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The Telecom Digest for Tue, 10 May 2022
Volume 41 : Issue 80 : "text" format

table of contents
Frontier lied about Internet speeds and "ripped off customers," FTC says
DA's Office Announces Nearly $69 Million Civil Settlement Between Frontier Communications and Federal Trade Commission
Concurring Statement of FTC Commissioner Noah Joshua Phillips regarding Frontier Communications Corp., et al

Message-ID: <t59qsl$1rl$1@dont-email.me> Date: 8 May 2022 21:31:01 -0400 From: "Michael Trew" <michael.trew@att.net> Subject: Frontier lied about Internet speeds and "ripped off customers," FTC says [Quote from] https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/05/frontier-lied-about-internet-speeds-and-ripped-off-customers-ftc-says/ Settlement requires accurate speeed claims and payment of nearly $9 million. The lawsuit pertains to Frontier's claims about its DSL Internet service, which is much slower than fiber-to-the-home. DSL speeds also vary significantly by location based on how close a customer's home is to the provider's infrastructure. The FTC said the proposed order will "require Frontier to substantiate its Internet speed claims at a customer-by-customer level for new and complaining customers and notify customers when it is unable to do so; require Frontier to ensure it can provide the Internet service speeds it advertises before signing up, upgrading, or billing new customers; [and] prohibit Frontier from signing up new customers for its DSL Internet service in areas where the high number of users sharing the same networking equipment causes congestion resulting in slower Internet service." When I worked at Frontier, we always told customers "up to" in reference to available bandwidth. Of course, overselling a DSLAM is a bad idea, but I can't see how this lawsuit went through. "Up to" speeds are just that; like any DSL service, it won't be consistent. The AT&T ADSL that I have now is "up to 3Mb/s" -- in reality, it sometimes achieves half of that.
Message-ID: <20220508205233.280CF73A@telecom2018.csail.mit.edu> Date: Sun, 8 May 2022 20:52:33 +0000 (UTC) From: Bill Horne <malQRMassimilation@gmail.com> Subject: DA's Office Announces Nearly $69 Million Civil Settlement Between Frontier Communications and Federal Trade Commission RIVERSIDE - District Attorney Mike Hestrin announced today, May 5, 2022, that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved a proposed settlement between the FTC, the People of the State of California, and Frontier Communications Corporation. The settlement will resolve a civil enforcement action alleging deceptive and unfair business practices by Frontier in connection with the sale of residential DSL services. The proposed settlement has now been submitted to the United States District Court for final approval. https://rivcoda.org/community-info/news-media-archives/das-office-announces-nearly-69-million-civil-settlement-between-frontier-communications-and-federal-trade-commission -- (Please remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)
Message-ID: <20220509221617.DBB5A7C0@telecom2018.csail.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 9 May 2022 22:16:17 +0000 (UTC) From: Bill Horne <malQRMassimilation@gmail.com> Subject: Concurring Statement of FTC Commissioner Noah Joshua Phillips regarding Frontier Communications Corp., et al More than 80% of U.S. households spend an average of $116 per month on cable and internet service. Internet speed is a key consideration for consumers as they choose an Internet service provider ("ISP") and service plan, so it's essential that ISPs truthfully represent what speeds they can deliver. Frontier Communications ("Frontier") provides Digital Subscriber Line ("DSL") internet to more than one million consumers in 25 states, many of them in rural areas. As alleged in the complaint, Frontier told consumers that it could provide service "up to" certain speeds, but failed to deliver. The complaint details how, in some cases, Frontier could not, as a technical matter, even possibly deliver the speeds it promised. Some consumers paid for more expensive service than they received. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/public-statements/concurring-statement-commissioner-noah-joshua-phillips-regarding-frontier-communications-corp-et-al -- (Please remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)

End of telecom Digest Tue, 10 May 2022

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