Telecommunications

More Than 500,000 Calls To Consumers On "Do Not Call" List

August 12, 2008 -- Harrisburg - Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett announced that consumer protection lawsuits have been filed against two business owners and their companies, who are accused of violating Pennsylvania's "Do Not Call" law and other consumer protection statutes.

The companies, based in Baltimore, Maryland, and State College, Pennsylvania, are accused of using illegal telephone solicitations to aggressively market mortgage products to consumers - including what Corbett alleges is the largest-ever systematic effort to violate the Do Not Call program since it was created in 2002.    » read more »

August 8, 2008 -- TALLAHASSEE, FL – Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that his office has reached a $1 million settlement with a Hong Kong-based company that creates and distributes content for cell phones. Building on earlier agreements with advertising networks and a major wireless carrier, the agreement with MobileFunster, Inc., which does business as FunMobile, is the first CyberFraud agreement the Attorney General’s Office has negotiated with a mobile content provider and addresses another link in a business model that includes wireless carriers, billing aggregators, advertising networks, and content providers like FunMobile.    » read more »

Leading Service Provider Offering More Converged Data, Voice and Media Services to Business Customers

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 25, 2008 -- Cisco today announced that China Telecom Americas is greatly expanding its network based on the Cisco Internet Protocol Next-Generation Network (IP NGN) architecture. Because it builds its services with Cisco equipment and technologies, China Telecom Americas has become a Cisco Powered Program member with service designations in Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)-based IP virtual private network (VPN) and Carrier Ethernet.    » read more »

Washington -- 26 June 2008 -- Legislation to revise U.S. surveillance law survived a key test vote in the Senate Wednesday, despite opposition from some majority Democrats to a provision protecting telephone companies from possible privacy lawsuits. The Senate could give final approval to the bill and send it to President Bush for his signature before a congressional recess next week.

Senators voted 80 to 15 to proceed to the legislation - 20 more than the 60 votes necessary under Senate rules.

The bill, which updates the 1978 Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act (FISA), would expand the government's powers to eavesdrop on terrorism suspects while at the same time take steps to safeguard civil liberties.    » read more »

Charges Next-G Communication, Inc. with delivering fewer calling minutes than advertised

May 23, 2008 -- AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today filed the state’s first legal enforcement action against a prepaid calling card company.

Advertising for Next-G’s prepaid calling cards

Court documents filed in Bexar County indicate Next-G Communication, Inc. produces, sells and distributes prepaid calling cards throughout Texas but consistently fails to deliver the number of minutes it advertises to customers.    » read more »

National operation includes more than 180 actions against instances of telemarketing fraud

May 20, 2008 -- TALLAHASSEE, FL – Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and a series of Florida partners today announced the results of a national telemarketing fraud sweep, including several actions taken throughout Florida over the past few months.    » read more »

Bright Pages to refund up to $3 million to defrauded customers, reform business practices and pay $150,000 penalty

NEW YORK, N.Y. (May 12, 2008) - New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a settlement agreement with a national online directory service for defrauding thousands of small businesses and not-for-profits across New York state and the nation.

Under the terms of the court-ordered settlement, the company will pay a $150,000 penalty and up to $3 million in restitution to defrauded customers.    » read more »