S. 4557 — Outage Refund Protection Act

This section defines cable provider, DBS provider, internet provider, and telephone provider for purposes of the Act. Each term covers a service provider with more than 5,000 customers, as specified under the Communications Act of 1934 or the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999.

This section requires cable, satellite, internet, and telephone providers to automatically credit customers 1/30 of the monthly rate for each day of service outage lasting 4 hours or more. It mandates refunds of excess credits within 30 days of termination via check, no-fee prepaid debit card, or electronic transfer, exempts pre-planned maintenance announced in advance, and directs the Federal Communications Commission to enforce the requirements.

This section directs the Federal Communications Commission, within 18 months of enactment, to require telephone, cable, direct broadcast satellite, and internet providers to extend existing cable customer service standards to voice and broadband services with disability accessibility, retain customer service call recordings for at least 1 year and release them on request, and offer fee-free callbacks when a representative is available. It also directs the Federal Trade Commission, within the same period, to set standards for missed service appointments and to require alternate equipment return options at no extra cost for individuals with disabilities or who do not drive if the burden is high, while preserving state authority to impose stricter requirements.

This section requires each broadband internet service provider to report service outages within an activated area to the Federal Communications Commission as soon as possible after activation of the Disaster Information Reporting System under 47 CFR 4.18, and to include broadband internet access service outage information in each public report under the system.