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AARP calling for cell-phone service reform

Having already equipped most adults and half of all teenagers with cell phones, the mobile-phone industry now is turning its attention to the last untapped demographic – people over 65.

By Matt Richtel, The New York Times

http://www.insidedenver.com/drmn/business/article/0,1299,DRMN_4_3247216,00.html

But its dreams of collecting monthly subscription fees from elderly users may exact a hefty and unexpected price. The mobile-phone industry has roused the interest of AARP, the powerful advocate for older Americans.

AARP is not happy with what it has heard from its members: complaints about byzantine service contracts, confusing bills and dead zones not clearly marked on coverage maps.

They are the same concerns that have been expressed for years by other consumers, who now have a new champion in the 35-million-member AARP.

We’re hoping "to make the industry stand up and say, ‘We’ve got to fix what’s going on here,’ " said Susan Weinstock, national coordinator, economic and utility issues, with AARP.

The group already has prompted the introduction of legislation in New York state that would provide more flexibility in canceling cell-phone contracts, and it plans similar efforts in other states.

AARP’s campaign, which includes lobbying Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and state legislatures, and talk of running its own cell-phone service, has caught the cell-phone industry off guard.

Consumer advocates say -AARP’s aggressiveness also reflects its own internal dynamics and that AARP is focusing on such a universally and easily agreed-upon position to unite a membership angered and torn by the turmoil of last year’s divisive Medicare fight.

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