Charge
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Definition
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Telco Rationale
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Cost to Consumer
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The Harsh Reality
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Save Money
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Inside Wiring
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A
monthly fee for maintaining the wiring in the home or office.
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The
Bells dont say how long the wire lasts. The only published
stat stated that they typically break once every 16 years.
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Costs
range from $1.20 a month to $3.50 a month, double for businesses.
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Cash
cow: estimated to be over 70% profits.
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Almost
half of those who pay this fee never ordered t. Check your phone
bill to see if you are paying, and if ou didnt order it, demand
a full refund, which can be hundreds of dollars.
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Directory Assistance
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Local
Directory assistance is a service that allows the caller to find
someones telephone number using either 411.
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Directory
assistance used to be included with local service, but the Bells
have been arguing to raise fees based on costs. Today, there are
50 states and 50 different prices.
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Directory
assistance prices have climbed over 1800% since 1984 while the cost
of offering has dropped.
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What
you dont know will hurt you: About half the customers think
that Directory calls comes with local service.
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If
you make more than a few calls, check your telephone directory to
see what the costs are in your state.
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FCC Subscriber Line
Charge
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According
to the FCC, "The federal Subscriber Line Charge (SLC) defrays a
portion of local exchange costs that have been allocated to interstate
toll (long distance) services.
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The
Bells argue that local service is unprofitable, so theyre
entitled to this money.
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The
annual charge come to $42 a year or $72 for business. Over $8 billion
dollars is collected annually.
This
charge increases as of July 2000
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Money
for nothing: The Subscriber Line charge is not anything physical,
and so there is no service associated with this charge.
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Until
there is competition for your phone line via a second network, or
the FCC rules differently, this charge will remain.
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FCC Second Line, Subscriber
Line Charge
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A
little known but expensive new charge was put on every second line
(or 2 or more lines) in 1998.
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The
phone companies believe they need to get compensated for more Internet
use as well as lowering the access fees.
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According
to the FCC, this second line charge is going up, from $5 a month
to as much as $9 a month, while business jumped to $9 in 1998.
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So
much for no new Internet taxes.
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Little
can be done today to change the costs to customers.
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Long Distance Access
Fees
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Believe
it or not, in 1999, over 30% of the price of every long distance
call you make goes directly back to the local phone company. Known
as "Access Fees", these charges are pass-throughs", since
the long distance company pays the local phone company to handle
your calls.
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The
local phone companies state that the revenue is needed because local
service "isnt profitable.
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With
an average $30 long distance bill, every month the Bells get $10,
which comes to $120 dollars annually. In 1997, MCI stated that Access
Fees were "rip-offs"
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The
price of staying competitive: The Consumer Union recently stated
that Americans are being overcharged on this fee $8 billion annually.
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If
the FCC and other regulators properly investigate Access charges,
long distance rates should fall.
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Competitive and Enhanced
services
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"Competitive"
and "Enhanced" services include Touchtone, Call Waiting, and Call
Forwarding.
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The
Bells state that these service profits are required because local
service loses money.
They
are called "Competitive", "Enhanced", or even Discretionary"
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Call
Waiting and Call Forwarding cost between $2-5 dollars per item for
residential, almost double for business. Touchtone can cost between
$1 and $3 dollars per month for residential and business customers.
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Money
for nothing, part II: It cost virtually nothing to offer these services.
According
to Florida Public Service Commission, Call Waiting cost less than
1 cent, Touchtone is totally free
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First
check to see if you are paying for services you didnt order.
Then check to see if there is a newer package, especially if you
have more than one feature.
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Installation Fees
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The
charges to get phone service installed.
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The
phone company is the sole supplier of phone services, and, according
to them, all fees should go to them.
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Since
1984, installation fees have risen approximately 900%.
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Getting
paid to flip the switch: Many charges of installation has no physical
costs, such as initiating service fees.
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If
you can handle wiring the place yourself, and dont need a
site visit, you can start to save money.
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Local Service
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Local
Service is not the sum total of your local phone charges, but a
single line item, usually called Basic Service.
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The
Bells state that they lose money on local Service, so they need
this fee.
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In
testimony, Bernard Ebbers of Worldcom stated that the Bells made
40% profits as compared to other phone companies at 20%.
Bell
Annual Reports indicated the total profit margins at 48%. for 1999.
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Money
for less than nothing: The Bells are protected by a regulatory shell
game so that almost all of the other services mentioned are no longer
part of the definition of local service.
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Ask
Congress, the States and the FCC to include all of the other charges
in the definition. This would clearly should show the Bells enormous
profits.
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Taxes & Surcharges
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Includes
E911, Deaf Relay, School Wiring, Lifeline, and Universal Service
Charges, portability charges,
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Many
of these charges are ordered in the Public Interest by the state
legislatures, the FCC and or/Congress.
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Some
states used flat fees for E911 or deaf relay, while others states
fees can be a percentage of total phone charges. This ranges from
12¢-50¢ a month, per line per fee.
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Public
interest profit: Many of these charges, while in the public interest,
are also direct revenues to the local phone companies.
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These
fees are non-negotiable and they depend on state and federal laws.
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Toll Calls
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Toll
Calls are the equivalent to statewide long distance.
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In
numerous state hearings, MCI and others stated that it really cost
less than 1¢ a minute for access these calls.
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Though
Toll calls have been dropping in price over the last decade, these
charges usually cost more than most current long distance plans.
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Not
a bad ROI: Over 50% profit margins.
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Some
states have toll call competition which can be less expensive.
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