on 11-21-04 2:31 PM, Alexander MacLeod at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > The best part is that it [Lingo] only costs $19.95 a month unlimited to US, > Canada, and all of Western Europe, with 26 calling features included. > No taxes or surcharges either.
Shhh! You want the FCC to overhear? As I understand it, there was some controversy over whether or not VOIP companies were going to be treated as ISPs or Telcos in the US. So far, it seems that they're being not being treated like Telcos and, hence, not subject to a lot of the rules and regs (and taxes/surcharges) that telcos are subject to. Has anyone else been keeping up with this? <minor rant> There's nothing more irritating to me than tearing open the phone/Internet bill and seeing all of those "because they can" taxes and surcharges. I know for DSL (and phone...and cellular service) in my area (SBC is my telco/DSL provider), you get nicked for a Federal Universal Service Fund (FUSF) "cost-recovery" fee. In the fine print for DSL service, SBC says that: >You will also be charged a monthly FUSF cost-recovery fee to help cover charges >from our data transport supplier pursuant to state and federal telecom >regulations. This fee is not a tax or government-required charge. When I Google for this, I find: > The Federal Universal Service Fund (FUSF) is a fee charged by the US > Government to all providers of interstate telecommunications services, which > includes Internet Service Providers. This fee is used to provide > telecommunications services to: > > * schools, health care, and libraries > * people with low incomes > * people in areas where the cost of providing telephone services is high </minor rant> In other words, I get charged by my telco/service provider to help them recover their costs associated with paying money into a federal fund for subsidizing other people's phone/cel/Internet service. But hey, at least it's not a tax! Best, James Fraser -- G-List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- We have Apple Refurbished Monitors in stock! | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-List list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
