Lets get the Universal Service Fund surcharge dropped..
I'd like for CS to drop the non-voluntary Universal Service Fund surcharge they add to our bills every month. In the last 10 years, this government program has collected over $45B (yes, billion) from telecommunications outfits.
An interesting thing to note about this program, is that (among other things) it provides 'assistance' to telecommunications companies that do business, and invest in telecommunications infrastructure, in "rural, insular and high-cost areas".
Another interesting thing to note about this program is that CS is a major beneficiary of this program to the tune of $156 million in 2007 alone. Of course there is plenty of cellular competition in rural Mississippi, thus there are no real infrastructure investments made on a regular basis. So, why should we, the customers, have to continued to pay a surcharge (passing this change through to customers is voluntary, by the way) to a company that benefits greatly by the program itself.
Not only do they collect 1.5% per phone line from us, they then receive HUGE checks yearly to provide service in areas that they already provide service to?
Good luck on that one since the government collects that fee. At least the money you mentioned is staying in Mississippi since CS is a Mississippi based company. I used to cringe every time I paid AT&T the USF fee cause I assumed they were taking the money from me then retrieving USF funds to build out their network in some other state or big city.
