Unauthorized Fees: What's Hiding in Your Phone Bill?
"If you're a savvy consumer, you know how small charges can add up over time. You may regularly scrutinize your bank statement for overdraft fees, scan your credit card bill for hidden charges, and pay careful attention to shipping and handling every time you order something online. But you may not realize that unauthorized mystery fees can also hide in your phone bill. Without realizing it, you may be a victim of "cramming," a fraudulent, illegal practice that the FCC is taking action to fight..."

Consumer Help Center - FCC
Find help for your telephone- cell phone, landline - problems at the new Consumer Help Center of the Federal Communications Commission.

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION RELEASES DATA ON LOCAL TELEPHONE COMPETITION
"The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today released new
data on local telephone service competition in the United States. Twice a year, all incumbent local
exchange carriers (incumbent LECs) and competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) are
required to report basic information about their local telephone service, and all facilities-based
mobile telephony providers are required to provide information about their subscribers, pursuant
to the FCC’s local telephone competition and broadband data gathering program (FCC Form 477).
Statistics released today reflect data as of June 30, 2008.
Summary Statistics
· End-user customers obtained local telephone service by utilizing approximately 124.6
million incumbent LEC switched access lines, 30.0 million CLEC switched access lines,
and 255.3 million mobile telephony service subscriptions at the end of June 2008.
· Of the 30.0 million CLEC end-user switched access lines, 9.4 million lines were provided
over coaxial cable connections. The 9.4 million lines represent about 71% of the 13.1
million end-user switched access lines that CLECs reported providing over their own local
loop facilities.
· Mobile telephony service providers reported 255.3 million subscribers at the end of June
2008, which is 17.0 million, or 7%, more than a year earlier. About 8% of these
subscribers were billed by mobile telephony service resellers.
· There was at least one CLEC serving customers in 82% of the nation’s Zip Codes at the
end of June 2008. About 97% of United States households resided in those Zip Codes.
Moreover, multiple carriers reported providing local telephone service in the major
population centers of the country.
· The 30.0 million lines reported by CLECs is about 19% of the 154.7 million total end-user
switched access lines reported for the end of June 2008.
· CLECs reported 12.4 million (or 14%) of the 89.6 million lines that served residential end
users and 17.7 million (or 27%) of the 64.7 million lines that served business, institutional,
and government customers."

Federal Communications Releases Data on Local telephone Competition
"Summary Statistics
· End-user customers obtained local telephone service by utilizing approximately 129.7 million incumbent LEC switched access lines, 28.7 million CLEC switched access lines, and 249.2 million mobile telephony service subscriptions at the end of December 2007.
· Of the 28.7 million CLEC end-user switched access lines, 8.4 million lines were provided over coaxial cable connections. The 8.4 million lines represent about 72% of the 11.7 million end-user switched access lines that CLECs reported providing over their own local loop facilities.
· Mobile telephony service providers reported 249.2 million subscribers at the end of
December 2007, which is 19.6 million, or 9%, more than a year earlier. About 7% of these subscribers were billed by mobile telephony service resellers.
· There was at least one CLEC serving customers in 81% of the nation’s Zip Codes at the end of December 2007. About 97% of United States households resided in those Zip
Codes. Moreover, multiple carriers reported providing local telephone service in the major population centers of the country.
· The 28.7 million lines reported by CLECs is about 18% of the 158.4 million total end-user switched access lines reported for the end of December 2007.
· CLECs reported 12.1 million (or 13%) of the 93.9 million lines that served residential end users and 16.7 million (or 26%) of the 64.6 million lines that served business, institutional, and government customers."

In the Matter of Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991: Report and Order
"In this Report and Order (Order), we amend the Commission’s rules under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)1 to require sellers and/or telemarketers to honor registrations with the National Do-Not-Call Registry so that registrations will not automatically expire based on the current five year registration period..."