FTC Fines TracFone $40M Over False Advertising

TracFone has agreed to pay customers $40 million to reimburse them for what the FTC labeled as deceptive advertising. From 2009 to 2013, TracFone advertised "unlimited data" plans for $45 per month. Despite the promise of unlimited monthly data, TracFone throttled customers who surpassed 3GB of data and cut off entirely some customers who surpassed 5GB of data. "The issue here is simple: when you promise consumers 'unlimited,' that means unlimited," said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. 

TracFone began to disclose the data limits and throttling policies in 2013, but the FTC said, "In many cases, the disclosures were in very small print or on the back of packages or cards where consumers were likely to miss them." Millions of customers were throttled, according to the FTC. TracFone will refund an unknown number of customers $40 million and more clearly spell out its network management policies.

TracFone Has Purchased Simple Mobile

Prepaid is increasingly becoming popular in the United States. With all this economic uncertainty, people are looking to take control of their phone bill, and what better way to do that than to not lock yourself into a two year contract? TracFone is America’s largest prepaid operator, with over 20 million customers using their various sub-brands. You’ve probably heard of Straight Talk, which offers “unlimited” everything for $45 per month. We say “unlimited” because after you consumer 2 GB of data you get a very angry phone call informing you that you’re going to be disconnected. Another prepaid operator is Simple Mobile. They rely on T-Mobile’s network and have roughly 1 million customers. Yesterday América Móvil, the company that owns TracFone, announced that they’re going to purchase Simple Mobile for an undisclosed sum of money. Why? Because T-Mobile is in the process of refarming some of their 1900 MHz spectrum to support HSPA+, which means T-Mobile customers will soon be able to get 3G connectivity on their iPhones.

PocketESN For Android Checks The Status Of A Phones ESN

The folks at Cunning Logic have released their latest Android application PocketESN. Cellular networks that utilize CDMA technology, such as Verizon, Sprint, Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, StraightTalk, Tracfone, and Cricket, all use ESN numbers to blacklist stolen or unpaid devices. For example, if you fail to keep your Sprint contract, your device’s ESN number will automatically be blacklisted by the company. If blacklisted, a device cannot be used on the network anymore.

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