Consumer Protection

Consumers increasingly rely on cell phone service to meet their basic communication needs. The use of wireless communications has skyrocketed over the past few years, jumping from approximately 24 million subscribers in 1994 to an estimated 170 million today. Along with the growth in the industry has come an increase in consumer complaints. In fact, complaints to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the agency charged with overseeing competition in the wireless industry, increased almost 40 percent between 2002 and 2003, significantly outpacing the 13 percent growth in subscribers during that time period.