ptrowski
Got Helix?
Premium
join:2005-03-14
Putnam, CT
clubs: |  Locked in yearly plans....
It will be interesting to see what Sunrocket and Viatalk do with their yearly plans....
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Have you been touched by his noodly appendage? »www.venganza.org/index.htm |
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Zoder
join:2002-04-16
Miami, FL | Cut the fraud first
How about they crack down on the hundreds of millions of dollars in USF fraud. Then they won't need to make up a shortfall. |
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Camelot One
Premium,MVM
join:2001-11-21
Sarasota, FL
clubs:
| Dumbest thing yet
This makes absolutely no sense.
VoIP can be run from anywhere with a broadband connection. There is no physical line drop needed to provide service to the boonies. What you DO need, is DSL or cable.
VoIP providers will be paying into the fund, but will in no way be able to use it, as their networks don't require anything different for a guy in NYC than a guy in B.F.E.
Not that the fund has ever been used for the purpose it is supposed to anyway.
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AMD X2 4800+ @2700Mhz/ MSI K8N Neo 4 Platinum SLI/ 4x 1024Mb Corsair XMS PC4000/ WD 74Gb Raptor/ PNY 7800GTs SLI/ Antec 550 True Control/Custom water cooler |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
 ·Comcast
| reply to Zoder
Re: Cut the fraud first
said by Zoder  :How about they crack down on the hundreds of millions of dollars in USF fraud. Then they won't need to make up a shortfall. Get rid of USF entirely and there won't be any more fraud.
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Tancredo 2008! |
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ke4pym
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC | It'd be nice...
To see one of these VoIP companies (or better yet, all of them) just say no or fight this in court. |
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Timmn
join:2000-04-23
Tinley Park, IL | Rate Reduction?
Will DSL customers see a rate reduction in August once DSL carriers are free of the USF?
Yeah, when pigs fly. |
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yaplej
CCNA
Premium
join:2001-02-10
White City, OR
·Charter Pipeline
| Funk at work here.
It must really be nice to have the government in your back pocket. I swear every f*%#ing government official must be a telco investor.
1. Stop telco's from having to pay USF fees for DSL(even though they passed it onto the customer I bet the bill wont drop any so more $ in the bank for them).
2. Start billing wireless, and VoIP providers USF fees(to be passed on to the customers again).
3. Give those USF fees to the telco's for further phone, and DSL deployments.
Hell why don't we just pay for the entire telcom infrastructure then just give it away to some greedy company so they can charge us whatever the f#%^ they want. Oh wait we did! |
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Zoder
join:2002-04-16
Miami, FL | reply to pnh102
Re: Cut the fraud first
True, but we both know that will never happen. |
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N3OGH
Bear patrol must be working like a charm
Premium
join:2003-11-11
Philly burbs
 ·Verizon FIOS
 ·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to pnh102
No kidding..
Quoted from the article...
"Companies offering long-distance and international telephone services as well as high-speed Internet service via digital subscriber lines (DSL) must currently contribute 10.9 percent of that revenue into the $7.3 billion fund."
WOW, an almost 11% tax. That's a lot of scratch...
I doubt my DSL bill will go down, they never do. |
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dcurrey
Premium
join:2004-06-29
 ·ViaTalk
| reply to ptrowski
Re: Locked in yearly plans....
On new accounts they have two choices. Eat the cost or bill the customer.
Now on accounts they are already prepaid can the government collect the USF fund? The service was already bought and paid for and the voip company will not be getting any more revenue from the user until the next renewal date. Hence no revenue to base the 7% on. |
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Toadman
How do you like these Apples
join:2001-11-28
Medina, OH
| reply to ptrowski
We should not be billed for it. Since our agreement and subsequent bill was generated prior to this happening, there should be no "retroactive" USF. Now the new ViaTalk rate will be higher because it would have to include 12 or 24 months of the USF. |
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neftv
join:2000-10-01
Broomall, PA
·Broadvox Direct
1 edit | This is ridiculous
We call ourselves the land of the free and land of the brave. Nothing is free of course but we sure are not brave if there is a shortfall. IT's amazing how much government gets away with and the America people just sit there with the beer on the one hand and the remote in the other as the dollars flow out of the wallet at the same time. I guess this must be ok since to few talk to their congress person about the realities.
Every time the government has a shortfall yea blame us little folks by having legal pick pocketing. |
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jjoshua
Premium
join:2001-06-01
Scotch Plains, NJ | Can the FCC do this?
Pardon the ignorance but...
Where does the FCC get the authority to regulate VOIP?
VOIP companies are service providers connected to the internet. They don't provide the connections. Why, then, are they regulated by the FCC? |
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one_bored_si
join:2003-03-10
Montebello, CA
·AT&T Yahoo
| reply to Timmn
Re: Rate Reduction?
From The United Telco Partners |
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celeritypc
For Lucky Best Wash, Use Mr. Sparkle
Premium
join:2004-05-15
Caldwell, NJ
| reply to jjoshua
Re: Can the FCC do this?
said by jjoshua :Pardon the ignorance but... Where does the FCC get the authority to regulate VOIP? VOIP companies are service providers connected to the internet. They don't provide the connections. Why, then, are they regulated by the FCC? I can smell the court challenge already. |
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quetwo
That VoIP Guy
Premium
join:2004-09-04
East Lansing, MI | reply to jjoshua
Because they are connected to the PSTN, which is regulated by the FCC.... |
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TelecomJunky
Premium
join:2005-12-12
Kansas City, MO
| Voip USF
You know what the independent VOIP providers will do? Nothing. Your rates will not go up. Instead, they will absorb the cost into their flat rate fees. Yes, they will take a little less profit, but don't expect them to follow in the footsteps of the Bells and Cable MSOs with their despeptive billing practices and hidden fees.
However, I do hope they put a nice big disclaimer informing their users that the FCC is forcing them to pay $1.75 per month to subsidize SBC and Verizons fraudulent infrastructure upgrades.
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-----»hotcarl.diaryland.com |
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IanR
join:2001-03-22
Madison, NJ
| I already pay this fee thru POTS
Why should I pay this fee twice?
I have a basic POTS connection and pay the Fee to them already.
I don't have DSL, I use a Cable Broadband connection and use VoIP thru this channel. But why should the FCC make me make pay again to my VoIP service for onward transmission to them.
I think the FCC are a bunch of non tech clueless people who are dangerous. |
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amungus
Premium
join:2004-11-26
America
clubs:
| yep
Well I wonder what'll happen to net2phone......
Still have money in the acct. but I hardly use the thing. More of a novelty and a nice convenience for calling every once in a great while.
It's amazing how much government gets away with and the America people just sit there with the beer on the one hand and the remote in the other as the dollars flow out of the wallet at the same time. ...yep, that's what I like to call the "cold beer mentality" so firmly and staunchly embraced by so many people who could care less about anything other than themselves and their little world. "..what, you don't like cold beer??? what's wrong with you???" ..of course I do, but that's not the point. |
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emptywig
Huh? What?
Premium
join:2002-08-05
Pasadena, TX
1 edit | reply to TelecomJunky
Re: Voip USF
What fantasyland are you living in? They're not about to take a cut in their profits, since they don't make enough profit to be a real business in the first place. They will definately pass that tax on to us.
You must be dreaming.
wig |
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