The Enforcement Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission yesterday announced it was proposing fines against 12 different telecom companies for not submitting information to the Reassigned Number Database soon enough.
The fines range from as low as $30,000 to as high as $93,000 and fault the carriers for going as long as 15 months without reporting number disconnections to the database, which is designed to prevent consumers from getting unwanted calls intended for people who may have used that number in the past. Carriers are required to report permanently disconnected numbers to the database on the 15th of every month. The database can be used by companies, including those in the accounts receivable management industry, to find out if a number has been disconnected.
Each of the 12 companies — BendTel NAL, Claro Puerto Rico, Communications Plus, Data Network Solutions, Fort Mojave Telecom, Integrated Path, Local Access, Palo Communications, Point Broadband Fiber, Salsgiver Telecom, Stratford Mutual, and Swayzee FiberHawk — are each given a chance to respond to the proposed fine before final action is taken.
“We are using every tool we can to combat illegal robocalls. For our efforts to be successful, carriers need to play their part and follow the rules,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, in a statement. “When they fail to do so, we will not hesitate to act as these first-of-their-kind enforcement actions make abundantly clear.”
The FCC has been working on the database — which is intended to be used by callers to determine if a cell phone number has been reassigned to someone other than the individual seeking to be contacted — for more than three years. Knowing that a phone number has been reassigned can tell a company not to contact that number.
