Do you find it hard to understand special offers from telephone, cable, and other communications companies? Are you getting a better deal if you buy everything you want —phone, Internet, and pay-TV — from one company? Would you like to know more about coverage when you’re choosing a wireless service provider? And once you’ve made your choices and get a bill for what you’ve bought, will you be able to understand what you’re paying for and whether you’re getting what you were promised? Would a standard format make bills easier to understand?

We know that consumers now have lots of choices, and that choosing the best communications service for you has become more and more complicated. Therefore, the FCC published a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) asking these and many more questions. Specifically, the FCC asked whether you have enough information to make the best decision for you at all stages of purchasing your communications services: 1) choosing a provider, 2) choosing a service plan, 3) watching how you are using your plan so you don’t have unpleasant surprises on your bill, and 4) deciding whether and when to switch to a different plan or service provider. The FCC asked for answers to these questions for all the communications services available to you: traditional landline, wireless, Internet service, VoIP, and cable or satellite.

The FCC also asked whether the information you receive from communications providers is helpful, what additional information you’d like to get, and what can be done to make the information easier to understand. You can look at the NOI and the complete list of questions at hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-09-68A1.pdf.

For More Information

For more information about the NOI or other communications issues, visit the FCC’s Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau Web site at www.fcc.gov/cgb, or contact the FCC’s Consumer Center by e-mailing fccinfo@fcc.gov; calling 1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322) voice or 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322) TTY; faxing 1-866-418-0232; or writing to:

Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554.

For this or any other consumer publication in an accessible format
(electronic ASCII text, Braille, large print, or audio) please write or call us
at the address or phone number below, or send an e-mail to FCC504@fcc.gov.

To receive information on this and other FCC consumer topics through the Commission's
electronic subscriber service, visit www.fcc.gov/cgb/contacts/.

This document is for consumer education purposes only and is not intended to
affect any proceedings or cases involving this subject matter or related issues.

10/30/09

	Federal Communications Commission · Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau · 445 12th St. S.W. · Washington, DC 20554
	1-888-CALL-FCC (1-888-225-5322)  ·  TTY: 1-888-TELL-FCC (1-888-835-5322)  · Fax: 1-866-418-0232  · www.fcc.gov/cgb/