Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), unveiled their wireless consumer protection bill today, and industry representatives were quick to respond.  “It is disappointing and unfortunate that Sens. Klobuchar and Rockefeller intend to introduce legislation based on incomplete and misleading data. The truth is that complaints about wireless service to the FCC are infrequent and declining,” said Steve Largent, president of cellphone association CTIA. “The most recently published FCC data, which was absent from the senators’ announcement, clearly shows that contract-related complaints, as well as overall wireless complaints, are falling.”  Click here for the full story.

The legislation could prohibit cellular carriers from even listing fees other than those for wireless service and charges explicitly authorized by federal, state or local governments. As such, the long-held, widespread industry practice of breaking out “regulatory recovery fees” levied on subscribers could be outlawed.

2 Senators introduced a Wireless Consumer Protection Bill that might mean big changes for the Industry.  For Example, the bill directs the FCC to study handset locking and how it could effect consumers, ““The rules governing our wireless industry are a relic of the 1980s, when cellphones were a luxury item that fit into a briefcase instead of a pocket,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)  Click here for the full story.

 The wireless industry has been pushing for national regulation because of concerns about local governments and conflicting rules.  Now that comprehensive legislation will be debated, companies should make sure their point of view is taken into account.

There is a continuing string of pull backs in cities as plans to roll-out urban wireless networks lose momentum.  The current research is scanty, but anecdotal evidence is showing more disappointments - Click here for the San Francisco story.

Houston has stopped for now, ditto Philadelphia.  Earthlink seems to be the weak link in several of these.  Finding the money seems murkier these days.  How is the provider getting paid?  From the city?  From ads?  The last one was Google’s ticket to the money in San Francisco, but it looks less likely at the moment.  A wireless network is a logical idea for any urban area.  Hype has gotten ahead of reality in a lot of places though.  We need more research on this one.  Ask a lot more questions about the business plan before you head out to the press conference, Mr. Mayor. 

It seems Nokia and Apple continue to give the consumer reasons to upgrade to or buy into their cell phones. According to Gartner, cell phone sales grew 17 percent in second quarter this year. They also predict that mobile phone sales will reach 1.13 billion units by the end of 2007.

Probably what is most telling is that Apple is selling a phone that is about the same price as a new computer. The iPhone is the current ultimate in coolhunting for the tech crowd.

Advanced features aren’t getting the interest from consumers that mobile phone operators hoped for according to finding from Continental Research. You can read the full story here. Interest in special features such as watching TV or even surfing the internet just isn’t there.

It seems the top two features outside of the actual phone is taking photos and playing games. This turns into an issue to get additional wallet share from the user. According to the study, most people (68%) just want a phone that is affordable and simple to use.

Cell phone providers should remember it’s a cell phone. What would you be willing to pay for a cell phone that always gave you coverage? It becomes less about price if I know the phone gives me coverage no matter where I go. Product managers should pay attention to these findings before they start throwing more into the cell phone bag.

A recent study by comScore showed that 27% of the consumers that changed their wireless provider due to coverage. It was easily the number 1 reason why they switched.

Based on 1,180 participants, almost half of the dissatisfied consumers were willing to switch regardless of the penalty before their subscription expired. Pricing was the number 2 reason to switch. You can read the whole story if you just click here.

According to a recent study, the next 2 years will see a 7% increase in demand for dual-mode VOIP phones according to Infonetics Research.

Dual-mode phones are expected to represent 30% of all cell phones by 2009. The phones allow the user to switch between PBX and mobile networks. Read the whole story by clicking here.

According to a new study by iSuppli, copper still has a major role to play in telecommunications infrastructure. The choice to use copper over fiber-optic seems to be grounded simply in the high cost of fiber-optic. iSuppli believes VDSL to be the choice at least over the next 10 years as the cost of fiber-optic comes down.

To read the entire story, click here.