The Federal Trade Commission has ordered the internet service provider Frontier Communications to pay over $8 million for allegedly lying to consumers and charging them for high-speed internet speeds it fails to deliver.
Under a proposed order with the FTC and two California law enforcement agencies, Frontier will be prohibited from tricking consumers when it comes to its slow internet service.
Connecticut-based Frontier must also provide current customers with free and easy cancellations when it fails to deliver the promised speeds, the FTC said.
In a complaint first filed in May 2021, the FTC alleged that Frontier advertised that it could provide various speeds of digital subscriber line internet (DSL) based on the type of plan a customer purchased.
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According to the FTC, Frontier failed to provide many consumers with the maximum speeds that they were promised, and the speeds they did receive didn't align with the plans they purchased.
Frontier must also follow several other policies like ensuring it can provide internet speeds being advertised and prohibiting customers to sign up for DSL internet service in certain areas where there is a high number of users, causing slower service.
Frontier will also be required to pay $8.5 million in civil penalties.
