NEWS Federal Communications Commission 445 12th 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). News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: October 4, 2010 Louis Peraertz, (202) 418-1879 louis.peraertz@fcc.gov STATEMENT BY FCC COMMISSIONER MIGNON L. CLYBURN ON VERIZON WIRELESS’ ANNOUNCEMENT THAT IT WILL GIVE REFUNDS TO APPROXIMATELY 15 MILLION AMERICANS “Consumer protection is at the core of the Commission’s public interest mission, and ensuring that consumers are treated fairly and reasonably is critically important to me. Given the magnitude of the problem that Verizon Wireless revealed yesterday, we must quickly get to the heart of what happened, when, and why. I applaud the Enforcement Bureau for acting swiftly to initiate an investigation into the widespread complaints that Verizon Wireless had engaged in significant overbilling for data services when the Bureau first learned of the phantom fees. “While I appreciate that Verizon Wireless has acknowledged its billing errors, the refunds to millions of Americans have been a long time coming. It appears the company was first notified, more than two years ago, about certain billing errors. As I pointed out in December of last year, the company’s initial response to public reports of the phantom fees was that it does not charge consumers for accidental launching of the web browser. Yesterday’s announcement clearly requires further explanation. I expect the company will continue to cooperate fully with the Commission and I look forward to the results of the investigation. The fifteen million overcharged consumers, identified by Verizon Wireless, deserve more than refunds. They deserve answers and steps to assure that such errors will not happen again. We cannot and should not let them down.”