Wonder why you’re paying so much money for mysterious fees on your phone bill? Here’s a nice breakdown of those charges (for the state of Colorado, in this example).
Also, check out this group who wants all these charges clearly identified. I think they should be labeled as charges that compensate the phone companies for being bloated, bureacratic, greedy monopolies.
The fee list:
Federal Excise Tax 3%
Tax mandated by the federal government imposed on all telecommunication services.
Federal Universal Service Fund 8.7%.
FUSF is assessed on your interstate and international charges not including taxes. This includes a portion of the monthly product fee that is allocated to interstate services for regulatory purposes. [This] is consistent with the FUSF rate of other large long
distance carriers. This surcharge is assessed on any monthly long distance plan fees/ minimums, Interstate and International Usage and the Network Access Charge.
Network Access Surcharge Primary Line – (EUCL) $6.50
Monthly charge assessed on each line within the household. This charge compensates for the Local Telephone Company’s cost of installation and maintenance of the components that link your home to the telephone network.
Network Access Surcharge Secondary Line – (EUCL) $7.00 (when applicable)
Monthly charge assessed on each line within the household. This charge compensates for the Local Telephone Company’s cost of installation and maintenance of the components that link your home to the telephone network.
Carrier Cost Recovery Charge (CCRC)* 1.4%
A monthly surcharge in order to recover costs the Company incurs with regard to Telecommunications Relay Service, national number portability, and federal regulatory fees. The surcharge is assessed on long distance (Dial-1, Card, P800 and SB T800) state-to-state and international charges.
Local 911 $0.00 – $0.70 per line
This fee provides the local governing body with a source of revenue for payment of the total costs of establishing or upgrading, operating and maintaining an emergency telephone system.
State and Local Taxes 2.900%
This is a state sales tax on the consumption of telecommunications services.
State and Local Taxes 0% – 5%
This is a local sales tax on the consumption of telecommunications services.
State and Local Taxes 0% – 0.8%
This is a special sales tax to pay for regional transportation projects, scientific and cultural projects, and sports stadium projects.
Federal, State and Local Surcharges $1.12
This is a surcharge of the City of Denver telecommunications business tax on telephone and telegraph companies.
High Cost Fund (Colorado) 2.300%
The Colorado High Cost Fund is used to ensure the availability of affordable basic telephone service in areas where costs to provide service are high.
Telecommunications Relay Service $0.10
A surcharge to fund the relay center that assists the hearing and speech impaired with communicating to other telephone providers.
Local Number Portability (LNP) $0.43
Covers the cost of providing residential customers with the ability to retain, at the same location, their existing local telephone numbers when switching from one local provider to another.