Why
is it on my bill?
Title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 69.152;
United States Congress via the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1983.
The FCC subscriber line charge (SLC) came in to being as part of the
settlement reached in the breakup of the Bell Telephone system.
What
is it?
Originally, this charge was intended to keep basic rates
stable at the time of the divestiture. Local
telephone companies assess the SLC to recover interstate costs associated with
the telephone equipment inside your house or business that are not recovered
elsewhere.
Also
known as:
End
User Common Line Charge (EUCL)
, FCC-Approved Customer Line Charge
, FCC Subscriber Line Charge
, Interstate Subscriber Line Charge
, Customer Subscriber Line Charge
, Federal Line Fee
, Easy Access Dialing Fee
How
much is it?
The maximum monthly SLC is $4.35 for each primary
residential line and primary business line.
The cap for primary residential and business lines will not increase.
The maximum charge for each additional residential line is $6.07 per
month; the maximum charge for each additional business line is
currently either the local telephone company’s average interstate cost of
providing such a line in the state or $9.21, whichever is lower. The local telephone company can only assess charges for
additional lines that are necessary to cover the interstate calling costs.
The SLC has nothing to do with the number or type of calls
you make or receive from your telephone. It
is not a charge for making or receiving long distance calls.
Who
gets the money?
Local telephone companies.
Which
bill will this be on?
Local
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Why
is it on my bill?
Title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 52.33 and the
Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, Section 251 (e) (2); United States
Congress via the FCC, effective February 1, 1999.
What
is it?
This charge funds the configuration of local telephone
companies’ networks so that if you switch from one local company to another,
you can keep your telephone number. If
recovers the cost of creating new facilities, the cost of upgrading the network
to accommodate number portability, and recurring costs incurred in providing
local number portability. The LNP
charge aims to promote competition in the local telecommunications market.
How
much is it?
SWBT is billing $0.33 as its LNP charge.
The FCC allows the local telephone companies to assess the monthly charge
for a maximum of five years, beginning in 1999.
The charge can be assessed only when the local telephone company is
capable of providing local number portability within a local calling area.
Who
gets the money?
Local telephone companies.
Who
is exempt from this charge?
Subscribers on Lifeline Assistance programs.
Which
bill is it on?
Local
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Why
is it on the bill?
Public Utility Regulatory Act, Section 55.048; Texas
Legislature, in 1993.
What
is it?
Customers in many rural exchanges are not able to call
schools state agencies, hospitals and businesses in their in their communities
of interest without paying long distance charges. Subject to certain restrictions, state law allows such
customers to petition the PUC to obtain expanded local calling service (ELCS).
ELCS expands rural customers’ local calling scopes by allowing them to
call additional exchanges by paying a flat fee, rather than incur long distance
charges assessed on a per minute basis. If
the cost of providing ELCS exceeds the revenues received from the service, state
law allows the local telephone company to surcharge all of it’s customers in
Texas to make up the difference.
How
much is it?
For the first five exchanges, the maximum ELC fee is $3.50
per month for a residential line and $7.00 per month for a business line.
This fee may increase by $1.50 for each additional exchange over five.
The ELCS surcharge varies among companies.
Southwestern Bell charges $0.16 per month, while GTE charges $0.73.
The PUC must approve all ELCS fees and surcharges.
Who
gets the money?
Local telephone companies.
Which
bill will this be on?
Local
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Why
is it on the bill?
Texas Health and Safety Code, Section 771.071; Texas
Legislature, in 1987.
What
is it?
This fee funds the provision of 9-1-1 emergency
telecommunications services.
How
much is it?
The 9-1-1 advisory commission sets this fee.
The fee, which is bases on the cost of providing 9-1-1 service in the
region in which the customer is located, may not exceed $0.50 per month per
local telephone line. The fee must be stated separately on the customer’s bill.
The PUC must review the establishment of the fee.
Who
gets the money?
Local telephone companies must collect the fee from their
customers, and then remit those amounts to the relevant regional planning
commission or other designated public agency.
The amount collected pursuant to the fee can be spent only in the region
for which it is collected. Revenues
may also be appropriated to the emergency medical services and trauma care
system fund.
Which
bill is it on?
Local
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House Bill1777, Section 283.051(a); Texas Legislature, in
1999; Public Utility Regulatory Act, Section 54.206; Texas Legislature, in 1995.
What
is it?
Telephone companies pay this fee to incorporated
municipalities for the right to run wires to connect customers to the local
network. A municipal right-of-way
refers to the space on, above or below a public street, waterway or utility
easement. Traditionally, telephone
companies negotiated this right-of-way fee with each city individually.
A new law requires that these fees be standardized.
The PUC now sets a uniform method for calculating the fees.
Most Texas municipalities have reduced or maintained the current fee.
State law also gives local telephone companies the right to
recover this charge from its customers who are within the boundaries of the
municipality. This charge may be
separately stated on the customer’s bill.
How
much is it?
The amount of the fee varies by municipality and type of
customer.
Who
sets the fee?
The incorporated municipality.
Who
gets the money?
Incorporated municipalities
Who
do I contact about how my fee was set?
For more information about on who to contact at you
municipality, and what the final rates calculated to be, based on the PUC
formula, go to this website,
www.puc.state.tx.us/telecomm/projects/20935/20935.cfm
Which
bill will this be on?
Local
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Why
is it on the bill?
Texas Tax Code, Sections 171.001, .002, .065 and .080;
Public Utility Regulatory Act, Section 53.202; Texas Legislature, in 1991
(House Bill 11).
What
is it?
A franchise tax assessed to corporations doing business in
Texas.
Also
known as:
House Bill 11 Surcharge
Cost of Service Charge
How
much is it?
Only local telephone companies that have not elected
incentive regulation, and for which the PUC has not set rates in a general rate
proceeding since 1991, can assess the surcharge. If the qualifying local telephone company requests the
imposition of this surcharge, the PUC must allow the local telephone company to
adjust its billing to do so. The
amount recovered from customers varies annually, depending on the level of
franchise taxes incurred by the local telephone company.
Who
gets the money?
General Revenue Fund
What
services are not subject to this charge?
Local telephone service provided by cooperatives.
Which
bill is it on?
Local
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Why is it on
the bill?
Public Utility Regulatory Act, Section 55.021-024; Texas
Legislature, in 1983.
What
is it?
Customers
in rural and metropolitan areas often desire to make or receive calls from
homes, schools, state agencies, hospitals and businesses in the communities of
interest without paying long distance charges.
Extended Area Surcharges (EAS) expands customers’ local calling scopes
by allowing them to call additional contiguous exchanges for a flat fee, rather
than incur long distance charges assessed on a per minute basis.
The PUC can approve mandatory EAS or optional EAS either pursuant to a
joint agreement between affected local telephone companies and affected
communities or upon a petitioning community’s showing that traffic volumes
justify EAS. EAS may be either one
direction (one way) or both directions (two way).
How much is it?
For mandatory two way EAS
involving a non-metropolitan exchange, the maximum EAS fee is $3.50 a line for
residential customers and $7.00 a line for business customers.
This fee limitation, however, does not apply to EAS involving a
metropolitan exchange or to optional EAS. The
PUC approves all EAS fees and surcharges.
Who gets the
money?
Local telephone companies.
Which bill is
it on?
Local
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Other Governmental Assessments—at the end of your bill
Title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, Sections 69.104,
69.153 & 69.154; United States
Congress via the FCC, effective January 1, 1998.
What
is it?
Long-Distance companies pay CAC charges to local phone
companies to offset the cost of increasing access charges.
A long-distance company pays this charge for each residential and
business telephone line that is connected to your long-distance company.
Long-distance companies may recover these charges from their customers.
Also
known as:
National Access Fee (MCI)
Carrier Line Charge (AT&T)
Pre-subscribed Line Charge (Sprint long distance bill)
Regulatory Related Charge (Sprint local bills, for customers
with no long-distance carrier)
How
much is it?
The maximum paid by long-distance companies for primary
residential lines and single line business lines is $1.04 per line per month.
For additional residential lines, the maximum paid by long distance
companies is $2.53 per line per month; for each multi-line business line, it is
$4.31. Each year, the maximum for multi-line businesses will
increase by $1.50, as adjusted for inflation.
The CAC paid by long-distance companies will vary, based on
the actual cost of providing local telephone service in each area.
Recent increases in the CAC are offset, in part, by reductions in federal
per minute access charges paid by long-distance companies to local telephone
companies.
Who
gets the money?
Local Telephone Companies.
Which
bill will this be on?
Local or Long-distance
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Why
is it on the bill?
United States Congress, via the FCC.
Effective January 1, 1998.
What
is it?
This charge pays for the Federal Universal Service Fund (USF).
The FUSF charged is assessed to all telecommunications companies with
interstate operations, including long-distance carriers, wireless companies,
pager companies and payphone companies. The
amount collected through this charge funds telecommunications services’
discounts to schools, libraries, rural health care providers, and low-income
customers. It also provides funds
to the local telephone companies that serve rural and high-cost areas.
The FCC permits telecommunications companies that pay the charge to
recover it from their customers. There
is no requirement that companies pass on this charge, but most do.
Also
known as?
Federal Universal Service Fee (MCI)
Universal Connectivity Charge (AT&T)
Universal Service Carrier Charge (Sprint)
How
much is it?
The amount of the charge varies, depending upon anticipated
FUSF requirements. MCI charges 5%
of the customer’s long distance bill, Sprint charges 4.5%, and AT&T
charges 8.6%.
Who
gets the money?
Schools, libraries, rural health care providers, and local
telephone companies that serve rural, insular and high-cost areas. Funds
associated with the “e-rate” are allocated by grants to schools and
libraries.
Which
bill is it on?
Long distance
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Why
is it on the bill?
Title 26, United States Code, Sections 4251 and 3: United
States Congress (1898).
What
is it?
The federal excise tax was originally initiated as a luxury
tax to pay for the Spanish-American War in 1898. Now, all proceeds go directly to the U.S. general revenue
fund.
Also
known as:
Federal Tax
How
much is it?
It is 3% of all billed local and long-distance services, and
teletypewriter exchange services.
Who
gets the money?
The U.S. Treasury receives the proceeds, which are then
disbursed as needed.
What
services are not subject to this charge?
Installation charges
Answering services
Mobile radiotelephone services
Coin-operated telephone service
Telephone-operated security systems
News services and radio broadcasts of news and sporting
events
Common carriers and communication companies
Military personnel serving in combat zones
International Organizations
Federal, State and local government communications
Which
bill is it on?
Local and long distance
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Why
is it on the bill?
Texas Tax Code, Sections 151.051, 151.308, and 151.323;
Texas Legislature and local jurisdictions including cities, counties, special
purpose districts and transit authorities.
What
is it?
The state tax rate is 6.25%; the total of all local taxes
cannot exceed 2%. Therefore, state
and local taxes combined cannot exceed 8.25%.
Who
gets the money?
General Revenue Fund and local governmental authorities.
Must
you pay taxes on the charges that appear on your bill?
Yes, according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
These charges are not taxes imposed on the customer, but rather upon the
provider/seller of the telecommunications services.
They are considered a part of the total sales price of the
telecommunications services provided. These
charges cannot be passed through to the ratepayers as a tax or fee, but are
collected as a reimbursement.
What
services are not subject to this charge?
Long-distance calls you make or receive from outside the
state.
Prepaid calling cards
Services received through a reseller
Which
bill is it on?
Local and long-distance
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Why
is it on the bill?
Public Utility Regulatory Act, Chapter 56; Texas
Legislature, in 1987 and 1999; U.S. Congress via the FCC in 1996.
What
is it?
The TSUF allows affordable service to high-cost rural
customers, funds the Relay Texas and the Specialized Telecommunications
Assistance Programs for the hearing-disabled, and funds telecommunications
services discounts to low-income customers (Tel-Assistance and Lifeline).
About 3.96% of taxable communications receipts, as of March
1, 2000.
Who
must pay it?
All providers of telecommunications services, including;
wireless, pager, local, and long distance telephone companies.
Who
gets the money?
The largest portion of the TUSF goes to provide assistance
to the local telephone companies providing service in high-cost and rural areas.
Other monies are allocated to fund the Relay Texas and the Specialized
Equipment program for the hearing-disabled, and to fund discounts on
telecommunication services for low-income customers.
At this time, it is estimated that the TUSF for fiscal year 2000 will
total $550 million. Of that amount,
it is estimated that 90% will be allocated to local telephone companies serving
high-cost and rural areas; 3% to fund discounts to low-income customers; and a
little under 3% to fund programs for the hearing-disabled.
Consistent with the State law, the Public Utility Commission
of Texas (PUC) recently adjusted the TUSF. As a result, increases in the TUSF will be offset with
reductions in the access charges that long-distance companies pay to local
telephone companies, and by the reductions in toll charges that local telephone
companies charge their customers. Long-distance
companies must pass these access reductions through to their residential
customers on a proportionate basis.
What
services are not subject to this charge?
Lifeline, Link-up America, and Tel-Assistance customers;
long-distance services not originating and terminating in Texas; and tax exempt
entities such as schools and universities.
Which
bill is it on?
Local and Long-distance
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Why
is it on the bill?
Public Utility Regulatory Act, Chapter 57.041-050; Texas
Legislature. In 1995.
What
is it?
The Texas Infrastructure Fund (TIF) charge funds the
provision of advanced telecommunications services to pubic schools, hospitals
and libraries. Such funds are
distributed through grants and loans.
How
much is it?
All telecommunications utilities and commercial mobile
service providers pay 1.25% of their taxable telecommunications receipts into
the TIF; the total amount in the TIF may not exceed $1.5 billion.
The charges assessed by affected companies vary.
Who
gets the money?
Schools and qualifying institutions that apply for grants or
loans.
Which
bill is it on?
Local and Long distance
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Why
is it on the bill?
Texas Health and Safety Code; Section 771.072; Texas
Legislature, in 1995.
What
is it?
This surcharge generates additional funds for regions that
do not collect sufficient funds through the 9-1-1 emergency service fee.
How
much is it?
The state 9-1-1 advisory commission imposes the surcharge on
customers receiving intrastate long-distance service.
The surcharge cannot exceed 3/10ths of 1% (0.0003) of the charges for
intrastate long distance service. The
PUC must review the establishment of the surcharge.
Who
gets the money?
Which
bill is it on?
Long Distance
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Why
is it on the bill?
Texas Health and Safety Code; Section 777.001-.011; Texas
Legislature, in 1993.
What
is it?
The surcharge funds six regional poison control centers that
are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and toll free referral and information
services.
How
much is it?
It is the same as the 9-1-1 Equalization Surcharge.
The surcharge cannot exceed 3/10ths of 1% (0.0003) of monthly intrastate
long distance charges.
Who
gets the money?
The
Advisory Committee on State Emergency Communications and the Texas Department of
Health. To be distributed as
needed.
Which
bill is it on?
Long distance
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Why
is this on the bill?
Public Utility Regulatory Act, Sections 16.001-021; Texas
Legislature, in 1975.
What
is it?
Revenues generated from this tax are used to appropriate
funds to the PUC and the office of Public Utility Counsel (OPUC).
Amounts generated but not appropriated to those agencies remain in the
General Revenue Fund.
Also
Known as:
State Regulatory Tax
, Regulatory Fee
How
much is it?
All public utilities, including long distance companies, pay
one-sixth of 1% of their gross receipts.
Who
gets the money?
State of Texas, PUC and OPUC.
Which
bill is this on?
Local and Long Distance
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