Cutting the Cord: What You Should Know About Switching Your
Service to Wireless
What is the End User Access Common Line?
What is the Federal Universal Service
Charge?
Where do the Federal End User Access and FUSC go?
I’ve heard about a repeal of the Federal Excise
Tax. What does this apply to and how can I get a refund of the taxes I’ve
paid?
What does the E911 surcharge cover?
Are there programs available to help make telephone
service more affordable for low-income customers? How is eligibility
determined, and where can I apply?
What is the Telecommunications Relay
Service (TRS) Charge?
How do I sign up for the national Do-Not-Call list?
What is a preferred carrier freeze?
If I want to dispute a charge that appears on my bill
– and don’t pay the charge – will my local service be
disrupted?
Q: Cutting the Cord: What You Should Know About
Switching Your Service to Wireless
A. As a community based telecom
provider, Ballard Telephone Cooperative wants our customers to know exactly
what it means to “go wireless” – to terminate your
traditional wireline phone and switch to wireless as your sole connection. If
you decide to port your telephone number to a wireless carrier, we want to give
you an idea of some of the service differences between traditional wireline
phones and what you can expect from a wireless carrier:
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If you port your wireline (traditional) phone number to a wireless carrier, you
will be disconnecting your wireline phone and terminating your traditional
local service.
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You may no longer enjoy unlimited local calling; in many cases, you will need
to be aware of the number of minutes that are included in your wireless plan,
and keep in mind that in many cases (especially if you are calling someone
using a different wireless carrier), both the calls you make and those you
receive will count against your total minutes; and, you will be responsible to
pay for any overages.
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When you switch your service to a wireless carrier, you may be required to
purchase a new phone and sign an “extended” service agreement; most
wireless plans require up to a 24-month service contract, and significant
penalties may apply if you decide to terminate the agreement before its
expiration.
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You will have to arrange with your wireless provider for a directory listing
and directory assistance services.
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In an emergency, E-911 service can pinpoint your traditional home phone, in
many cases, not your cell phone.
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You will no longer have access to all the other telecom services of Ballard
Telephone such as DSL or Ballard TV.
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You will be unable to reach someone at your home who does not have their cell
phone on or with them.
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You will have to keep your wireless phone charged at all times; if the power
goes out and your phone is not charged, or the battery wears down, you will
have to wait until power is restored before you can charge your phone.
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In general, a phone number can only be assigned to a single wireless phone.
With a traditional wireline phone, you can have many phones (or extensions) in
your house that hook up to the same number. Typically, wireless phones
can’t share numbers.
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If your home is in an area that does not enjoy clear wireless service
reception, your calls might be patchy, unclear, or have a tendency to drop. Be
aware of your surroundings and the type of reception that your wireless phone
gets at home; as this is the type of service quality you’ll have for all
your calls.
With all the services and features – not to mention, reliability –
you stand to lose; we raise the question, why would you want to disconnect your
wireline phone?
Please feel free to us at Ballard Telephone at (270) 665-5186 if you have any
additional questions.
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Q. What is the End User Access Common Line?
A. The Federal Communications Commission
authorizes local telephone companies to recover a portion of the costs of the
facilities we use to connect your home or business for services through a
monthly assessment on all residential and business customers. The federal
‘end user access charge’ assessment is part of the FCC’s
effort to support competition in the telecom market. The federal end user
access charge is a flat monthly charge assessed directly on your bill. The
federal end user access charge for residential and single-line business
customers are capped at $6.50 per month, and at $9.20 per line, per month for
multi-line businesses. The monthly charge does not result in additional revenue
for Ballard Telephone.
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Q. What is the Federal Universal Service
Charge?
A. The “Federal Universal Service
Charge” (FUSC), also authorized by the FCC, is not part of your local
service rate. The purpose of this charge is to help to keep rates affordable
for all Americans, regardless of where they live. The amount of the FUSC on
your monthly bill depends on the services you order and the number of telephone
lines you have. In most cases, the FUSC is applied as a percentage, which is
set by the FCC and varies on a quarterly basis, of the federal End User Access
you are billed each month.
The Federal Universal Service Fund assists with the costs of providing
“affordable” telecom services to low-income individuals and to
residents in rural, high-cost areas. In addition, the program helps schools,
libraries and rural health care providers obtain leading edge services, such as
high-speed Internet access. All providers of telecom contribute to the support
of these universal service programs.
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Q. Where do the Federal End User Access and
FUSC go?
A. Both the End User Access Charge and FUSC
fees collected from customers go to the federal administrative agencies created
by the FCC to oversee and manage the funds. The End User Access Charge fees are
re-distributed to local telephone companies based on specific costs. These
funds enable community based telecom providers serving high-cost rural areas to
recover some of the costs of the facilities used to connect your home or
business. The FUSC fees allow us to recover our assessments for the federal
universal service programs. A portion of the funds collected from the FUSC is
distributed to keep rates in high-cost rural areas at or near the national
average.
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Q. I’ve heard about a repeal of the Federal Excise
Tax. What does this apply to and how can I get a refund of the taxes
I’ve paid?
A. Effective July 1, 2006, Ballard Telephone
will no longer charge the 3% federal excise tax on the long-distance charges
that appear on your bill. The tax will still be applied to other charges that
pertain to local service only according to a recent ruling by the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS).
Customers will be able to apply for a refund from the IRS of the portion of the
excise tax applied to long distance charges from February 28, 2003, until
August 1, 2006. You will NOT receive any refunds from Ballard Telephone
Cooperative; rather, you will apply for refunds directly from the IRS when you
file your 2006 income tax return next year. The IRS has made information
available on their website at www.irs.gov.
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Q. What does the E911 surcharge cover?
A. The
E-911 charge is a state/local government charge to fund emergency-911 services,
such as police, fire and rescue.
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Q. Are there programs available to help make telephone service more affordable
for low-income customers? How is eligibility
determined, and where can I apply?
A. Federal and state lawmakers believe that
every person in America should have access to quality, affordable
telecommunications service. If you participate in social programs, such as food
stamps, Medicaid, the national free-lunch program, or supplemental security
income, or if your household income is below a certain threshold level, you may
qualify for a discount on your telephone bill. This “universal
service” system includes:
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Lifeline assistance – provides discounts for basic monthly local
telephone service
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Link-up – reduces the cost of initiating new telephone service
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Toll Limitation Service – allows you to control your long-distance
charges
Eligibility for these programs varies by federal and state guidelines. To find
out whether you qualify, you need to fill out standard forms available at our
office and other state and local government offices in the area.
While we participate in these federal and state programs based support
programs, we are not responsible for determining who qualifies, and therefore
who receives assistance. Customers must meet specific, pre-determined
regulations in order to obtain assistance with their local telephone service.
The Universal Service Administration lists full details and state-specific
Lifeline contact information, at www.lifelinesupport.org.
Or you can call toll free, 1-888-641-8722, if you have questions about the
Lifeline and Link-up discounts.
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Q. What is the Telecommunications
Relay Service (TRS) Charge?
A. Local telephone companies offer
Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) to help hearing or speech impaired
individuals communicate via the telephone. TRS is required by Title IV of the
Americans with Disabilities Act and to the extent possible, must be
“functionally equivalent” to standard telephone services.
Communications assistants (CA) relay the content of calls between users of
special text telephones (TTY’s) and users of traditional telephones.
TRS recently has expanded to include Video Relay Service (VRS) that provides a
video link that allows a CA to view and interpret sign language and IP relay
Service that enables two-way communication between an individual using a
non-voice terminal device and an individual using a standard voice telephone.
Costs for intrastate TRS (that is, TRS calls made within a state) are paid by
the individual states. Generally, states recover the TRS costs through a small
assessment on telephone customers in the state. The TRS charge is used to fund
the relay centers and special equipment that assist hearing and speech impaired
persons to communicate. Costs for interstate TRS (state-to-state TRS calls) are
paid through the Interstate TRS fund, which is supported through contributions
from all interstate carriers.
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Q. How do I sign up for the national Do-Not-Call list?
A. The national Do-Not-Call Registry applies
to all telemarketers (with exception of certain non-profit and political
organizations) and covers both interstate and intrastate telemarketing calls.
Commercial telemarketers are not allowed to call you if your number is listed
on the registry.
Consumers may register their residential telephone number, including wireless
numbers, on the national Do-Not-Call Registry at no cost by telephone or on the
Internet. To register by telephone, you should call 1-888-382-1222. For TTY,
call 1-866-290-4236. You must call from the phone number you wish to register.
You may also register by Internet at www.donotcall.gov.
Inclusion of your telephone number on the national Do-Not-Call Registry will be
effective within 31 days of registration.
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Q. What is a preferred carrier freeze?
A. To protect against slamming, Ballard
Telephone offers a preferred carrier (PIC) freeze, which enables you to prevent
any change being made to your selection of a “preferred”
long-distance provider without your expressed consent to lift the freeze. We
make PIC freezes available to customers, regardless of the company selected as
the preferred long-distance carrier, and comply with various requirements on
the materials we send out about PIC freezes. In addition to specific
information about any charges, we also include a clear explanation and
description of the specific procedures necessary for you to lift the freeze.
You must request separate PIC freezes for: (1) Intralata long-distance service,
(2) Interstate long-distance service, and (3) International long-distance
service. We must obtain separate authorizations for each service for which you
request a freeze.
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Q. If I want to dispute a charge that appears
on my bill – and don’t pay the charge – will my local service
be disrupted?
A. We identify all charges on your bill that
if not paid, could result in the disconnection of your local service; such
services are listed as “deniable” charges. The Kentucky Public
Service Commission designates the charges we must classify as
“deniable,” and those charges are identified on your bill.
Non-payment of other, “non-deniable” charges can result in the
termination of the specific service, but will not lead to disconnection of
local service. If you don’t recognize the charges, you should call the
business office number listed on your bill within 30 days to ensure no
interruption of the service in question.
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