Federal Universal Service Fund (FUSF)

· What is the Federal Universal Service Fund (FUSF)?

The following explanation is taken verbatim from the FCC regarding the USF:

• Because telephones provide a vital link to emergency services, to government services and to surrounding communities, it has been our nation's policy to promote telephone service to all households since this service began in the 1930s. The USF helps to make phone service affordable and available to all Americans, including consumers with low incomes, those living in areas where the costs of providing telephone service is high, schools and libraries and rural health care providers. Congress has mandated that all telephone companies providing interstate service must contribute to the USF. Although not required to do so by the government, many carriers choose to pass their contribution costs on to their customers in the form of a line item, often called the "Federal Universal Service Fee" or "Universal Connectivity Fee."

· The current incarnation of the FUSF was introduced into tax law created by United States Congress, via the FCC in 1998. Title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, Sections 36, 54, and 69.

This surcharge is imposed for the purpose of providing telecommunications services at an affordable price to schools, libraries, rural health care providers, and low-income customers. The tax is a percentage of the interstate portion of the long distance charge on your bill. The surcharge is assessed to all telecommunications companies with interstate operations, including long distance carriers, wireless companies, pager companies and payphone companies. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates this surcharge.

This surcharge appears by many names. The following are some ways in which the FUSF charges may be represented on bills from other companies, including your local and long distance telephone carriers:

• Federal Universal Service Fee
• Federal Universal Service Fund
• Federal USF - ADSL
• FED USF - ISDN PRI
• FED USF - CENTREX
• FED USF - Special Access
• Universal Connectivity Charge
• Universal Service Carrier Charge

· Where can I get more information about the FUSF?

The best resource for information about the particulars of the FUSF is the FCC website at www.fcc.gov. Specifically the Universal Fund Increases: What Every Consumer Should Know (AS OF 6/21/06 THIS LINK IS NOT WORKING AND THE FCC HAS NOT GIVEN US ANOTHER LINK. WE ANTICIPATE THIS TO BE FIXED SOON BY THE FCC WEBMASTER.) page is a very good source of information. The FCC website is a good place to find information regarding the telecommunications industry in general.