Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken Take Aim At 4G Marketing Lies

Minnesota Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, along with Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut have introduced a new bill that will require wireless carriers to better explain 4G technologies in advertisements to customers.

Lawmakers are hoping their new bill will help cut through the marketing mess the “4G label” has presented, specifically they want the varying technologies available under the label to be better explained, specifically LTE, HSPA+ and WiMAX.

The major issue lawmakers have with current marketing is the fact that no current standards actually meet 4G requirements which currently sit at 100mbps, a speed variant U.S. carriers have not come close to meeting.

The new bill would require carriers to guarantee minimum data speeds and network reliability and if passed the Federal Communications Commission would be responsible for evaluating 4G data speeds at the top 10 U.S. wireless carriers.

In a statement regarding the bill Franken said:

“Wireless providers need to make sure their customers can count on the speed, reliability, and the price they were promised when they signed up.”

Industry experts worry that the 4G regulation will make it impossible for carriers to meet standards since foliage, terrain and other standards can effect services based on geographical location. On the other hand wireless carriers have been rampantly abusing the 4G name for a long time, calling every single new data option 4G technology.

Do you believe wireless carriers should be more regulated when it comes to the terms they choose to use when marketing their Smartphones, Tablets and other devices?