N.C. frees AT&T from retention marketing restrictions

Federal regulators within the past year have sought to curb the ability of telcos to make marketing pitches to customers of theirs who are in the process of switching to competitors. However, the North Carolina Utilities Commission may be leaning the other way after overturning a rule that kept local incumbent telco AT&T from contacting customers for one week after they switched to a competitor, and from sending them marketing materials along with their final AT&T bills.

AT&T had requested the change, which competitors, for obvious reasons, opposed. It will be interesting to see if there is similar movement elsewhere at the state level as incumbent telcos struggles to retain landline voice customers. Verizon Communications was turned back by the Federal Communications Commission and by a federal appeal court in its effort to use customer data to fuel retention marketing practices.

For more:
- The News Observer has this report

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