The FCC has ruled that prepaid calling card vendors in the United States must pay into the USF (Universal Service Fund), a government program which helps to subsidize telephone service in remote and rural areas.
This decision means that AT&T Inc. will have to repay $553 million in access fees and USF payments that it had withheld on calling card services. The telephone giant had argued that its prepaid calling cards were information services, and were thus not subject to telecom-specific regulatory fees.
One exemption that the FCC has allowed for is cards sold through a contract with the Defense Department. This exception “should help ensure that our soldiers are able to obtain calling cards at reduced prices,” the commission said in its ruling.
|
| Canadian Regulators Examine Ethics of Long Distance Calling Cards
07/12/2007
Canada’s Competition Bureau scrutinizing businesses that sell prepaid long distance phone cards, saying that it wants to ensure that customers are clearly informed what they’re getting when purchasing the popular convenience items.The Ottawa-based... |
|
| FCC to Fight Unauthorized “Pretexting” with New Privacy Rules
11/01/2007
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is expected to implement a new set of nationwide rules in the coming weeks, which will better protect personal phone records from unauthorized data mining or pretexting.FCC Chairman, Kevin Martin, is reportedly supporting a... |
|
| Bell Mobility Offers Unlimited Local Calling within Network
03/03/2007
Bell Canada rolled out a new wireless plan this week that allows Bell Mobility cell phone users to make unlimited local calls to an from other Bell mobile and fixed-line telephonesThe Bell to Bell plan starts at just $10 a month, and includes unlimited anytime local... |
|
| Embarq and Sprint Nextel Launch Bundled Calling Plan
16/02/2007
Overland Park, Kansas-based local telephone operator, Embarq, has launched an all-new bundled plan that offers unlimited domestic landline long distance and 350 anytime cell phone minutes for US$74.90 per month.For an additional monthly charge of $10, customers can... |
|
