomes a very expensive paperweight if owners decide to discontinue their AT&T plan.

To put things into perspective, he was quoted at saying that the phone has “Hotel California service. You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave—you’re stuck with your iPhone and you can’t take it anywhere.” This entire argument started from a hearing regarding the cellphone industry’s wish to pre-empt states from regulating wireless phone companies.

So far the state public utility commissions have no authority over the pricing of wireless plans but have control over the terms and conditions of wireless service agreements. Be that as it may a law professor at Columbia University Timothy Wu had another take on the entire system saying that our current cellular phone industry is a “spectrum- based oligopoly” and that we, as consumers, have already given up our property rights.

He gave a very good example on this: “Imagine buying a television that stopped working if you decided to switch to satellite or a toaster that died if you switched from Potomac Power to ConEd.” Now it’s time to ask yourself, is this the way we want things to be run? Or do we want more from the system.

Via BreitBart