According to a new study (pdf) by The General Accounting Office, the FCC doesn't do enough to follow up on consumer complaints about wireless service, consistently fails to protect consumers from anti-competitive behavior by wireless carriers, and needs to do a better job enforcing consumer protection rules. While the report does note that more than 80% of consumers are "somewhat or very satisfied" with their wireless carriers, those who may not be are often confused about the FCC's role in complaint resolution, or even how to complain to the FCC.

That's of course not helped by the FCC's antiquated website, which has been begging for a complete redesign for years. With consumers unable or not understanding how to complain, the GAO claims the FCC may not be keyed in to key consumer issues in the wireless sector.

As for the complaints the FCC does get, the majority are about high prices or billing issues. Early termination fees continue to be a sticky subject for consumers, the GAO nothing that 42% of customers who want to switch carriers don't because of high ETFs. On one hand customers signed the contract and agreed to the ETF. On the other hand, carriers sometimes use long-term contracts and ETFs as a substitute for competing and providing better service when warranted.

The industry, as you might expect, believes that there's nothing wrong with the ETF and subsidized handset model. "We understand there may be some confusion over early termination fees," says the wireless industry's chief lobbying and trade group the CTIA in a statement.

"There are many choices available for consumers, including options that do not have any early termination fees such as unsubsidized handsets without a contract and a prepaid plan that has no contract," says the CTIA. "After listening to their customers, carriers who serve more than 94 percent of the postpaid market have adopted pro-rated early termination fee policies."

Technically, the wireless industry wasn't listening to consumers so much as they were trying to pre-empt new federal laws, avoid class action lawsuit payouts, and responding to Attorney General complaints. The study notes that pro-rating ETFs "may be inadequate because the fees are not reduced to $0 over of the course of the contract period."