Washington – A consumer advocacy group has filed a complaint against Verizon with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), alleging the company is violating terms of a spectrum agreement by preventing consumers from freely “tethering” their 4G smartphones to function as modems for other wireless devices, Wired reports.
Free Press says that Verizon has asked Google to remove tethering application from the Android Market app store, while charging $20 per month for its own tethering service.
Free Press claims that the move violates the terms of Verizon’s spectrum license with the FCC, which says the company may not “deny, limit or restrict” its customers’ ability to use the applications or devices of their choosing.
“Verizon’s conduct is bad for the public and bad for innovation. It also appears to be illegal under the FCC’s rules that govern Verizon’s LTE network,” said Free Press policy counsel Aparna Sridhar.
“Users pay through the nose for Verizon’s LTE service, and having done so, they should be able to use their connections as they see fit. Instead, Verizon’s approach is to sell you broadband but then put up roadblocks to control your use of it.”
The complaint asks the FCC to investigate Verizon’s alleged violation of the terms of its licenses.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4yway8m (Free Press statement)
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/06/verizon-tethering-fcc/
