CommLaw Monitor
FCC Proposes $5 Million Fines Against Multiple Prepaid Card Providers
We noted in April 2010 that the FCC was investigating prepaid calling card provider disclosures . We suspected that action was likely when we saw four notices of apparent liability against unidentified companies appear…
DOJ Asks Federal Court to Block $39B AT&T / T-Mobile Merger
Earlier today, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. seeking to block the $39B AT&T / T-Mobile merger. DOJ claims that the deal would violate U.S. antitrust law by…
Alpheus Settles Outage Reporting NAL for $55,000
As the Commission is proposing to expand its outage reporting rules, the Enforcement Bureau is moving closer to establishing base forfeitures for violations of the outage reporting requirements. A settlement released…
US Tax Court Rules on Depreciation Deductions for Wireless Equipment
On July 7, in a case of first impression, the US Tax Court ( Broz v. Commissioner ) reviewed the class lives (depreciation periods) applicable to wireless cellular assets to establish the permissible depreciation…
Prepaid Card Provider Settles Payphone Compensation NAL
For a while, failure to pay per-call compensation to payphone owners was as much of an enforcement focus as is failure to pay the Universal Service Fund today. The FCC resolved one of its legacy cases this week,…