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FCC fines T-Mobile for faking "rings" on calls that never connected

April 18, 2018 16:18·
T-Mobile fined for deceiving consumers calling rural areas

T-Mobile fined for deceiving consumers calling rural areas

The Federal Communications Commission issues a $40 million fine to T-Mobile after the court found it had used "false ringtones" to deceive its rural customers.

During the period of January 2017, T-Mobile users in the rural areas were given false ring tones by their carrier to give the impression that the calls were getting through, when in fact they were not.

Calls that aren't completed cause rural businesses to lose revenue, impede medical professionals from reaching patients in rural areas, cut families off from their relatives, and create the potential for risky delays in public safety communications, the FCC said.

The FCC previously said that long-distance carriers were responsible for the actions of intermediate providers and has taken enforcement action against several companies (including T-Mobile just yesterday). The agency began an investigation when it noted a pattern in consumer complaints about calls not going through. This practice, called "false audible ringing" became against the law in 2014 with the FCC's Rural Call Completion Order.

However, Ms Clyburn also criticised FCC chairman Ajit Pai's office for negotiating a settlement that didn't include consumers. Although T-Mobile reported to the FCC that the problems had been 'resolved, ' the Commission continued to receive complaints that calls were failing.

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"We applaud the FCC for moving quickly to implement the mandate set by Congress in the Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act".

"Prior consent decrees have included direct-to-consumer benefits, such as refunds or discounts, or notifications to customers who have been impacted", Mignon Clyburn, the FCC commissioner, said.

The FCC describes the technology behind the fake ringing as, "the calling party believes the phone is ringing.when it is not".

The court finally ordered T-Mobile to pay a fine of $40 million to the U.S. Treasury after it had found the company guilty.

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