Effective January 1st, 2009 there will be a line item added to your phone bill called the Universal Service Fee.
This fee has been added to offset the federally mandated tax we are required to contribute to the Universal Service Fund either directly or through our various carriers and service providers.
The Universal Service Fund (USF) was created by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1997 to meet the goals mandated by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) has published "Who Must Contribute" which outlines the obligations of VoIP providers.
This pass through fee will be increased quarterly until it matches the federally mandated contribution factor as published by the Federal Communications Commission website on the page titled "Contribution Factor and Quarterly Filings".
Please contact your Congressman to express your concerns regarding this biased and unfair taxation of the telecommunications industry.
Thank you for your business.
Sincerely,
December 1st, 2008