Josh Richman, political writer for the Bay Area News Group, recently wrote about Eshoo's legislation, the Next Generation Wireless Disclosure Act, which was introduced by Senators Blumenthal, Klobuchar and Franken. Eshoo's legislation would require wireless providers to give complete, accurate information about their 4G wireless data services in their ads and sales practices. An excerpt is below:

The Next Generation Wireless Disclosure Act by U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Al Franken, D-Minn., parallels the earlier bill, HR 2281, by Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto.

"Consumers deserve to know exactly what they're getting when they sign up for a two year wireless data plan," Eshoo, the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Communications and Technology Subcommittee, said today. "Consumers want faster and faster phones, and demand for 4G is only going to increase. But they also deserve to know the truth about the speeds they're actually getting. Wireless companies advertise 4G service as 'lightning fast' and 'super-charged,' but that's not always the case. My legislation is simple – it will require truth in advertising."

She said she's proud to see Blumenthal and Franken – both of whom sit on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law – along with Klobuchar introduce the bill's Senate version. "With their help, we can make sure that consumers have all the information they need to make an informed choice about which wireless data service to purchase."

At the moment, 4G wireless broadband internet is in the eye of the beholder: With no standard definition, the four major wireless companies can advertise different technology as "4G" despite speeds that differ vastly depending on provider and location. The legislation would force them to disclose guaranteed minimum data speed, network reliability, coverage area maps, pricing, the technology used to provide 4G service and network conditions that can impact speed on all of their point-of-sale marketing and advertising as well as on all billing materials.

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