The entity receiving the NAL is Technical Communication Network (TCN), a small prepaid card provider in Clifton, New Jersey. A few things are particularly noteworthy about the NAL:

• The Bureau remains active. According to the NAL, the investigation was started in February 2012, which was after the first five prepaid card NALs were issued but before the most recent NAL. Clearly, the Bureau continues to identify potential targets for investigation. Moreover, the fact that the NAL orders the provider to respond substantively to the investigation suggests that the Bureau is actively pursuing additional enforcement of prepaid card marketing practices.
• $25,000 is not the new base forfeiture. The NAL notes that the base forfeiture for a failure to respond to a Commission communication is $4,000. It applies an upward adjustment because it found the carrier's misconduct "egregious, intentional and continuous." Despite a few recent cases proposing similar $25,000 fines, the base forfeiture has not changed here.
• The NAL orders a response within an unusually short time period. While the NAL portion of the order grants the TCN the usual 30 days to respond to the proposed fine, the Bureau provides only 10 calendar days to respond to the questions raised in the LOI.

Clearly, the prepaid card marketing issue is not closed. Not only has the FCC not resolved the six pending forfeitures (at $5 million each), but it appears ready to continue issuing NALs for failure to provide adequate disclosures in marketing materials.

The Bureau proposed a fine of $25,000 for the failure to respond, and ordered the company to respond to the letter of inquiry within 10 days.

The NAL is significant in two respects. First, the proposed fine is $25,000, which is an upward adjustment from the $4,000 standard fine contained in the Forfeiture Guidelines. In addition, the fine is greater than the $20,000 failure to respond fines the Bureau had used a few years ago. The Bureau justified the increase amount as appropriate due to Net One's "apparent disregard for the Commission's authority and investigatory process."

Second, the subject matter of the investigation was described as "[Net One's] billing practices and its offering of prepaid calling card services." This investigation was initiated in July 2011, well after its earlier prepaid card marketing investigations, and roughly at the time that the Bureau was presenting to the full Commission proposed $5 million fines for prepaid card marketing practices. The timing suggests that the Enforcement Bureau is not finished with its examination of prepaid card providers. Presumably, more investigations of prepaid card providers are pending at this time.