Today: FTC Refunds For T-Mobile Customers, FCC February Open Meeting Agenda, FCC Robocall Webinar

FTC Refunds For T-Mobile Customers

The Federal Trade Commission announced it is mailing refund checks totaling nearly $20 million to more than 617,000 T-Mobile customers who had third-party charges added to their mobile bills.  The average check amount is $32.  The refunds are the result of a 2014 settlement with T-Mobile, which also involved all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as the FCC.  As part of the settlement, T-Mobile agreed to fully refund unwanted third-party charges to its customers who applied for a refund.  The company also agreed to remit to the FTC any remaining funds up to $90 million that were not distributed under the order.  The FTC is using the remaining settlement money to send checks to customers who had third-party charges placed on their bills but did not participate in T-Mobile’s refund program.

FCC February Open Meeting Agenda

The FCC announced the tentative agenda for its February 23, 2017 Open Meeting.  It includes the following items of interest to competitive carriers:

• Small Business Exemption From Open Internet Enhanced Reporting Requirements – An Order granting a five-year waiver to broadband Internet access service providers with 250,000 or fewer broadband connections from the enhanced reporting requirements adopted in the 2015 Title II Order.
• Connect America Fund, ETC Annual Reports and Certifications – A Report and Order and Order on Reconsideration that (1) resolves a number of issues raised in the CAF Phase II Auction Order FNPRM, including the adoption of weights to compare bids among service performance and latency tiers, and (2) considers several petitions for reconsideration for decisions made in the Phase II Auction Order.
• Universal Service Reform – Mobility Fund; Connect America Fund – A Report and Order adopting rules to provide ongoing support targeted to preserve and advance high-speed mobile broadband and voice service in high-cost areas that the marketplace does not otherwise serve.
• Comprehensive Review of the Part 32 Uniform System of Accounts – A Report and Order that would streamline and eliminate outdated accounting rules no longer needed to fulfill the Commission’s statutory or regulatory duties.

Other items address Next Generation broadcast television standards and revitalization of the AM radio service.

FCC Robocall Webinar

The FCC announced its Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau will host a webinar on robocalls on February 16 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.  The webinar, which is free and intended for all consumers, will provide information about consumers’ rights and the steps they can take to prevent robocalls.  The agenda includes an over view of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act as well as a segment entitled “Robocalls: How We Got Hear and How We’re Fighting Back.”

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The Regulatory Mix, TMI’s daily blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of a TMI Briefing.