Consumer group asks FCC to require more 4G disclosure

Consumer advocate group Consumer Watchdog is asking the Federal Communications Commission to require carriers to list the speed of their 4G networks in advertisements and at the point of sale.

In a petition to be filed August 23, the consumer group said that while carriers tout their “4G” networks, the definitions of what qualifies a network as fourth-generation are too unclear for consumers to make sense of the designation. “When it comes to advertising data speed, the cellphone marketplace is like the Wild West. We need the FCC to step up to its role of sheriff and set standards so people can comparison shop without being ripped off and then locked into a two-year contract,” said Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog. The petition asks the FCC to adopt rules that would require carriers to disclose the average data speeds for different regions in their advertisements and give national average data speeds. The proposal would also require the carriers to provide these speed figures at the point of sale when customers buy smartphones or other broadband devices.