The FCC estimates that around 30 million Americans have suffered from bill shock — that horrifying feeling when you realize your mobile bill is way higher than expected. To deal with this, the commission is working with the country’s leading wireless carriers to alert customers about additional charges. The free alerts will cover usage for voice, data, SMS, and international roaming, and will come in two forms — one when you’re nearing your limit, and another once you pass it. The new system will cover 97 percent of US wireless customers, and the FCC says that carriers will need to implement alerts for at least two of the different charges by October 17th, 2012 and all four by April 17th, 2013. It’s also not something that customers will have to worry about setting up — one of the requirements is that “subscribers will not need to take any action to receive the alerts.” You can check the table below to see which alerts are currently available from your carrier.
FCC fighting mobile ‘bill shock’ with new alert system
A new arrangement between the FCC and the US’ leading wireless carriers will ensure that 97 percent of Americans are alerted when they’re about to incur additional wireless charges.
A new arrangement between the FCC and the US’ leading wireless carriers will ensure that 97 percent of Americans are alerted when they’re about to incur additional wireless charges.
is an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories.
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