Read CUB Executive Director David Kolata’s statement on the General Assembly’s passage of a revised Illinois Telecommunications Act over the weekend. After a months-long Save Our Service (SOS) Campaign fighting Big Telecom, the revisions were a mixed bag for consumer advocates. CUB was glad that big phone companies failed in their…...
CUB Director: Consumer protections never go out of date
AT&T has made no secret of the fact that the company wants to strip the Illinois Telecom Act of consumer protections and completely deregulate traditional home phone service. In the company’s perfect world, it would no longer have to fulfill the “obligation to serve” requirement— and would be able to abandon…...
Save home phone service before it’s too late!
The Illinois Telecommunications Act—legislation that protects your rights and keeps telephone rates down— is up for review at the end of the month, and legislators must determine to renew it as is, or change it. Unlike CUB and other consumer advocacy groups, Big Telecom companies like AT&T and Frontier hope…...
IL energy, cable & phone companies made $17.7 billion in 2014
The parent companies of Illinois’ major electric, cable, natural gas and phone companies made a total of $17.7 billion in profits last year, according to a CUB review of recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Comcast: The cable, phone and Internet giant saw its 2014 profits top $8.4 billion…...
CUB Action Network members say NO to Big Telecom
Consumer advocates expect Big Telecom to mount a new push to eliminate important consumer protections on home phone service in Illinois–and CUB Action Network members have something to say about it. The Illinois Telecommunications Act—important legislation that protects your rights and keeps telephone landline rates low—is up for review in 2015. In…...
Goodbye to affordable landline service?
While you’re heading to the polls today, CUB is gearing up for a key legislative battle this spring. The Illinois Telecommunications Act—important legislation that protects your rights and keeps telephone landline rates low—is scheduled to be rewritten in 2015. Millions of Illinois households, including many of our most vulnerable citizens, depend…...
The $105 million cramming settlement: what you need to know
Last week, we brought you great news: Federal regulators, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and her counterparts from across the nation have reached a $105 million settlement with AT&T to settle claims that its customers were hit with unauthorized third-party charges. It’s a scam called “cramming,” and we couldn’t be happier to hear that authorities are…...
