Telephone Companies To Comply With Federal Mandate; Phone Bill To Increase 50 Cents

FCC-ORDERED INCREASE TAKES EFFECT JULY 1

Beginning July 1, 2003, residential and single-line business service as provided by your local telephone company will increase fifty cents as mandated by the Federal Communications Commission.

In order to comply with regulations adopted by the FCC, nationwide residential and single-line business customers will be assessed a maximum federal subscriber line charge of $6.50 (currently, $6.00) on their monthly bills beginning with the July statement.

The subscriber line charge is not a tax or a local rate increase. It is a federally imposed charge that is collected by all local telephone companies and represents a portion of the cost for each telephone consumer to access the long distance network.

If you have additional questions about your telephone bill, please call your local telephone company or send an e-mail to the Minnesota Telecom Alliance at info@mnta.org.