FCC Consumer Complaints – December 2017

Introduction

In December 2017, the Federal Communications Commission recorded 24081 consumer complaints relating to telecommunications services, this represented a decline from the 24338 complaints recorded the previous month. Reports were received from 56 states and territories, with California recording slightly more complaints than other locations. The most common issue reported was Unwanted Calls, accounting for 12375 complaints.

Key statistics

Total complaints

24081

Days with complaint data

31

Days with complaints

31

States & territories reporting

56

Most common issue

Unwanted Calls (12375)

Most reported state/territory

California (2797)

Daily complaint activity

The month averaged 776.8 complaints per day. The highest daily count was 2422 complaints on 14 December 2017, with 18 days recording more complaints than the monthly daily average. The quietest day was 25 December 2017, with 91 complaints, noticeably below the monthly average.

Each bar represents one day of the month. Taller bars indicate more complaints.

Where the complaints came from

The 24081 complaints recorded in December 2017 were submitted from 5690 cities across 56 states and territories. Activity was spread across states and territories, with no single location accounting for a substantial share of complaints. At the city level, a significant concentration was observed in District of Columbia, where Washington accounted for 108 of the 142 complaints recorded.

The table below shows the distribution of complaints by state and territory for this month, highlighting the locations with the highest number of reports.

Location highlight

A large share of complaints in District of Columbia originated from Washington, which accounted for most reports within the state.

What the complaints were about

The complaints recorded during the month were spread across 7 complaint categories. Phone was the most reported category, with 16373 complaints. Complaint activity was strongly concentrated in this category, with other categories contributing comparatively fewer reports.

Phone complaints

16373 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 68.0% of the total.

Unwanted calls again accounted for the largest share of complaints in this category. These reports are examined in more detail in the section below. A broad mix of issues was reported in this category, with Billing, Availability (including rural call completion) and Equipment among the most common.

Internet complaints

4869 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 20.2% of the total.

Open Internet/Net Neutrality and Billing accounted for the majority of complaints in this category, with other issues reported less frequently.

TV complaints

2397 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 10.0% of the total.

Billing and Availability accounted for the majority of complaints in this category, with other issues reported less frequently.

Radio complaints

366 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 1.5% of the total.

Interference and Indecency accounted for the majority of complaints in this category, with other issues reported less frequently.

Emergency complaints

37 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 0.2% of the total.

Other and Phone accounted for the majority of complaints in this category, with other issues reported less frequently.

Unwanted calls

12375 complaints relating to unwanted calls were recorded on this date, accounting for 51.4% of all complaints. Reports referenced both caller ID numbers and business contact numbers, with number tables shown where meaningful patterns are present.

Key patterns

• Prerecorded Voice was reported slightly more often than other call types.
• (555) 555-5555 stood out as the most frequently reported business contact number.
• (516) 203-7003 stood out as the most frequently reported caller ID number.