Advisory Group Urges FCC To Push Educational Outreach on IP Transition
An FCC advisory group urged the agency to take action to educate consumers about the ongoing IP technology transitions, after that Intergovernmental Advisory Committee found consumers often lacked awareness of the changes or were being told they would lose their…
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phone service. In an filing posted Tuesday in docket 13-5, the committee said the FCC should be "proactive" in educational efforts and require providers "to inform consumers of their options well before" actual transitions occur. The group is concerned that providers might use fiber upgrades to "upsell" consumers if bundled packages of services are offered as the only replacements for phone service. Residents may find that "they are suddenly getting and paying for services they do not need, do not want and certainly do not want to pay for," the group said, noting the possibility consumers could be locked into long-term contracts. The group said it worries the transitions could harm competitive LECs and their customers by cutting off their access to DSL/copper-based networks, and undermine the reliability of public-safety service such as 911 calling. It submitted various recommendations that the FCC step up consumer education and outreach efforts akin to those used during the DTV transition. Although Congress hadn't appropriated funds like it did for DTV, the group said the FCC should require providers to notify residential and business customers of the transitions through various means, including informing government agencies of their plans, posting information on websites, running public service announcements, and providing materials and templates for agencies to use in dealing with consumers.