Government shutdown or not, the Federal Communications Commission announced a proposal to fine five cellular service providers a total of $14.4 million for violating the rules of its Lifeline phone subsidy program. In case your memory needs to be jogged, Lifeline allows economically disadvantaged people to get subsidized cellphone service through carriers. Assist Wireless, Easy Wireless, Icon Telecom, TracFone Wireless and UTPhone are all in Uncle Sam's crosshairs for allegedly giving multiple subsidized accounts to folks who should have only received one through the program. This development comes after the commission's revelation that 41 percent of last year's subsidies didn't go through the appropriate verification process. The FCC's sanctions don't stop at the multi-million dollar penalty either. If the federal body gets its way, cash collected through duplicate accounts will have to be returned by offending companies.
Filed under: Mobile
Via: The Verge
Source: The Hill
via Engadget RSS Feed http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/01/fcc-proposes-14-million-lifeline-absue-fine/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment