Cingular Sensation

Thanks to a tip from Missy to a BusinessWeek article about "consumer vigilantes", I see that Justin has been wreaking havoc with Cingular while becoming a YouTube success. That annoying noise a Cingular GSM phone makes when it's next to a speaker apparently blew one of his speakers up. (This is incredibly annoying to me every day in meetings, given the proliferation of cell phones on the table next to the speaker phone.) After being rejected by customer service, he started a web site called Feeling Cingular and posted a YouTube video. Later the company offered to replace the speakers, but by then it was too late.

Callaway, who works with video equipment, says that even if there's not damage the phone causes an irritating buzz, and feels AT&T should do more to make consumers aware of the issue. That's why he didn't accept the offer. "It wasn't about the speakers anymore," he says. He's not stopping with the video, either: Callaway is seeking class-action status for a suit against Cingular over subscribers' inability to use their phones in some settings without interference. An AT&T spokesperson says that, due to the proposed litigation, it could not comment, but it works to resolve consumers' issues promptly.

I have always wondered how the phone companies managed to get FCC approval when their phones obviously interfere with nearby electronic equipment. I figured it was one more example of a political appointee looking the other way for a corporate donor. I bet it would cost them less than a penny a phone to fix the situation. So, while I was unhappy about the woman suing the stables because she did not pay attention to the release form, I have to go with Justin on this one.