Chairman Pallone Demands Answers From Internet Providers On Reports of Anti-Consumer Practices In Broadband Affordability Programs

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) wrote to 13 internet service providers expressing deep concerns over reports of providers engaging in abusive, misleading, fraudulent, or otherwise predatory behaviors through the Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program and the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The Chairman demanded answers from Altice USA, AT&T, Charter, Comcast, Cox Communications, Dish Network, Excess Wireless, Frontier, Lumen/CenturyLink, Maxsip, Q Link, T-Mobile, and Verizon. To assist with the Committee’s oversight of the EBB and ACP programs and ensure their continued success, Chairman Pallone requested a host of information, including:

• The number of beneficiaries each company has enrolled;
• Descriptions of the process used to enroll new consumers;
• The number of complaints, and the nature of those complaints, each company has received regarding their administration of these programs;
• The process each company uses to resolve complaints;
• What awareness each company had of instances, if any, where the benefit was applied late resulting in erroneous consumer bills;
• What, if any, prohibitions the companies have put into place on upselling; and
• What, if any, protections or training the companies have implemented to ensure the faithful application and administration of these programs?