VentureBeat

Cell phone plans can be pretty tough to figure out, with all the different charges and fine print. In fact, the Federal Communications Commission is investigating ways to make things simpler — and a startup called BillShrink has some ideas.

The Redwood City, Calif. company offers free recommendations on how consumers can save money. Its newest feature involves finding the right savings plan, but BillShrink started out by helping with cell phone plans. Based on its user data, the company estimates that 80 percent of cell phone owners are paying more for their plans than they need to, because they don’t know better.

BillShrink just filed some comments with the FCC about how the system could be improved. At the core of those comments are recommendations for 10 things that cell phone carriers should be required to share or do, so that consumers can make more informed choices. Of course, making this data publicly available will be good for BillShrink, since that improves its recommendations. I suppose there might be a point where there’s so much transparency that no one needs to use the service. But that’s probably not a huge worry since the service is free.

Here’s a list of what cell carriers should provide, according to BillShrink. The wording is the company’s, though most of these ideas seem reasonable to me:

1. Plan and phone data. Carriers should provide via data feeds all plan prices, features, phone specifications, eligibility, and compatibility for every zip code in the U.S. BillShrink further recommends a minimum of 30-days notice on new changes.
2. Coverage maps, dropped call data and network connection data. Carriers should provide street-level maps allowing consumers to determine if a carrier offers signals at their home, work and other relevant locations. Carriers should provide detailed information on individuals’ dropped calls, including the location of the dropped call and information on the phone model. Data network connection speeds should also be made available with detail on the phone’s model, geo-locations, and time stamping.
3. Contract agreement detail with start and end dates, as well as upgrade eligibility. Each billing cycle should indicate the start and end date of the user’s contract. Each monthly bill should further indicate when the user is next eligible for an upgrade.
4. Roaming and long-distance fees. Upfront disclosure on what rates consumers will pay if they travel beyond their work/home area, including all international roaming costs.
5. Termination fee policies and prorated calculation of termination fees with each billing cycle. Carriers should provide detail on current, prorated termination costs with each billing cycle so consumers understand what fees will be incurred should they cancel their contracts. Prorating should also be consistent across all carriers by taking contract length time and dividing it by the fee. Improved bill content that clearly delineates taxes and regulatory fees. Taxes and fees are often bundled with bill totals. This makes it difficult to understand which charges relate solely to wireless usage. Taxes and fees for each zip code should be immediately and openly available to the public so these fees are identified separately from wireless usage price.
6. Disclosure of customer complaints and ability to allow customers (and/or authorized agents) to dispute line items on a bill. Create a clear process for customers to dispute line items on a bill beyond the general 1-800 customer service number and fine-print instructions on the back of a bill.
7. All plans should be available with or without a phone contract. Consumers are locked into their contracts for an average of two years, yet pricing for plans and handsets fluctuate almost monthly. Therefore, individuals should be able to pay the same amount for any plan whether or not they purchase a device. Phones should be priced separately, and an additional option of paying the phone off separately over time should be offered.
8. Unlocked phones. Carriers currently practice “locking” phones so consumers are unable to use their phones with a different carrier, effectively hindering freedom of choice. If the previous point exists, carrier contract and phone pricing will exist separately, allowing users to pay for a phone with one carrier while using service provided by another carrier.
9. Allow consumer to change plans mid-contract without penalty. Individuals should have the right to change their plans online at any stage of the contract without incurring a penalty.
10. Detailed usage data on unlimited plans. Some carriers do not provide the details of every text message, Kb of data used, and calls made on unlimited calling plans. Consumers are thus unable to compare their usage patterns to another carrier’s set of plans. This detailed usage should always be available online to the consumer.

[photo:flickr/whiteafrican]

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