AT&T: Mobile Phone Service is a Luxury

July 19, 2007

Nobody would dispute the fact that communication is an essential part of any modern society. Without the ability to communicate, businesses could not do business and individuals would not be able to keep in touch with friends and family. Given the importance of communication, the US Government established the Federal Communications Commission to regulate the communications business and to ensure that the interests of both the service providers and consumers are properly met.

So, you can imagine how shocked I was to hear AT&T tell me that my mobile phone service is a luxury and that it has the right to force me to sign contracts with language, terms, and conditions as it sees fit.

Most people in America are quite used to contracts forced on them by their mobile service providers. Generally, though, they are contracts that come in exchange for free or low-cost phones. Mobile operators purchase phones at significant discounts and then give those phones to customers for "free" or at a reduced price in exchange for signing a one- or two-year contract which, through that contract, the service provider is more than able to recover the cost of the phone. In general, this is not a terrible practice, especially when customers are not able to pay for the phones up-front.

However, AT&T goes too far with its policies and demands for contracts. Recently, I wanted to get a new "line" for my son and add that to my existing account—something that I can do under my current service agreement. But, what AT&T demanded when I requested that new line was that I sign a new contract. I was surprised, since I have not been under contract for many years and I already owned the GSM phone that I would use with that new SIM card.

So, I argued with AT&T, which proved to be fruitless. I filed a complaint with the FCC, which did nothing but pass the complaint along to AT&T. Through that exchange, though, I did get an opportunity to argue further with AT&T that I should not be required to sign a contract given that I've been a customer for years with a proven credit history and that I was not buying new equipment. I got nowhere, but one of the things I was told by AT&T was that they can do whatever they wish and that my mobile phone service is a "luxury" (that was their word for my phone service).

With this kind of attitude, I question whether the FCC is even needed at all. At least, it would appear that the FCC is not doing a very good job at serving the interest of consumers.