Satellite TV provider fined for telemarketing calls

Satellite television provider EchoStar Communications -- which does business as Dish Network -- will pay a fine of ,000 for telemarketing calls made to Missourians on the state's No Call list in an agreement made Wednesday with Attorney General Jay Nixon.

The compliance assurance filed in St. Charles County Circuit Court alleged EchoStar and its authorized dealers placed telemarketing calls to people on the No Call list since July 2001. As part of the agreement approved Wednesday, EchoStar will stop calling Missourians on the list and will provide Nixon's office with a report of the measures the company has taken to assure future compliance.

Any future violations could cost the company up to 1,000 per call.

"Missourian's No Call law was implemented to assure Missourian that they could sit down to the dinner table without constant, uninvited interruptions by incessant telemarking calls," Nixon said.

Currently, more than 1.9 million Missouri households have signed up for the Missouri No Call list. Missouri residents not yet on the list can have their numbers included or can file a complaint regarding a no-call violation via the Attorney General's Web site at www.ago.mo.gov or by calling (866) NO-CALL1.

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