OK, VoIP customers, the $24.99 a month party is just about over. A new FCC ruling is requiring that VoIP service providers, among others, will have to contribute to the $7 billion Universal Service Fund, which subsidizes phone service in low-income and high-cost areas and also helps schools and libraries get access to the internet. Usually these costs are passed on to customers as a line item on a monthly phone bill. (How many of us actually go through each and every charge on our phone bills anyway?) According to the FCC, the funs is about to experience a shortfall and, frankly, the VoIP customer base is increasing and it appears that they have to make up the slack.
In any event, if you're currently paying $24.99 (or any other amount) for your VoIP service, expect your monthly bill to go up about a dollar or two. This truly is not a big deal, but the TV and radio ads that feature the "magic" $24.99 a month slogan will have to be slightly modified.
1. Wouldn't it make more sense to force the phone companies to charge less in those lower-income, rural areas than enacting a new wealth-distribution plan? For example, most small, rural towns have been paying a monthly 911 fee for literally DECADES despite them not having 911 service. Supposedly, this fee is to help create a fund to actually put in service, but no one seems to have a timeframe, despite it going on the bills in the 80s.
Posted at 9:10AM on Jun 22nd 2006 by Spoonman