The Federal Trade Commission announced Wednesday that AT&T, which allegedly billed its customers hundreds of millions of dollars for unwarranted subscriptions, agreed to a US$105 million fine to settle the charges.

The subscriptions included ringtones and messages with horoscopes, so-called fun facts  and love tips. At least 35 percent of the total amount charged by AT&T to its subscribers was held onto by the company, the FTC said in its complaint.

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Mobile cramming, which is a known practice in the telecommunications industry, is the addition of charges to a consumer's mobile bill from third-party companies without the consent or knowledge of the subscriber.

Companies thought to be guilty of the practice are being aggressively sought by the FTC. The case against AT&T is the seventh one the agency has filed since 2013,

A similar complaint was filed in July by the agency against T-Mobile, another mobile service provider, but the case has yet to be solved.

AT&T must pay the FTC US$80 million that will be refunded to subscribers hit by the unwarranted charges. An additional US$20 million in penalties will also be paid by the carrier to 50 states and to Washington, D.C. A US$5 million penalty will be paid to the FTC.

"I am very pleased that this settlement will put tens of millions of dollars back in the pockets of consumers harmed by AT&T's cramming of its mobile customers," FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said in a statement.

"This case underscores the important fact that basic consumer protections -- including that consumers should not be billed for charges they did not authorize -- are fully applicable in the mobile environment."

The FTC charged AT&T's bills compounded the problem by not explaining to subscribers which costs were directly from company and which ones were from third parties.

As part of the settlement, AT&T must notify all customers that were wrongly billed. The company should get the consent of any subscriber before it can include such third-party charges to his bill. It must also give consumers the option to prevent such charges from being added to their bills in the future.

TagsAT&T, Federal Trade Commission, Mobile cramming, mobile carrier, Mobile service provider, wireless carrier