42 California government entities sue wireless companies

Forty-two California government entities, including the Regents of the University of California and Sacramento and Los Angeles counties, have joined a lawsuit against four giant wireless companies alleging they overcharged government customers by more than $100 million.

Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile are accused of ignoring two cost-saving requirements included in their contracts with California state and local government customers.

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Those contracts required the carriers to determine and report to the government customers which rate plans would result in the lowest cost available and to provide wireless services at that cost. Selecting the rate plan that best matches usage patterns can reduce costs by 20% to 30% over the term of a contract, according to the suit.

Representatives from Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile were not immediately available for comment Tuesday.