AT&T alleged to have overcharged two Florida school districts E-rate prices ‘magnitudes higher’ than other state customers
The Federal Communications Commission hit AT&T with a $106,425 fine tied to overcharging a pair of Florida school districts through the government’s E-rate Program. The telecom operator will also be ordered to repay nearly $64,000 in improper Universal Service Fund subsidies tied to the overcharges.
The FCC said AT&T charged “some of the highest telecommunications rates in the state,” which ran afoul of the FCC’s “lowest corresponding price” rule that prevents E-rate service providers from charging more than the “lowest price paid by other similarly situated customers for similar telecommunications services.” AT&T is alleged to have charged the school districts in Orange and Dixie counties for telephone service “magnitudes higher than many other customers in Florida.”
The violations are said to have occurred between mid-2012 and mid-2015, with AT&T both overcharging for the service and certifying its compliance with the E-rate Program that resulted in the carrier receiving inflated USF support.
“Charging school districts among the highest rates in the state for telephone or broadband internet service is outrageous,” said Travis LeBlanc, FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief. “Schools and libraries across the country heavily rely upon federal and state funds to afford these critical services. We expect that every service provider will offer participating schools and libraries the same low rates that they charge to other similarly situated customers.”
The government E-rate Program has been a source of much discord at the FCC, which has been looking to modernize the initiative since late 2014. Prior to the latest reform efforts, the program, which began in 1996, has had a history of abuse.
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