The FCC has fined AT&T $106,000 for over-charging several Florida-area schools under the E-Rate program. According to the FCC announcement, AT&T charged two Florida school districts some of the highest rates in the state, ignoring the FCC's "lowest corresponding price" rule, which the FCC says prohibits ISPs from "charging them more than the lowest price paid by other similarly situated customers" in the state under the subsidized program. The FCC says AT&T must also repay $63,760 it "improperly received" from the Universal Service Fund as a subsidy to pay for those services.

In short, the FCC's giving AT&T a wrist slap for profiting off of a program that's supposed to help consumers and anchor institutions.

This isn't the AT&T's first run in with the FCC on this subject. AT&T was hit with a $10.5 million fine last year for effectively padding its qualified subscriber rolls to defraud the Lifeline program. A few years earlier AT&T was fined $18.25 million for helping scammers rip off the hearing impaired (via IP Relay).

The telco was also forced to pay another $105 million for aiding crammers...by actively making bills more difficult to understand and the fraud harder to detect.

You may be noticing a trend at AT&T. While this latest fine may not be much, it's still the FCC acknowledging that they see what AT&T has been doing -- which is more than the agency could be bothered to do previously.

“Charging school districts among the highest rates in the state for telephone or broadband internet service is outrageous,” said Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc. “Schools and libraries across the country heavily rely upon federal and state funds to afford these critical services. We expect that every service provider will offer participating schools and libraries the same low rates that they charge to other similarly situated customers.”