Ms. Buyer is a regular columnist for the THE BULLETIN of the Bar Association of Erie County and is a contributor to No Jitter. Previously, she has written numerous commentaries on telecommunications law for other legal and telecommunications publications including, among others, The Daily Record, Communications Convergence and Computer Telephony. Her articles cover a broad range of topics highlighting current telecommunications issues including federal and state telecommunications policy, litigation, wireless technologies, spectrum policy, FCC initiatives, and industry consolidation. Martha Buyer has also contributed to the ABA Journal Report.
Although they’re not here quite yet, the day of the mobile wallet is quickly approaching. However, before most of us feel comfortable keeping more information than we already do on our smart phones, there are a number of hurdles—both actual and perceived—that need to be overcome.
When Edward Snowden became sufficiently disillusioned with the activities of the National Security Agency to take the dramatic step of disclosing classified information about the collection of information on citizens and non-citizens alike, he opened one of the largest cans of worms ever. The fallout from his actions will be felt for years to come as individuals, organizations and courts tackle the thorny questions that his disclosures raised.
February 1, 2013 | tagged Bulletin of the Bar Association of Erie County | in Law & Policy In mid-December, delegates from 193 nations gathered in Dubai to develop what was hoped would be a new international framework for regulation of telecommunications throughout the world. Given that the last time the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) had been together formally to address major international telecommunications policy was 1988, much had changed--most notably the rise of the Internet not only as an “information superhighway,” but also as a dominant force in the delivery of telecommunications offerings--including voice communications.
January 25, 2013 | in Law & Policy At the most recent conference of the Society of Telecommunications Consultants (stcconsultants.org), I was asked about the duties that the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Pub.L. 111-203, H.R. 4173) has placed on record retention and maintenance for those entities (financial institutions and organizations) that work in the swap space. Given that the rules in the Act became effective on June 4, 2012, compliance is now law.
I don’t imagine that anything will ever beat the story of the call from the panicked consumer who called me several years ago after receiving a (…wait for it…) $45,000 wireless phone bill after a 5 day trip overseas. The problem was that the device owner’s son had spent the 5 days watching videos on the wireless device. Getting a signal wasn’t the problem. Paying for using it—and understanding the costs associated with Junior’s video streaming from overseas for 5 solid days—was! Talk about being in the proverbial “dog house” for an extended stay…. Ultimately, the consumer still paid a whopping $9,000 bill (her abusive call to the provider’s call center did NOT help her cause—particularly since the provider’s billing was precisely in line with its published rates and contract terms). The experience of the client, which unfortunately is not unusual (although certainly at a much larger scale than normal), is what’s known as “bill shock.”
January 25, 2013 | tagged Bulletin of the Bar Association of Erie County | in Consumer Issues