In case you missed it, the Progressive Policy Institute this week held a conference here in Washington at the National Press Club on the economic implications of the wireless boom. AT&T’s Jim Cicconi delivered remarks that focused on the outdated regulations that stand to affect the growth and innovation of the wireless market. Check out the videos below to hear more from Jim on modernizing current communications laws to better fit the ever changing marketplace, and other panelists talking about the wireless boon.
Here, Jim talks about how the regulatory structure in this country is designed to oversee a wireline voice monopoly, which does not exist today.
And here, Jim talks about how the Telecom Act is out of date and that there’s a need to take a fresh look at modernizing the function of the FCC as well.
Roger Enter of Recon Analytics discusses his new study, “The Wireless Industry: The Essential Engine of U.S. Economic Growth,” and the impact the wireless industry has on job creation and GDP.
Tom Hazlett, Professor of Law & Economics at the nearby George Mason University, talks about the wireless innovation wave and that it is just beginning.
Mike Mandel, Chief Economic Strategist of the Progressive Policy Institute, addresses how while investment by the government has been falling in recent years, investment by wireless providers is very strong. Are they “investment heroes”?
By Jim Bugel, AT&T Assistant Vice President, Public Safety and Homeland Security
This week, we launched our new website to help better educate our customers on protecting their wireless devices and their personal information. You might recall that, just a few weeks ago, we joined our fellow wireless carriers, law enforcement, Senator Schumer and Chairman Genachowski at an FCC event that focused on industry efforts to address the problem of stolen devices.
The new website, which can be found at www.att.com/stolenphone, focuses on the critical importance of passwords – not only to protect the device but the account as well. We encourage our customers to also change their passwords. Often. We also provide guidance on downloading apps that help to protect devices and personal information. We further offer a tutorial on how to back up SIM card contacts. And last, but certainly not least, we provide the steps a customer should take in the event their device is lost or stolen.
Our many efforts to tackle the challenges that stem from the theft of wireless devices are well underway. And our work with the industry as well as governments and the law enforcement community continues. So, stay tuned for more updates as we roll out additional educational tools and materials (and the new database to identify and disable stolen devices) over the coming months.
The following statement may be attributed to an AT&T spokesperson:
“AT&T takes the problem of unauthorized third-party charges, or cramming, very seriously. We provide our customers with tools to understand and manage legitimate third-party charges on their phone bills and we have also put in place an aggressive anti-cramming program that includes strict requirements for customer authorization of third-party charges, monthly tracking of cramming complaints and audits of third-party billers. In addition, last month, we announced that we would limit third-party charges on wireline bills to certain types of charges that are less likely to create opportunities for cramming. The industry as a whole has worked cooperatively with each other, as well as the FCC, to identify ways to help customers effectively manage their bills. And we are committed to continuing this work”
