WASHINGTON WATCH
TRAC Applauds Swift FCC Action on DSL Price Increases - In response to widespread consumer outrage at plans by BellSouth and Verizon to replace the expired Universal Service Fund (USF) fee on DSL service with their own fees, the two carriers this week announced that they were rescinding these news fees. The deciding factor in the two companies’ decisions was likely due to the Federal Communications Commission’s announcement that it was going to open an investigation into whether or not the new fees violated the FCC’s Truth-In-Billing rules. “We applaud the FCC for its prompt action to protect consumers from these wrongful price increases,” said TRAC chairman and founder Samuel A. Simon. The action by the FCC came in the wake of announcements by BellSouth and Verizon that they would be replacing the expired Universal Service Fee with news fees of their own with the proceeds going in to the company’s coffers rather than the U.S. Treasury. Verizon had planned to begin charging a monthly $1.20-$2.70 “supplier surcharge” in place of the USF fee. The BellSouth fee would have been $2.97 per month. For additional information on BellSouth’s decision, click here. To read more about the Verizon decision, click here.
BUCKS WATCH
TRAC State-by-State Local Phone Plan Comparison: Arizona – (Note: This is the third in a series of articles comparing local telephone rates in each of the 50 states) Arizona residents living in metropolitan areas of the state are likely to have a number of choices available to them for local phone service thanks in large part to competition from Cox Cable and attractively-priced packages from Qwest. TRAC’s local phone plan survey takes in to account the prices for monthly service, the federal subscriber line charge, and the two most popular calling options – Caller ID and call waiting. Please note that the prices listed in the chart below apply to the metropolitan Phoenix area only and may differ in other parts of the state. The total prices below exclude additional fees, taxes, and surcharges that the carriers may apply.
| Carrier |
Plan |
Monthly Service Fee |
Caller ID |
Call Waiting |
Federal Subscriber Line Charge |
Broadband Fee* |
Total |
| AT&T |
Call Plan Unlimited - 2 Features Enhanced |
$22.95 |
Included |
$6.50 |
N/A |
$29.45 |
| AT&T |
One Rate Local |
$23.95 |
Included |
$6.50 |
N/A |
$30.45 |
| Cox Cable |
Digital Telephone - Basic Line |
$13.00 |
$5.95 |
$4.95 |
$6.30 |
N/A |
$30.20 |
| Cox Cable |
Digital Telephone - Simply 3 Package |
$13.00 |
Included |
$6.30 |
N/A |
$26.25 |
| Cox Cable |
Digital Telephone - Solutions Package |
$26.70 |
Included |
$6.30 |
N/A |
$33.00 |
| MCI |
Neighborhood Connect 200 |
$37.99 |
Included |
$6.50 |
N/A |
$44.49 |
| MCI |
Neighborhood Connect 500 |
$43.99 |
Included |
$6.50 |
N/A |
$50.49 |
| MCI |
Neighborhood Unlimited |
$49.99 |
Included |
$6.50 |
N/A |
$56.49 |
| Qwest |
Choice Home |
$25.99 |
Included |
$6.50 |
N/A |
$32.49 |
| Qwest |
Choice Home Plus |
$32.99 |
Included |
$6.50 |
N/A |
$39.49 |
| Qwest |
Phone Lines |
$13.18 |
$5.85 |
$3.00 |
$6.50 |
N/A |
$28.53 |
| Vonage |
Residential Premium Unlimited Plan |
$24.99 |
Included |
N/A |
$39.45 |
$64.44 |
| Vonage |
Residential Basic 500 Minutes Plan |
$14.99 |
Included |
N/A |
$39.45 |
$54.44 |
| Vonage |
Residential Premium Unlimited Plan (without broadband fee) |
$24.99 |
Included |
N/A |
N/A |
$24.99 |
| Vonage |
Residential Basic 500 Minutes Plan (without broadband fee) |
$14.99 |
Included |
N/A |
N/A |
$14.99 |
* Average of nationwide cable modem prices as defined by Kagan Research - 7/6/06. "Naked" DSL (DSL service offered without required local telephone service), may be cheaper than cable modem service, and is offered by Qwest in Arizona.
For the budget-conscious local telephone user, the price of VoIP phone service is hard to beat, especially if you are already using your existing broadband connection for regular data use (Web surfing, e-mail, etc.). Vonage’s Residential Basic 500 Minutes Plan is the cheapest option surveyed at $14.99 per month. An additional attractive quality about VoIP services is that they tend to not have the kinds of taxes, fees, and surcharges that typically apply to traditional landline phone service. For users who feel more comfortable with traditional landline phone service, Cox’s Digital Telephone Simply 3 Package and Qwest’s basic Phone Line plan with optional call waiting and Caller ID service are likely to be the cheapest bets. Note that MCI and AT&T’s local phone services are only available bundled with long distance service, which skews the total cost comparison somewhat.
AT&T Raising Monthly Minimums on 13 Plans – AT&T long distance customers may need to call their out-of-town friends and family more often in order to avoid a new fee that the telecom giant is levying. Effective with bills issued after September 1, 2006, AT&T is raising the “minimum monthly usage charge” on thirteen plans by 99¢ to $9.99 per month. This comes on the heels of the company’s announcement in July that it was raising the “minimum monthly usage charge” on seven other plans. The minimum monthly usage charge is applied when plan subscribers fail to incur the required amount of long distance charges in a month. When calling charges fail to equal the monthly minimum, AT&T applies the minimum monthly usage charge in lieu of the calling charges. Fees such as the Universal Connectivity Charge, State Carrier Line Charge, Single Bill Fee, Payphone Surcharge, Carrier Cost Recovery Fee, and other federal, state, and local taxes still apply. To find out if the fee increase affects you, please look for your long distance plan on the list below:
- AT&T 5¢ Evenings Plan
- AT&T 5¢ Nights
- AT&T Cash Back 12¢ Offer
- AT&T One Rate
- AT&T One Rate 10¢
- AT&T One Rate 7¢
- AT&T One Rate Global Plan
- AT&T One Rate Off-Peak (excluding California plan)
- AT&T One Rate Off-Peak III
- AT&T One Rate Plan
- The Seven Cents Plan
- AT&T Simple Minutes
- AT&T True Reach
For additional information on this change, click here.
INTERESTING LINKS
FCC Main Page: http://www.fcc.gov
FCC Complaint Form - http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475.cfm
List of State Regulatory Commissions: http://www.naruc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=15
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