Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum's office reached a $1.5 million settlement with Verizon Wireless and its Alltel subsidiary over third-party charges for mobile content.

As part of the settlement, Verizon Wireless will adopt best-practice standards meant to protect consumers from third-party charges for mobile content that customers either did not order or did not realize would result in a monthly charge.

Mobile content includes ringtones, music, wallpaper, horoscopes and other material that is often promoted as "free," but ultimately ends up costing consumers money. These types of charges usually appear on a subscriber's monthly bill and are recurring most of the time.

According to a statement issued by Mr. McCollum's office in Tallahassee, FL, the bill charges often appear under the following names: "OpenMarket," "M-Qube" and "M-Blox."

The increasing number of complaints with the mobile content industry led to the investigation.

Thousands of Florida consumers are said to have received these charges for mobile content downloads that they did not authorize.

As part of the settlement, Verizon Wireless will pay $1.5 million in retribution. Alltel will pay $500,000.

The fines are being paid to the State of Florida for the costs of its investigation and to help the Attorney General's Office fund the efforts of the task force as it continues to press for similar reform across the industry.

Before this investigation, Verizon Wireless let customers block third-party mobile content.

Verizon Wireless has agreed to steer clear from the word "free" in advertisements that do not clearly disclose an actual price.

The carrier must also require all content providers and advertisers to clearly disclose the costs associated with any mobile content.

These compliance standards are meant to ensure consumers see and understand the terms and conditions of the purchase they are making.

Verizon Wireless and Alltel have promised to enforce these new standards.