BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   AB 610|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 610
          Author:   Calderon (D)
          Amended:  6/21/05 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SEN. ENERGY, UTIL. & COMMUNICATIONS COMM.  :  7-2, 6/30/05
          AYES:  Escutia, Alarcon, Bowen, Dunn, Kehoe, Murray,  
            Simitian
          NOES:  Battin, Cox
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Morrow, Campbell

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  57-19, 5/19/05 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Telecommunications:  mobile telephony services

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill requires cellular telephone companies  
          to provide subscribers a means to obtain reasonably current  
          information about the Internet and text messaging usage and  
          charges associated with their service plan by January 1,  
          2007.

           ANALYSIS  :    Current law requires cellular telephone  
          companies to provide customers with a means by which they  
          can obtain current information on their calling plans,  
          usage, and charges.

          This bill requires cellular telephone companies, by January  
          1, 2007, to also provide customers with a means by which  
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          they can obtain reasonably current and available  
          information, as determined by the provider, on their text  
          messaging and Internet usage and charges.

           Background

           Cellular telephones have become increasingly capable.  In  
          addition to voice communications, many cell phones can now  
          be used to send and receive text messages and access the  
          Internet.  Soon those p hones will be able to receive  
          television-like service, provide location information, and  
          act like electronic wallets.  Calling these devices  
          "phones" seems like quaint understatement.

          As cellular telephones have become more widely adopted and  
          their capabilities expanded, so too have customer  
          expectations.  Cell phones are now expected to work  
          everywhere, with clear, reliable service.  While these  
          expectations may be unrealistic, they are reinforced by the  
          marketing efforts of the cellular telephone companies.  The  
          unmet consumer expectations have inevitably led to  
          disappointment which, in turn, leads to calls for  
          regulation.  In California, this began in the mid-1990's  
          when concerns about high and not-well-disclosed early  
          termination fees led to an effort to restrict those fees.   
          Concerns about the high cost of exceeding monthly plan  
          minutes led to the successful 2002 effort to give customers  
          ready access to such information.  Continuing concerns  
          about service quality have given rise to a pending bill  
          which includes cellular telephone service as part of a  
          larger bill establishing telephone service quality  
          standards (SB 1068 [Escutia]).  It would not be bold to  
          predict that future legislation will deal with cell phones  
          and their role as surrogates for debit and credit cards.
           
          Comments

           This bill provides cellular telephone companies with great  
          flexibility to meet the requirements because it allows  
          them, and not the Public Utilities Commission, to determine  
          what information is "reasonably current and available."

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No    
          Local:  No







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           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Arambula, Baca, Bass, Berg, Bermudez, Blakeslee,  
            Calderon, Canciamilla, Chan, Chavez, Chu, Cohn, Coto,  
            Daucher, De La Torre, Dymally, Evans, Frommer, Goldberg,  
            Hancock, Harman, Jerome Horton, Shirley Horton, Houston,  
            Huff, Jones, Karnette, Keene, Klehs, Koretz, Laird, Leno,  
            Levine, Lieber, Matthews, McCarthy, Montanez, Mullin,  
            Nation, Nava, Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Parra, Pavley,  
            Plescia, Ridley-Thomas, Ruskin, Saldana, Salinas,  
            Spitzer, Torrico, Umberg, Vargas, Wolk, Wyland, Yee,  
            Nunez
          NOES:  Aghazarian, Bogh, Cogdill, DeVore, Emmerson, Haynes,  
            La Malfa, La Suer, Leslie, Maze, Mountjoy, Nakanishi,  
            Niello, Richman, Sharon Runner, Strickland, Tran,  
            Villines, Walters
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Benoit, Garcia, Gordon, Liu


          NC:cm  7/5/05   Senate Floor Analyses 

                       SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  NONE RECEIVED

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