U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Jay Rockefeller today announced that they'll be introducing a bill on Friday called the Cellphone Consumer Empowerment Act, which aims to make it easier for consumers to manage their wireless services.

"The bill has some ambitious goals," writes the Washington Post's Kim Hart. "It would require wireless carriers to pro-rate early termination fees (a practice already put in place by Verizon Wireless), as well as provide consumers with a detailed map of service quality dropped-call areas. The bill would also prohibit carriers from charging any extra fees unless they are explicitly required by state or federal regulation."

They also want to end the practice of locking handsets to specific carriers. "You shouldn't have to perform surgical maneuvers to pair the technology you want with the service that fits your needs and your budget," Klobuchar said today, referring (presumably) to the surgical maneuvers recently performed by one George Hotz...

"The cellular industry, which is pushing for a national regulatory framework that would pre-empt limited state oversight of wireless operators, suddenly has been put on the defensive and now confronts a dramatic shift in the politics surrounding its top legislative priority," writes RCR Wireless News' Jeffrey Silva.

More here from XCHANGE Magazine ... more here from PC Magazine ... and the press release is here.