Technology Article 5/14

Verizon Wireless and Sprint to Pay $158 Million to Settle Billing Investigations

• The Federal Communications Commission announced on Tuesday that Verizon Wireless and Sprint had agreed to pay a combined $158 million to settle investigations into millions of dollars of unauthorized charges 
• These unauthorized charges appeared on customers’ cellphone bills through a practice known as cramming 
• Under the agreement, Verizon will pay $90 million and Sprint $68 million 
• The unauthorized charges came in the form of third-party premium text messaging services 
• Most of the charges were $9.99 a month, but they ranged from 99 cents to $14