FCC approves a new fee to be added to your phone bill

If you pay any attention to your phone bill you know that buried within the “other charges” section is something called the Universal Service Fund Fee. Of course, there are lots of such “other charges”, so much so that for me, at least, they amount to 39% of my phone bill, excluding any long distance charges.

The Obama administration, through the Federal Communications Commission, will now be tacking on another fee, though it will be claimed that your phone company, not the federal government is doing so.

Here’s the plan.  The Universal Service Fund was designed to subsidize bringing telephone service to all Americans.  The FCC now says, mission accomplished.  But, rather than canceling that fee, the government will now use it to bring high-speed internet service to all Americans.

However, under the new rules, while diverting $4.5 billion annually to the high-speed internet subsidy, and tinkering with some other fees, some phone companies may end up losing money.  So the FCC will allow them to add an additional fifty cents a month to your phone bill, which, over 5 years can rise to an additional $2.50 per month.  The good news though is that the federal government really doesn’t think they will charge that much.

And, there is even better news.  The FCC estimates that the shift to subsidizing high-speed internet will create (are you are sitting down) 500,000 jobs over six years. 

We can only hope that this won’t be like the last government subsidy of internet projects (via the Stimulus Act) that we told you about where the cost was $160,000 per job.

 

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SoundOffSister

The Sound Off Sister was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and special trial attorney for the Department of Justice, Criminal Division; a partner in the Florida law firm of Shutts & Bowen, and an adjunct professor at the University of Miami, School of Law. The Sound Off Sister offers frequent commentary concerning legislation making its way through Congress, including the health reform legislation passed in early 2010.

5 Comments

  1. Dimsdale on October 29, 2011 at 6:14 pm

    Aren’t I still paying for the Spanish-American War or rural electrification with my phone bill?



  2. just sayin on October 30, 2011 at 3:24 am

    Gee whiz… there’s got to be a cheaper way of communicating. A-ha! Gotta be around here someplace. Yes! There we go. My tin cans & string! Or how ’bout my Indian smoke signals kit, or maybe my kazoo, or pet carrier pigeon, or walkie-talkie?

    You done good again, SOS!



  3. gillie28 on October 30, 2011 at 11:27 am

    When I was in the States, I finally gave up on regular telephone companies…used Vonage and Skype – more service for far less money, even with fed fees, and (as technology improved) very reliable.? The telephone companies absolutely soak their customers since just about every call nowadays goes over the internet anyway.? When I was over there this summer, I had to use my friends’ phone to call Europe twice to change ticket (thank you Hurricane Irene!) and the charges were over $300…unbelievable…just daylight robbery.



  4. ricbee on October 30, 2011 at 3:28 pm

    ?Just another tax….



  5. Tim-in-Alabama on October 31, 2011 at 11:27 am

    Infidels.



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