Your local phone bill includes a basic monthly charge for the dial tone that enables you to make and receive calls, maintain the connection between your home and the telephone company's central office, be listed in the telephone book, get a copy of the directory, and make a limited number of calls for directory assistance.
Pay-per-call services
* These are information and entertainment services provided through 900 numbers, some 800 numbers, and certain international phone numbers.
* The rates can vary from as little as a few cents to several dollars per minute. Some pay-per-call services are billed at a flat rate for each call.
* Charges for pay-per-call services provided through 900 and 800 numbers are set by the service providers, not the telephone companies. They will appear on a separate page in your phone bill.
Fees, surcharges, and taxes
* Universal Service Fund (USF), a federal program to subsidize local telephone service for low-income consumers or those who live in areas where the cost of providing telecommunications services is exceptionally high.
* The USF also covers discounted communications services for schools, libraries, and rural health care facilities.
911 surcharge
* This is collected on behalf of state or local governments to cover the cost of providing 911 access to emergency services and enhanced 911, or E911, which shows the address from which you are making the emergency call.
Lifeline surcharge
* Some states collect a lifeline surcharge to assist low-income consumers.
* In addition to the charges you pay for the services you use, you'll find various fees, surcharges, and taxes on your bill. Taxes go straight to the government. Some fees and surcharges billed by telephone companies cover the costs of carrying out government-mandated programs; others are intended to recover portions of their operating expenses. Companies sometimes use different terms to describe these charges.
Taxes
* There is a federal excise tax assessed on telephone service.
* You may also be charged state and municipal taxes depending on where you live.
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