FCC Encyclopedia

Telephone Broadcasting, Cable & Satellite Broadband & Internet Disabilities Fraud, Scams & Alerts

Health, Safety and Emergencies Privacy and Security International Becoming Involved and Miscellaneous Consumer Information

Telephone

Telephone: Bills & Charges Telephone: Disability Issues Telephones: Making Service Accessible

Telephone: Frauds, Scams & Alerts Telephone: Wireless / Cellular / Mobile Telephone: Miscellaneous

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Telephone: Bills & Charges

• Call Splashing | (PDF)
• Calls Made From Payphones | (PDF)
• Empowering Consumers: FCC Asks Questions About Providing More Information | (PDF)
• Hang Up on High Public Pay Phone Rates | (PDF)
• Inmate Telephone Service | (PDF)
• International Long Distance Calling Made Simple Tip Sheet | (PDF)
• Pre-Paid Phone Cards: What Consumers Should Know | (PDF)
• Surcharges for International Calls to Wireless Phones | (PDF)
• Tips for Avoiding Bill Shock on your Mobile Phone | (PDF)
• Toll-Free Numbers And How They Work | (PDF)
• Unauthorized, Misleading, or Deceptive Charges Placed on Your Telephone Bill - Cramming | (PDF)
• Understanding Your Telephone Bill | (PDF)
• 900 Pay-Per-Call and Other Information Services | (PDF)

Telephone: Disability Issues

• Dial 211 for Essential Community Services | (PDF)
• Disabled Persons' Telecommunications Access - Section 255 | (PDF)
• Hearing Aid Compatibility for Wireless Telephones | (PDF)
• Hearing Aid-Compatibility for Wireline Telephones | (PDF)
• Internet Protocol (IP) Relay Service | (PDF)
• IP Captioned Telephone Service | (PDF)
• Payphone Relay Service | (PDF)
• Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) | (PDF)
• Ten-Digit Numbering and Emergency Call Handling Procedures for Internet-Based Telecommunications Relay Services | (PDF)
• Ten-Digit Numbering and 911 Calls for Internet-Based TRS | (PDF)
• Ten-Digit Numbering Requirements for VRS and IP Relay FAQ | (PDF)
• Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 | (PDF)
• Speech-To-Speech Relay Service | (PDF)
• Use of Toll-Free Numbers for Video and IP Relay Service | (PDF)
• Use of TTY Devices with Digital Wireless Phones | (PDF)
• Video Relay Services | (PDF)
• Video Relay Services (VRS) Reform FAQs | (PDF)
• 711 for Telecommunications Relay Service | (PDF)

Telephone: Making Service Accessible

• Lifeline: Affordable Telephone Service for Income-Eligible Consumers | (PDF)
• Promoting Telephone Subscribership on Tribal Lands | (PDF)
• Rural Health Care Pilot Program | (PDF)
• Universal Service Program for Rural Health Care Providers | (PDF)
• Universal Service Program for Schools and Libraries | (PDF)
• Universal Service Support Mechanisms | (PDF)

Telephone: Fraud, Scams and Alerts

• Auto Warranty Scams | (PDF)
• Call Splashing | (PDF)
• Caller ID and Spoofing | (PDF)
• Calls from 809, 649, 284 Area Codes | (PDF)
• Careless Dialing Could Cost You Money | (PDF)
• Cell Phone Fraud | (PDF)
• Fax Advertising | (PDF)
• IP Relay Fraud | (PDF)
• Mexico Collect Call Scam | (PDF)
• Robocalls | (PDF)
• Slamming: Switching Your Authorized Telephone Company Without Permission | (PDF)
• Spam: Unwanted Text Messages and Email | (PDF)
• Tips for Avoiding Bill Shock on your Mobile Phone | (PDF)
• Unauthorized, Misleading, or Deceptive Charges Placed on Your Telephone Bill - Cramming | (PDF)
• Unwanted Telephone Marketing Calls | (PDF)
• Using or Importing Jammers is Illegal | (PDF)
• Voice Mail Fraud | (PDF)
• 90# Telephone Scam | (PDF)
• 900 Pay-Per-Call and Other Information Services | (PDF)

Telephone: Wireless / Cellular / Mobile

• Accidental 911 Calls From Wireless Phones | (PDF)
• Cell Phone Fraud | (PDF)
• Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) | (PDF)
• Hearing Aid Compatibility for Wireless Telephones | (PDF)
• Human Exposure to RF Fields Guidelines For Cellular and PCS Sites | (PDF)
• International Calling from Wireless Providers, VoIP Services, and Smartphone Manufacturers | (PDF)
• International Long Distance Calling Made Simple Tip Sheet | (PDF)
• Portability: Keeping Your Phone Number When Changing Service Providers | (PDF)
• Protecting Children from Objectionable Content on Wireless Devices | (PDF)
• Spam: Unwanted Text Messages and Email | (PDF)
• Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) For Cell Phones: What It Means For You | (PDF)
• Stolen and Lost Wireless Devices | (PDF)
• Surcharges for International Calls to Wireless Phones | (PDF)
• Texting While Driving | (PDF)
• Tips for Avoiding Bill Shock on your Mobile Phone | (PDF)
• Truth About Wireless Phones and the National Do-Not-Call List | (PDF)
• Understanding Wireless Telephone Coverage Areas | (PDF)
• Understanding Your Telephone Bill | (PDF)
• Use of TTY Devices with Digital Wireless Phones | (PDF)
• Wireless Devices and Health Concerns | (PDF)
• Wireless Devices on Airplanes | (PDF)
• Wireless Phones at Gas Stations | (PDF)
• Wireless World Travel
• Wireless World Travel Made Simple | (PDF)
• Wireless 911 Services | (PDF)

Telephone: Miscellaneous

• Dial 211 for Essential Community Services | (PDF)
• Emergency Communications | (PDF)
• Inmate Telephone Service | (PDF)
• Interference - Defining the Source | (PDF)
• Local, Local Toll, and Long Distance Calling | (PDF)
• Personal Radio Services (PRS) - Keeping in Touch | (PDF)
• Portability: Keeping Your Phone Number When Changing Service Providers | (PDF)
• Protecting Your Privacy | (PDF)
• Protecting Your Telephone Calling Records | (PDF)
• Recording Telephone Conversations | (PDF)
• Suicide Prevention National Hotline | (PDF)
• Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) | (PDF)
• When Your Telephone Company Discontinues Service or Files for Bankruptcy | (PDF)

Broadcasting, Cable & Satellite

Broadcasting, Cable & Satellite: Rules Regarding Content Broadcasting, Cable & Satellite: Television Broadcasting, Cable & Satellite: Radio

Broadcasting, Cable & Satellite: Cable and Satellite Broadcasting, Cable & Satellite: Miscellaneous

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Broadcasting, Cable & Satellite: Rules Regarding Content

• Broadcast Advertising Complaints | (PDF)
• Broadcast Journalism Complaints | (PDF)
• Broadcasting Contests, Lotteries, and Solicitation of Funds | (PDF)
• Broadcasting False Information | (PDF)
• Emergency Video Programming Accessibility to Persons with Hearing and Visual Disabilities | (PDF)
• FCC and Freedom of Speech | (PDF)
• Obscenity, Indecency and Profanity | (PDF)
• Payola Rules | (PDF)
• Loud Commercials and the CALM Act | (PDF)
• Public Television Stations in the Digital Age | (PDF)
• Radio Call-In, Shock Jock, or Open Microphone Programs | (PDF)
• Religious Broadcast Rumor Denied | (PDF)

Broadcasting, Cable & Satellite: Television

• Antennas and Digital Television | (PDF)
• Cancellation, Rescheduling, or Refusal of Radio and Television Programs | (PDF)
• Children's Educational Television | (PDF)
• Closed Captioning | (PDF)
• Closed Captioning and Digital-to-Analog Converter Boxes | (PDF)
• Closed Captioning for Digital Television (DTV) | (PDF)
• Converter Boxes and Digital Televisions: Troubleshooting | (PDF)
• Digital Cable Compatibility: CableCARD-Ready Devices | (PDF)
• Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Features | (PDF)
• Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Setup (Basic) | (PDF)
• Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Setup (Basic with twin-lead antenna) | (PDF)
• Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Setup (For Viewing Analog and Digital Broadcasts) | (PDF)
• Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Setup With a VCR | (PDF)
• DTV and Over-the-Air Viewers Along U.S. Borders | (PDF)
• DTV Transition and LPTV - Class A - Translator Stations | (PDF)
• Installing Consumer-Owned Antennas and Satellite Dishes | (PDF)
• Low Power Television (LPTV) Service | (PDF)
• Public Television Stations in the Digital Age | (PDF)
• Receiving Broadcast TV Stations Dropped From Pay TV Service | (PDF)
• V-Chip - Putting Restrictions on What Your Children Watch | (PDF)
• Video Descriptions and the Digital Television Transition | (PDF)

Broadcasting, Cable & Satellite: Radio

• Cancellation, Rescheduling, or Refusal of Radio and Television Programs | (PDF)
• Digital Radio - The Sound of the Future | (PDF)
• Interception and Divulgence of Radio Communications | (PDF)
• Low Power FM Radio (LPFM) | (PDF)
• Low Power FM Radio Scams - Beware | (PDF)
• Radio Call-In, Shock Jock, or Open Microphone Programs | (PDF)
• Unauthorized Radio Operation | (PDF)

Broadcasting, Cable & Satellite: Cable and Satellite

• Cable Companies' Record Retention & Cable Subscriber Privacy | (PDF)
• Cable Signal Leakage | (PDF)
• Cablevision Subscribers and Fox-Owned Stations WNYW, WWOR, and WTFX | (PDF)
• Choosing Cable Channels | (PDF)
• Digital Cable Compatibility: CableCARD-Ready Devices | (PDF)
• DTV Transition Did Not Require Cable Systems to Switch to Digital | (PDF)
• Installing Consumer-Owned Antennas and Satellite Dishes | (PDF)
• Receiving Broadcast TV Stations Dropped From Pay TV Service | (PDF)
• Regulation of Cable TV Rates | (PDF)
• Satellite TV (DBS) Subscribers and the DTV Transition | (PDF)
• Service Options for Satellite Subscribers | (PDF)
• Signal Bleed - How to Prevent Viewing of Scrambled Cable TV Programs | (PDF)
• Signal Quality Standards For Cable Subscribers | (PDF)

Broadcasting, Cable & Satellite: Miscellaneous

• Amber Plan (America's Missing Broadcast Emergency Response) | (PDF)
• Cancellation, Rescheduling, or Refusal of Radio and Television Programs | (PDF)
• EEO Rules and Policies for Broadcast and Non-Broadcast TV | (PDF)
• Emergency Alert System (EAS) | (PDF)
• Emergency Alert System Nationwide Test (EAS) | (PDF)
• Emergency Communications | (PDF)
• Emergency Video Programming Accessibility to Persons with Hearing and Visual Disabilities | (PDF)
• Interference - Defining the Source | (PDF)
• Review of the Broadcast Ownership Rules | (PDF)
• Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 | (PDF)

Broadband & Internet

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• Children's Internet Protection Act | (PDF)
• Getting Broadband | (PDF)
• Home Wireless Safety Checklist | (PDF)
• How to Protect Yourself Online | (PDF)
• Internet Protocol (IP) Relay Service | (PDF)
• Internet Protocol Version 6: IPv6 for Consumers | (PDF)
• IP Captioned Telephone Service | (PDF)
• Modem Redialing | (PDF)
• Open Internet | (PDF)
• Protecting Children from Objectionable Content on Wireless Devices | (PDF)
• Protecting Your Wireless Network | (PDF)
• Spam: Unwanted Text Messages and Email | (PDF)
• Ten-Digit Numbering and Emergency Call Handling Procedures for Internet-Based Telecommunications Relay Services | (PDF)
• Ten-Digit Numbering and 911 Calls for Internet-Based TRS | (PDF)
• Ten-Digit Numbering Requirements for VRS and IP Relay FAQ | (PDF)
• Unauthorized Equipment Sold on the Internet and in Publications | (PDF)
• Use of Toll-Free Numbers for Video and IP Relay Service | (PDF)
• Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) | (PDF)
• VoIP and 911 Service | (PDF)

Disabilities

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• Closed Captioning | (PDF)
• Closed Captioning and Digital-to-Analog Converter Boxes | (PDF)
• Closed Captioning for Digital Television (DTV) | (PDF)
• Dial 211 for Essential Community Services | (PDF)
• Disabled Persons' Telecommunications Access - Section 255 | (PDF)
• Hearing Aid Compatibility for Wireless Telephones | (PDF)
• Hearing Aid-Compatibility for Wireline Telephones | (PDF)
• Internet Protocol (IP) Relay Service | (PDF)
• IP Captioned Telephone Service | (PDF)
• Payphone Relay Service | (PDF)
• Speech-To-Speech Relay Service | (PDF)
• Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) | (PDF)
• Ten-Digit Numbering and Emergency Call Handling Procedures for Internet-Based Telecommunications Relay Services | (PDF)
• Ten-Digit Numbering and 911 Calls for Internet-Based TRS | (PDF)
• Ten-Digit Numbering Requirements for VRS and IP Relay FAQ | (PDF)
• Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 | (PDF)
• Use of Toll-Free Numbers for Video and IP Relay Service | (PDF)
• Use of TTY Devices with Digital Wireless Phones | (PDF)
• Video Descriptions and the Digital Television Transition | (PDF)
• Video Relay Services | (PDF)
• Video Relay Services (VRS) Reform FAQs | (PDF)
• 711 for Telecommunications Relay Service | (PDF)

Fraud, Scams and Alerts

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• Auto Warranty Scams | (PDF)
• Broadcast Advertising Complaints | (PDF)
• Call Splashing | (PDF)
• Caller ID and Spoofing | (PDF)
• Calls from 809, 649, 284 Area Codes | (PDF)
• Careless Dialing Could Cost You Money | (PDF)
• Cell Phone Fraud | (PDF)
• Fax Advertising | (PDF)
• IP Relay Fraud | (PDF)
• Low Power FM Radio Scams - Beware | (PDF)
• Mexico Collect Call Scam | (PDF)
• Modem Redialing | (PDF)
• Robocalls | (PDF)
• Slamming: Switching Your Authorized Telephone Company Without Permission | (PDF)
• Spam: Unwanted Text Messages and Email | (PDF)
• Tips for Avoiding Bill Shock on your Mobile Phone | (PDF)
• Unauthorized, Misleading, or Deceptive Charges Placed on Your Telephone Bill - Cramming | (PDF)
• Unauthorized Equipment Sold on the Internet and in Publications | (PDF)
• Unwanted Telephone Marketing Calls | (PDF)
• Using or Importing Jammers is Illegal | (PDF)
• Voice Mail Fraud | (PDF)
• Wireless Microphones 700 MHz Band Prohibition After June 12, 2010 | (PDF)
• 700 MHz Wireless Microphones Distribution, Sale and Use Prohibited | (PDF)
• 90# Telephone Scam | (PDF)
• 900 Pay-Per-Call and Other Information Services | (PDF)

Health, Safety and Emergencies

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• Accidental 911 Calls From Wireless Phones | (PDF)
• Amber Plan (America's Missing Broadcast Emergency Response) | (PDF)
• Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) | (PDF)
• Dial 211 for Essential Community Services | (PDF)
• Emergency Alert System (EAS) | (PDF)
• Emergency Alert System Nationwide Test (EAS) | (PDF)
• Emergency Communications | (PDF)
• Emergency Video Programming Accessibility to Persons with Hearing and Visual Disabilities | (PDF)
• Human Exposure to RF Fields From Mobile Antennas | (PDF)
• Human Exposure to RF Fields Guidelines For Cellular and PCS Sites | (PDF)
• Rural Health Care Pilot Program | (PDF)
• Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) For Cell Phones: What It Means For You | (PDF)
• Suicide Prevention National Hotline | (PDF)
• Ten-Digit Numbering and Emergency Call Handling Procedures for Internet-Based Telecommunications Relay Services | (PDF)
• Ten-Digit Numbering and 911 Calls for Internet-Based TRS | (PDF)
• Ten-Digit Numbering Requirements for VRS and IP Relay FAQ | (PDF)
• Texting While Driving | (PDF)
• Universal Service Program for Rural Health Care Providers | (PDF)
• VoIP and 911 Service | (PDF)
• Use of TTY Devices with Digital Wireless Phones | (PDF)
• Wireless Devices and Health Concerns | (PDF)
• Wireless Devices on Airplanes | (PDF)
• Wireless Phones at Gas Stations | (PDF)
• Wireless 911 Services | (PDF)

Privacy and Security

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• Cable Companies' Record Retention & Cable Subscriber Privacy | (PDF)
• Children's Internet Protection Act | (PDF)
• Home Wireless Safety Checklist | (PDF)
• How to Protect Yourself Online | (PDF)
• Interception and Divulgence of Radio Communications | (PDF)
• Protecting Children from Objectionable Content on Wireless Devices | (PDF)
• Protecting Your Privacy | (PDF)
• Protecting Your Telephone Calling Records | (PDF)
• Protecting Your Wireless Network | (PDF)
• Recording Telephone Conversations | (PDF)
• Truth About Wireless Phones and the National Do-Not-Call List | (PDF)
• V-Chip - Putting Restrictions on What Your Children Watch | (PDF)

International

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• Calls from 809, 649, 284 Area Codes | (PDF)
• DTV and Over-the-Air Viewers Along U.S. Borders | (PDF)
• International Calling from Wireless Providers, VoIP Services, and Smartphone Manufacturers | (PDF)
• Pre-Paid Phone Cards: What Consumers Should Know | (PDF)
• Surcharges for International Calls to Wireless Phones | (PDF)
• Wireless World Travel
• Wireless World Travel Made Simple | (PDF)

Becoming Involved and Miscellaneous Consumer Information

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• About the FCC | (PDF)
• Empowering Consumers: FCC Asks Questions About Providing More Information | (PDF)
• Fees
• Filing an Informal Complaint | (PDF)
• Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA)
• How to File Paper Documents with the FCC
• How To Comment | (PDF)
• How To Comment Electronically