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  • Playing the Angel

    • 8 out of 10
    • Depeche Mode
    • Oddly enough, Playing The Angel is a return to form for Depeche Mode, even though it may well be argued that they never truly deviated from their roots in their more recent offerings. In the

  • Quadrophenia

    • 10 out of 10
    • The Who
    • Quadrophenia is everything that Tommy wanted to be, a rock opera that told a story, but one where every song could still stand alone. It was also Pete Townshend's farewell tribute to the Mod

  • King James Version

    • 4 out of 10
    • Harvey Danger
    • The sophomore effort from Harvey Danger, I was really looking forward to this followup to "Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?" Unfortunately, "King James Version" failed to deliver any of the bri

  • 8:30

    • 10 out of 10
    • Weather Report
    • This is Weather Reports quintessential line-up captured live. Jaco Pastorious and Peter Erskine join Wayne Shorter and, of course, Joe Zawinul to create this masterpiece.
  • Aretha Sings the Blues

    • 6 out of 10
    • Aretha Franklin
    • While she didn't always have the best taste in song selection, Aretha Franklin is a must-study for anyone with interest in the human voice. She has the kind of powerful, recklessly passionate deliv

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News

Congressman Proposes Bill to Require Contract-Free Phones

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) has proposed a sweeping bill to alter the terms on which customers purchase mobile phones. The "Wireless Consumer Protection and Community Broadband Empowerment Act of 2008" recognizes that wireless service has become a replacement for traditional phone service for millions of Americans and seeks to require broader disclosure of fees and terms, require plans with no early termination fee, proration of plans that do have termination fees, offer a contract-free non-subsidized phone and a host of other remedies that seek to address practices in the mobile phone industry.

Rep, Markey is the chairman of the House telecommunications and Internet committee. Hearings on the bill start on Wednesday.

The mobile phone carriers have responded, according to C|Net, by saying that the early termination fee is necessary to offset the cost of subsidized phones. Accordingly, the Markey proposed bill would require carriers to offer a non-subsidized phone.

The proposed legislation mirrors the rules that have been in force in Europe for some time.

Seeing the handwriting on the wall, some carriers, including AT&T, have already announced plans to prorate termination fees. That move is probably intended to serve as evidence that the mobile phone industry can regulate itself. Rep. Markey’s proposed legislation however goes into much greater detail to protect the interests of the consumers. No doubt that the CTIA and the carriers will fight this bill, but the weight of time, the dependence of so many Americans on cell phones and the precedent in Europe all portend a sea change in the way Americans purchase mobile phones.

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