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 NEWS  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  TTY  202  /  418-  2555  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974). 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  December  21,  2000  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT:  Richard  Welch  (202)  418-  7450 
 FCC  PROPOSES  $640,000  FINE  AGAINST  AT&  T  COMMUNICATIONS  FOR  SLAMMING  VIOLATIONS 
 Washington,  D.  C.  -  Today  the  Federal  Communications  Commission  (Commission)  released  a  Notice  of  Apparent  Liability  proposing  a  $640,000  fine  against  AT&  T 
 Communications,  Inc.  (AT&  T)  for  apparent  violations  of  the  Commission’s  rules  against  slamming.  Slamming  is  the  illegal  practice  of  switching  consumers’  preferred  long 
 distance  or  other  telephone  service  providers  without  their  consent. 
 In  a  span  of  less  than  nine  months  this  year,  the  Commission  received  over  1,000  consumer  complaints  alleging  slamming  by  AT&  T.  Commission  staff  investigated 
 many  of  the  allegations  and  based  the  proposed  fine  on12  consumer  complaints,  representing  14  alleged  violations.  Two  of  the  alleged  violations  involved  apparently 
 forged  letters  of  authorization. 
 The  Commission  determined  that  AT&  T  is  apparently  liable  for  a  fine  of  $40,000  for  each  of  12  of  the  alleged  violations  as  well  as  a  fine  of  $80,000  for  each  of  the  two 
 conversions  that  were  based  on  apparently  forged  letters  of  authorization.  AT&  T  has  30  days  to  either  pay  the  $640,000  fine,  or  show  why  it  should  be  reduced  or  not  imposed. 


 AT&  T  is  a  company  headquartered  in  New  York,  New  York.  The  consumers  described 
 in  this  forfeiture  action  reside  in  New  York,  California,  and  Texas,  among  other  states. 


 Action  by  the  Commission,  December  21,  2000,  by  Notice  of  Apparent  Liability  (FCC 
 00-  446.  Chairman  Kennard,  Commissioners  Ness,  Furchtgott-  Roth,  Powell  and  Tristani. 


 File  No.  EB-  00-  TC-  006 
 Enforcement  Bureau  Contacts:  Richard  Welch  at  (202)  418-  7450  or  Dana  Leavitt  at 
 (202)  418-  1317. 
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