FCC Bureau Asking Lots of Questions About Carrier Billing Practices
FCC staff have been asking carriers a new round of questions about their billing procedures, according to recent ex parte filings at the FCC. That could mean the commission is getting closer on bill shock rules, sought by consumer and public interest groups but opposed by carriers, industry sources said Monday.
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Parul Desai, Consumers Union policy counsel, said in an email FCC action is probably one or two months away at the earliest. “It’s on the radar screen,” said a wireless industry attorney. “This is one area where I think you're going to see additional regulation out of this FCC.” FCC officials said it’s unclear how soon a bill shock order may be circulated by Chairman Julius Genachowski, though it’s not being teed-up for the May 12 meeting. A spokesman for Genachowski had no comment.
MetroPCS provided information to the FCC answering questions posed by Consumer and Government Affairs Bureau staff, in one filing. “MetroPCS’ business model is primarily based on the provision of defined categories of unlimited services with no long term contract for a flat monthly fee that is paid in advance,” the carrier said. “Because consumers pay a fixed rate in advance for a bundle of defined unlimited services, and do not receive monthly bills for measured services, traditional ‘bill shock’ issues are rarely presented.”
U.S. Cellular representatives met with bureau staff last week to answer questions about the carrier’s billing practices, said a filing posted Monday on the FCC’s website.
AT&T representatives met with bureau Chief Joel Gurin and others to discuss bill shock, said an April 4 filing. “AT&T responded to a number of staff questions regarding third party applications that could be helpful to consumers in dealing with surprises on their monthly bills,” AT&T said. “Staff asked about the advantages and disadvantages of encouraging consumer to use these apps.” Verizon Wireless officials held a similar meeting with Gurin April 6, according to an ex parte filing.
Gurin also met with Guy Goldstein, founder and CEO of PageOnce, last week, said a filing from the company. Goldstein explained how the service works, consolidating information from a variety of service providers. “PageOnce also monitors that data, so that it can provide consumers with alerts for important events, such as potential cell minute overages,” the filing said.