Public Knowledge Calls for More Data and Consumer Protections in Phone Network Trials

On March 31, 2014, Public Knowledge, along with the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute and the Benton Foundation, told the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that AT&T’s plans to test its new services on consumers must include more thorough data collection plans and more robust consumer protections.

In our comments, we pointed out ways AT&T’s trials should be improved so they produce useful, reliable information:

• The proposal should collect data on many metrics beyond just the number of dropped or blocked calls, like network capacity, call quality, device interoperability, accessibility for users with disabilities, system availability, and 9-1-1 access.
• The proposal should specify a control group to compare results with, ideally one within the same wire center as the trial.
• The proposal should make the trials transparent by involving community representatives and by releasing the collected data.

In addition, the trial plans need to ensure network users will continue to be protected throughout the tests. No carrier should be allowed to systematically turn customers away from services on the traditional network infrastructure until the FCC has ensured the replacement services are comparable—a conclusion we are still far from reaching. To the extent that customers move voluntarily onto new services, AT&T must explicitly and prominently notify them of the known limitations or risks in the new technology, like losing access to medical alerts, alarm systems, 800 numbers, and collect calling services.