FCC Consumer Complaints – June 2023

Introduction

The Federal Communications Commission recorded 21569 consumer complaints in June 2023 relating to telecommunications services, complaint volume increased from 20805 complaints the previous month. Reports were received from 54 states and territories, with California recording slightly more complaints than other locations. Complaints were most commonly associated with Unwanted Calls, accounting for 8894 complaints.

Key statistics

Total complaints
21569
Days with complaint data
30
Days with complaints
30
States & territories reporting
54
Most common issue
Unwanted Calls (8894)
Most reported state/territory
California (2577)

Daily complaint activity

The month averaged 719 complaints per day. The highest daily count was 1028 complaints on 21 June 2023, with 21 days recording more complaints than the monthly daily average. The quietest day was 18 June 2023, with 271 complaints, noticeably below the monthly average.

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

Where the complaints came from

Across 5318 cities in 54 states and territories, a total of 21569 complaints were recorded in June 2023. Overall, complaint activity was broadly distributed, with no single state or territory representing a significant proportion of the total. At the city level, a significant concentration was observed in District of Columbia, where Washington accounted for 84 of the 92 complaints recorded.

The monthly distribution of complaints by state and territory is shown below, with locations ranked by the number of reports recorded.

State/Territory Complaints Share
California 2577 11.9%
Texas 1719 8.0%
Florida 1493 6.9%
New York 1281 5.9%
Illinois 901 4.2%
Colorado 780 3.6%
Pennsylvania 732 3.4%
Ohio 706 3.3%
Georgia 696 3.2%
Virginia 658 3.1%
Other states and territories 10016 46.4%

Location highlight

Nearly all complaints reported in District of Columbia originated from Washington.

What the complaints were about

The complaints recorded during the month fell into 8 different complaint categories. Phone accounted for the largest share, with 14709 complaints. Complaint activity was strongly concentrated in this category, with other categories contributing comparatively fewer reports.

Complaint category Complaints Share
Phone 14709 68.2%
Internet 5012 23.2%
TV 1306 6.1%
Radio 323 1.5%
Emergency 99 0.5%
Accessibility 88 0.4%
Request for Dispute Assistance 30 0.1%
Broadband Story 2 0.0%

Phone complaints

14709 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 68.2% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share
Unwanted Calls 8894 60.5%
Billing 1865 12.7%
Availability (including rural call completion) 1283 8.7%
Equipment 957 6.5%
Number Portability (keeping your number if you change providers) 521 3.5%
Privacy 447 3.0%
Interference (including signal jammers) 240 1.6%
Cramming (unauthorized charges on your phone bill) 227 1.5%
Junk Faxes 215 1.5%
Slamming (change of your carrier without permission) 49 0.3%
Rural Call Completion 4 0.0%

As is often the case in this category, unwanted calls were the most frequently reported issue. Further analysis of these complaints is provided below. The remaining complaints in this category were spread across several issues, including Billing, Availability (including rural call completion) and Equipment.

Internet complaints

5012 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 23.2% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share
Availability 1811 36.1%
Billing 1797 35.9%
Interference 357 7.1%
Speed 351 7.0%
Privacy 349 7.0%
Equipment 347 6.9%

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

TV complaints

1306 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 6.1% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share
Billing 434 33.2%
Availability 391 29.9%
Indecency 173 13.2%
Loud Commercials 143 10.9%
Equipment 85 6.5%
Interference 53 4.1%
Privacy 18 1.4%

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

Radio complaints

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

Issue Complaints Share
Interference 113 35.0%
Availability 68 21.1%
Indecency 46 14.2%
Pirate Radio 44 13.6%
Commercials/Promotions 23 7.1%
Equipment 15 4.6%
Billing 12 3.7%

The remaining complaints in this category were spread across several issues, including Interference, Availability and Indecency.

Emergency complaints

99 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 0.5% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share
Interference 56 56.6%
Phone 25 25.3%
Tower 10 10.1%
Other 8 8.1%

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

Accessibility complaints

88 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 0.4% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share
Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) 38 43.2%
Closed Captioning on TV 14 15.9%
Closed Captioning over the Internet 13 14.8%
Video Description 3 3.4%

Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) was the most commonly reported issue in this category, while other issues occurred less frequently.

Request for Dispute Assistance complaints

30 complaints were recorded in this category during the month, representing 0.1% of the total.

Issue Complaints Share

Unwanted calls

8894 complaints relating to unwanted calls were recorded on this date, accounting for 41.2% of all complaints. Reports referenced both caller ID numbers and business contact numbers, with number tables shown where meaningful patterns are present.

Most reported caller ID numbers

Telephone number Complaints Share
(555) 555-5555 7 0.1%
(740) 276-5960 7 0.1%
(859) 795-2714 6 0.1%
(585) 510-7805 5 0.1%
(855) 458-6060 5 0.1%
(888) 981-7761 5 0.1%
(404) 806-4812 4 0.0%
(424) 230-8811 4 0.0%
(800) 432-1000 4 0.0%
(888) 884-9105 4 0.0%

Most reported business contact numbers

Telephone number Complaints Share
(555) 555-5555 25 0.3%
(888) 220-2311 21 0.2%
(866) 202-3044 10 0.1%
(855) 202-9439 9 0.1%
(503) 765-9461 8 0.1%
(714) 694-7603 7 0.1%
(833) 269-7333 6 0.1%
(844) 200-5676 6 0.1%
(859) 795-2714 6 0.1%
(877) 653-9495 6 0.1%

Key patterns

  • None accounted for the largest share of unwanted call complaints by service type.
  • Live Voice was reported slightly more often than other call types.
  • (555) 555-5555 was reported slightly more often than other business contact numbers.
  • Several caller ID numbers were reported multiple times, with no single number clearly ahead of the others.
Page last updated: 1 July 2023 with FCC complaints data from June 2023.

The information presented on this page is based on consumer complaint data submitted to regulatory authorities. References to telephone numbers reflect reports made by consumers and do not confirm ownership, authenticity, or that the number was genuinely associated with the call. Caller ID information may be inaccurate or subject to spoofing.

Complaint categories, dates and complainant locations are based on the source records and may contain incomplete, approximate or user-entered information. Location details refer to the complainant’s reported location, not the location of the caller or telephone number. This content is provided for informational purposes only.