The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today adopted a notice of inquiry designed to improve customer service across the communications industry.
“Dealing with customer service should be easy. But all too often consumers of communications services cannot get help without navigating a complex maze of chatbots and other automated tools, experiencing delays that leave them exhausted and no closer to resolving their problem,” said the FCC in its notice of inquiry. “Consumers can even be deterred from or delay switching services, which in turn harms the marketplace.”
The FCC further explained that FCC standards are designed to be enforced at the local level, primarily by franchise authorities. The FCC permits state and local governments, including franchise authorities, to establish and enforce customer service requirements for cable operators that exceed the standards set at the national level.
Internet service providers, cable operators, and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) operators are all mentioned in the FCC’s customer service inquiry.
Though several rules for cable operators have been in place for many years, in rulemaking, the FCC. “reserved the right to revise and supplement the standards ‘to ensure that customer service satisfaction is achieved nationwide.’”
The FCC recently adopted billing and marketing requirements for DBS providers, and is considering prohibiting DBS providers from imposing early termination fees (ETFs) and billing cycle fees (BCFs) on subscribers who cancel their service prior to the contract expiration date or the end of their billing period.
Telecompetitor originally reported on the FCC’s customer service inquiry when it was announced in August.
Among the ways to improve customer service is more transparent billing practices, the FCC said. The truth-in-billing rules adopted in 1999 these rules require telecom bills to “contain clear and conspicuous disclosure of any information the consumer may need to make inquiries about or to contest charges on the bill.”
