Back in June, the FCC slapped US carrier AT&T with an eye-watering $100 million fine for allegedly misleading customers about giving them unlimited data. Safe to say this $100 million fine is a huge amount and it looks like AT&T is not too pleased about it, so much so that the carrier has actually asked the FCC to drop the fine levied against them.According to AT&T, they claim that they did make the appropriate disclosures to customers and also pointed out that customers on their Unlimited Data Plan were more likely to renew their contracts than those who weren’t, suggesting that it did not really harm customers to begin with, despite the FCC ruling that found them guilty of misleading practices.
In a filing made by AT&T which was obtained by The Hill, it reads, “The Commission’s findings that consumers and competition were harmed are devoid of factual support and wholly implausible. Its ‘moderate’ forfeiture penalty of $100 million is plucked out of thin air, and the injunctive sanctions it proposes are beyond the Commission’s authority.”
The Unlimited Data Plan offered by AT&T has since been discontinued and it has been that way since several years ago, however there are still a relatively small group of customers who have been grandfathered into the plan and who remain there till this day. Will the FCC reverse the fine or maybe reduce the amount? We suppose we’ll just have to wait and find out.