Itsme
12-25-2005, 07:43 AM
Cell-phone calls near border may be costly
By Kathryn Balint
STAFF WRITER
December 25, 2005
Thomas Henderson of El Centro used to make cell-phone calls near the Mexican border without giving it a second thought. Not anymore.
He was dismayed to learn when he got his wireless bill that his calls were being picked up by Mexican cellular antennas, instead of Cingular's antennas on the U.S. side of the border. Henderson had been billed for making international calls, even though he never set foot in Mexico.
The problem occurred whenever he visited Calexico and whenever he drove on Interstate 8 to San Diego.
Turns out, Henderson was a victim of a problem that afflicts wireless calls near the border area: "bleed over" to Mexican cellular antennas.
"They snag your call, and boom, you're making an international call instead of a local call," Henderson said. "That's absolutely insane."
The problem is believed to be so widespread among Cingular customers that the Utility Consumers' Action Network, a consumer advocacy group in San Diego, has sued the wireless company.
UCAN's attorney is seeking to get the lawsuit, filed in November 2004 in San Diego Superior Court, certified as a class-action case. Cingular is opposing that effort.
The company said it is working to fix the problem.
"It's been an issue we've been addressing for a while," said Cingular spokesman Art Navarro.
He said the company has established teams of customer service representatives to investigate complaints brought by customers who say their local calls were inadvertently picked up by Mexican cellular networks.
In addition, Cingular has asked two wireless carriers in Mexico, Telcel and Telefonica, to redirect their antennas that are near the border. Telefonica has done so already.
"It's a very complex issue of regulatory policy and wireless science," Navarro said. "The issue is often challenging to diagnose."
In the UCAN lawsuit, Jose Castro of San Ysidro is one of the plaintiffs. Castro incurred $2,500 in charges for calls he made from his home, which is half a mile from the Mexican border, to his family in Los Angeles. The calls were billed as international calls at $2.50 a minute, said Alan Mansfield, the attorney representing Castro and UCAN in the lawsuit.
Mansfield thinks the problem may have affected thousands of Cingular customers who live, work or visit areas near the Mexican border.
Some victims, he said, may not even be aware of it if they haven't read their Cingular bills closely.
"Mr. Castro's was a serious situation," Mansfield said. "Other people may have gotten only $20 or $50 charges."
The number of people affected is not known.
The problem affects the swath of land three miles north of the Mexican border. Mexican cellular antennas, some of which are less than 150 feet south of the border, pick up the signal on the U.S. side of the border and transmit the calls, incurring international charges.
It appears to be a problem unique to Cingular customers, Mansfield said. UCAN has received no similar complaints from customers of other wireless providers, he said.
While Mansfield said he has heard of isolated cases of similar incidents happening near the Canadian border, he said the area along the Mexican border is the only place where the problem appears to be "systemic."
Thomas Henderson, the Cingular customer from El Centro, is not a party to the UCAN lawsuit. He made repeated calls and wrote letters to Cingular, finally getting the company to remove the $17.58 in international charges from his bill.
He said he asked Cingular to block international calls, but was told it couldn't be done without blocking all calls that use another carrier's network, even local calls.
He also said he was told by Cingular that the company wouldn't remove the fees if he continued to incur them in the future.
So he did the only thing he could: He quit using his cell phone near the border.
"I surrendered," he said. "I just flat don't make calls near the Mexican border anymore. It's the kiss of death for anybody to use their phone by the border."
By Kathryn Balint
STAFF WRITER
December 25, 2005
Thomas Henderson of El Centro used to make cell-phone calls near the Mexican border without giving it a second thought. Not anymore.
He was dismayed to learn when he got his wireless bill that his calls were being picked up by Mexican cellular antennas, instead of Cingular's antennas on the U.S. side of the border. Henderson had been billed for making international calls, even though he never set foot in Mexico.
The problem occurred whenever he visited Calexico and whenever he drove on Interstate 8 to San Diego.
Turns out, Henderson was a victim of a problem that afflicts wireless calls near the border area: "bleed over" to Mexican cellular antennas.
"They snag your call, and boom, you're making an international call instead of a local call," Henderson said. "That's absolutely insane."
The problem is believed to be so widespread among Cingular customers that the Utility Consumers' Action Network, a consumer advocacy group in San Diego, has sued the wireless company.
UCAN's attorney is seeking to get the lawsuit, filed in November 2004 in San Diego Superior Court, certified as a class-action case. Cingular is opposing that effort.
The company said it is working to fix the problem.
"It's been an issue we've been addressing for a while," said Cingular spokesman Art Navarro.
He said the company has established teams of customer service representatives to investigate complaints brought by customers who say their local calls were inadvertently picked up by Mexican cellular networks.
In addition, Cingular has asked two wireless carriers in Mexico, Telcel and Telefonica, to redirect their antennas that are near the border. Telefonica has done so already.
"It's a very complex issue of regulatory policy and wireless science," Navarro said. "The issue is often challenging to diagnose."
In the UCAN lawsuit, Jose Castro of San Ysidro is one of the plaintiffs. Castro incurred $2,500 in charges for calls he made from his home, which is half a mile from the Mexican border, to his family in Los Angeles. The calls were billed as international calls at $2.50 a minute, said Alan Mansfield, the attorney representing Castro and UCAN in the lawsuit.
Mansfield thinks the problem may have affected thousands of Cingular customers who live, work or visit areas near the Mexican border.
Some victims, he said, may not even be aware of it if they haven't read their Cingular bills closely.
"Mr. Castro's was a serious situation," Mansfield said. "Other people may have gotten only $20 or $50 charges."
The number of people affected is not known.
The problem affects the swath of land three miles north of the Mexican border. Mexican cellular antennas, some of which are less than 150 feet south of the border, pick up the signal on the U.S. side of the border and transmit the calls, incurring international charges.
It appears to be a problem unique to Cingular customers, Mansfield said. UCAN has received no similar complaints from customers of other wireless providers, he said.
While Mansfield said he has heard of isolated cases of similar incidents happening near the Canadian border, he said the area along the Mexican border is the only place where the problem appears to be "systemic."
Thomas Henderson, the Cingular customer from El Centro, is not a party to the UCAN lawsuit. He made repeated calls and wrote letters to Cingular, finally getting the company to remove the $17.58 in international charges from his bill.
He said he asked Cingular to block international calls, but was told it couldn't be done without blocking all calls that use another carrier's network, even local calls.
He also said he was told by Cingular that the company wouldn't remove the fees if he continued to incur them in the future.
So he did the only thing he could: He quit using his cell phone near the border.
"I surrendered," he said. "I just flat don't make calls near the Mexican border anymore. It's the kiss of death for anybody to use their phone by the border."