FCC Reaches $31 Million Rural Health Care Program Settlement with TeleQuality

The Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau announced a $31 million settlement with TeleQuality Communications for violating competitive bidding and rate rules and overbilling the FCC’s Rural Health Care Program. The settlement requires TeleQuality to provide the Universal Service Fund with $31 million worth of repayments and forfeitures of payment claims as a sanction. Over a four-year period, from 2015-2018, the company admits to using fabricated sales quotes as urban rates and failing to use FCC-required methods for determining rural rates. In violation of competitive bidding rules, TeleQuality assisted health care providers in creating the bid evaluation criteria and bid matrices against which TeleQuality’s bids would be judged. They also provided improper incentives like free routers and other equipment to providers to encourage them to award TeleQuality the contracts. In addition, from 2010 to 2019, TeleQuality improperly reported its revenues in an attempt to shield itself from contributing to the Universal Service Fund.

TeleQuality was acquired by Education Networks of America in January 2018 and has installed new management. TeleQuality has agreed to a compliance plan which requires it to designate a compliance officer, establish new operating procedures to ensure compliance with FCC rules, file regular reports on its compliance to the FCC for the next five years, and promptly report any new violations.