A headline caught my attention right away in today's paper. Cellphone users will now get an alert message when they are nearing the limit on their voice or data plan to avoid large excess charge fees. The F.C.C. along with the Obama Administration and the CTIA have been working towards this for some time and withing the next 18 months, all carriers will have to offer customers an option for free usage updates.
The summary lede was a good choice for the piece because it gave the information on a fairly complex process quickly and efficiently. Since cellphones are such a common household item these days, having a title and lede that gives the reader everything right away will most likely cause them to continue reading because they know its something that effects their lives.
While I understand how this new system will benefit customers and help them stay on top of their usage and by extent their finances, its seems a bit sad that it has to be done. Responsibility and independence are less common in American citizens as we just spend and use without thinking of the cost. The article did tell of an elderly man whose unlimited plan abruptly stopped, causing him to owe a large sum of money, but that was a unique case. Most of this issue comes from people using their phone unwisely, never stopping to check to see where they were on their plan limit. As someone who tracks her data usage each month, this new system will only add one more way for me to stay informed. Hopefully this will help people stop and see how much time they spend on their phones before its too expensive to live with.
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