FCC SMACKS SPRINT WITH LARGEST "DO NOT CALL" FINE EVER

When it comes to "Do Not Call" requests, Sprint apparently hasn't gotten the message.

The Federal Communications Commission announced Monday that the wireless carrier will pay a $7.5 million fine for failing to honor requests from consumers to opt out of phone and text-message marketing campaigns. As part of the settlement, Sprint has to set up a compliance program and provide regular reports to regulators for the next two years.

The fine comes after Sprint reached a similar settlement over "Do Not Call" violations with regulators back in 2011, paying a $400,000 fine.

"When a consumer tells a company to stop calling or texting with promotional pitches, that request must be honored," FCC enforcement chief Travis LeBlanc said in a statement.

Sprint said the settlement "relates to issues resulting from technical and inadvertent human errors, which Sprint reported to the FCC."

"We have conducted a thorough, top-to-bottom evaluation of our Do Not Call data management systems, and significant capital investments have been made to improve our Do Not Call/SMS Message architecture, oversight and compliance," the company said.

The fine is the largest ever from the FCC in a "Do Not Call" case, though it's safe to say Sprint's not sweating it -- the company brought in $8.9 billion in sales in the first three months of this year alone.

Americans can opt out of telemarketing communications thanks to a 2003 law that set up the national "Do Not Call" registry. You can sign up for the registry online at www.donotcall.gov.