Sprint fined $7.5m for unwanted telemarketing calls

Sprint Corp. will pay $7.5 million to settle allegations that it failed to spare consumers from unwanted telemarketing calls, U.S. communications regulators said Monday.

The Federal Communications Commission said Sprint's resolution of an investigation by its enforcement bureau marked the largest “do-not-call” settlement the agency had ever reached.

“We expect companies to respect the privacy of consumers who have opted out of marketing calls,” said Travis LeBlanc, acting chief of the enforcement bureau. “When a consumer tells a company to stop calling or texting with promotional pitches, that request must be honored. Today’s settlement leaves no question that protecting consumer privacy is a top enforcement priority.”

The carrier said the calls in question resulted from technical or inadvertent human errors.

Americans can opt out of receiving many telemarketing calls by putting their phone numbers on a do-not-call list – though some calls, including those from nonprofit organizations, are exempt from the restrictions.

Sprint's latest settlement follows one the No. 3 wireless carrier reached in 2011, also over complaints that consumers continued to receive telemarketing calls, despite asking to be placed on the company's do-not-call list.

Sprint said it has conducted a thorough, top-to-bottom review of do-not-call data management systems and invested "significant capital" to improve oversight and compliance.

The FCC said Sprint will also implement a two-year plan to ensure compliance with FCC requirements designed to protect consumer privacy and prevent consumers from receiving unwanted phone and text marketing communications.

Al Jazeera and wire services