 satellite68
join:2007-04-11
Louisville, KY | As well it should I don't like paying a fee for a service I'm not using. Why should I? As if the Deathstar can't/won't afford to deploy POTS. What a load of hooey. | |
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knightmb
Everybody Lies
join:2003-12-01
Franklin, TN
 ·AT&T DSL Service
| Re: As well it should If look over my Vonage bill history, it started out small with just a little tax FET and Regulatory Recovery Fee.
Oct 2006 is when the Federal Universal Service Fee started for all of us Vonage folk and stayed every since.
I find the irony in that Vonage has remained the same price, it's only the tax and fees and local whatever they can add part that inflates the price so much.
Now it's polluted with
quote:
Regulatory Recovery Fee $4.95
Emergency 911 Cost Recovery $4.95
State Telecommunications Sales Tax $8.15
Federal Universal Service Fee $5.99
County 911 Fee $5.00
State E911 Fee $5.00
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meister_sd
Premium
join:2006-01-29
La Mesa, CA
| said by knightmb  :Now it's polluted with quote:
Regulatory Recovery Fee $4.95
Emergency 911 Cost Recovery $4.95
State Telecommunications Sales Tax $8.15
Federal Universal Service Fee $5.99
County 911 Fee $5.00
State E911 Fee $5.00
Are you kidding me? $30 sum dollars in fees on top of the monthly subscription? Isn't the monthly subscription like $25? This makes fees more than the subscription...  | |
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knightmb
Everybody Lies
join:2003-12-01
Franklin, TN
·AT&T DSL Service
| Re: As well it should said by meister_sd :said by knightmb :Now it's polluted with quote:
Regulatory Recovery Fee $4.95
Emergency 911 Cost Recovery $4.95
State Telecommunications Sales Tax $8.15
Federal Universal Service Fee $5.99
County 911 Fee $5.00
State E911 Fee $5.00
Are you kidding me? $30 sum dollars in fees on top of the monthly subscription? Isn't the monthly subscription like $25? This makes fees more than the subscription... I forgot to add, it's for 5 phone lines. Over site on my part.  | |
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DownTheShore
Tar and Feather Joe Lieberman
Premium
join:2003-12-02
Beautiful NJ
clubs:
| The Vonage additions here in NJ:
Regulatory Recovery Fee - $0.99
Emergency 911 Cost Recovery - $0.99
Sales Tax - $2.03
Federal Universal Service Fee - $2.02
State 911 Fee - $0.90
Interesting how the "Federal Universal Service Fee" varies so widely.
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Life is simply one damned thing after another. | |
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dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
| Re: As well it should said by Phoenix2088 :Based on the rate calculator on Vonage's website for Franklin, TN, your rates, if that is where you have service, should be: Monthly Service Charge Monthly Service Charge $24.99 State/Local Taxes and Fees $3.75 FUSF (VoIP) $2.02 County 911 Fee $1.00 Regulatory Recovery Fee $0.99 Emergency 911 Cost Recovery $0.99 Total $33.74 I'm not calling BS on what was posted, but everyone else should realize the rates he posted are no where in line with what most other Vonage users have posted here at BBR and Vonage Forums. This is exactly why people went voip. bullshit fees!
i remember when 24.99 vonage was 24.99 out the door!
*sigh*
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You can never be too rich, too thin or have too much Bandwidth | |
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Vonage Rep
@rr.com
| the fee youare mentioning are for 5 lines not one
Regulatory Recovery Fee $4.95 .99 X 5
Emergency 911 Cost Recovery $4.95 .99 X5
State Telecommunications Sales Tax $8.15 1.63 X 5
Federal Universal Service Fee $5.99 1.19 X 5
County 911 Fee $5.00 1.00 X 5
State E911 Fee $5.00 1.00 X 5
Before you start trying to make the fees look larger than they are make sure you show the true cost First | |
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Rob
In Deo speramus, God Bless the USA
Premium
join:2001-08-25
Kendall, FL | Even if they win, would prices come down? I doubt that, even if the State decided not to collect USF, that Vonage would lower the costs. Instead, they would replace the dying USF that lines the pocket of our government, with another tax that lines the pocket of Vonage. | |
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Camelot One
Premium,MVM
join:2001-11-21
Sarasota, FL
clubs: | Re: Even if they win, would prices come down? Atleast it would be going to someone you do business with, rather than charging you to hand money to AT&T/Verizon! | |
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join:2005-12-22
Canonsburg, PA | Even if they win they could lose The problem is that the number of landlines that pay into the USF is declining and that means USF revenues are declining. Expect that money grubbing members of Congress will make sure that decline in revenues is reversed one way or another. | |
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Camelot One
Premium,MVM
join:2001-11-21
Sarasota, FL
clubs: | Re: Even if they win they could lose Yeah, there has been a decline in the telco slush fund. Show me what we are paying for, then I'll consider paying it. | |
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newview
Ex .. Ex .. Exactly
Premium
join:2001-10-01
Parsonsburg, MD
| Can you please sue Maryland next? Why am I paying this fee?
quote:
Residential Basic 500 Minutes Plan for 1-(***)-***-**** (26/Jan-25/Feb) $14.99
Regulatory Recovery Fee $0.99
Emergency 911 Cost Recovery $0.99
Federal Universal Service Fee $1.27
County 911 Fee $0.75
State 911 Fee $0.25
Total Amount $19.24
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Ö¿Ö
The Rules of Spam | Maryland's Newest Anti-Spam Law
Where are we going? And what's with the hand basket? | |
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tshirt
Premium,MVM
join:2004-07-11
Snohomish, WA
 ·Comcast
| Re: Can you please sue Maryland next? said by newview :Why am I paying this fee? quote:
Federal Universal Service Fee $1.27
If it's a federal fee, what good is sueing the state? | |
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| kingofdsl
join:2002-12-11
Afton, OK | Re: All USF funds should die .... No just the opposite.
We need and must get more and more fees and taxes.
Only way to get people fed up to the point of revolution. | |
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PolarBear
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium
join:2005-01-03 | Re: All USF funds should die .... And when was the last time the people of this country revolted against ANYTHING?
You have a good idea, king, but it will never happen. | |
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| | | lordofwhee
join:2007-10-21
Everett, WA | Re: All USF funds should die .... About 200 years ago.
I think we're due for another revolution. | |
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| | | | Sammer
join:2005-12-22
Canonsburg, PA | Re: All USF funds should die .... Who would revolt against King George? | |
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mrofone
@comcast.net
| said by lordofwhee :About 200 years ago. I think we're due for another revolution. It won't happen. We've got cable TV now. No one in this country would ever get up off the couch to do anything about unfair government. | |
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factchecker
@cox.net
| Re: All USF funds should die .... 1861, when some of the states revolted against federal control. And we all know how much good it did them. Think that was bad, imagine what would happen now if the populace revolted and the military responded. Even if it was justified, it would not be pretty for average people against Humvees, tanks and aircraft. | |
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MrMoody
Carbon Based Lifeform
join:2002-09-03
Smithfield, NC | Re: All USF funds should die .... Yep. The closest we've come since the internal combustion engine was the immensely unpopular Viet Nam War, and police alone were enough to keep that from getting too out of hand.
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The public is a poor business manager. | |
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| | | | | patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY
| Well you have machine guns, carpet bombing, city evacaution, since tomorrow it will be carpet bombed into being as flat as a Salt Flat. The only revolution that will happen is if the Military, or a part of it, with state cooperation, splits off, or a general outright military coup. Guess who has and doesn't have the guns? Its pretty simple then. | |
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| | | | itguy05
join:2005-06-17
Camp Hill, PA
| said by MrMoody :said by PolarBear :And when was the last time the people of this country revolted against ANYTHING? 1861, when some of the states revolted against federal control. And we all know how much good it did them. And we all lost when the south lost the war. Lost a lot of our freedoms and took much control out of the state's hands and placed it in the federal government. | |
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| | | kingofdsl
join:2002-12-11
Afton, OK
| said by PolarBear :And when was the last time the people of this country revolted against ANYTHING? You have a good idea, king, but it will never happen. It will happen and in your lifetime too. This situation is a whole lot more dire because 220 some odd years ago people could just move west and build another log cabin. This time there is absolutely no where for them to live. Given a sufficient number of Americans that used to have a roof over their head start having to huddle under highway overpasses you watch how quickly they will form an alliance against this corrupt government that goes against everything this country was built upon. | |
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PolarBear
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium
join:2005-01-03 | Re: All USF funds should die .... Can anyone help me decipher how he went from fees and taxes to a homeless epidemic? I am truly stumped here.
"If it weren't for my horse, I wouldn't have spent that year in college."
Crap, now I think my brain is going to eat itself. | |
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GOLFnSUN
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
| Re: All USF funds should die .... said by PolarBear :Can anyone help me decipher how he went from fees and taxes to a homeless epidemic? I am truly stumped here. "If it weren't for my horse, I wouldn't have spent that year in college." Crap, now I think my brain is going to eat itself. It is just an overwrought anti-Bush reaction and the idea that the mortgage crisis is going to turn in to a 1930's "Grapes of Wrath" apocalypse. The welfare state that the US has become since before the New Deal will prevent what he fears.
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Internet News
My BLOG
My Web Page | |
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| | | | patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY
| said by kingofdsl :It will happen and in your lifetime too. This situation is a whole lot more dire because 220 some odd years ago people could just move west and build another log cabin. This time there is absolutely no where for them to live. Given a sufficient number of Americans that used to have a roof over their head start having to huddle under highway overpasses you watch how quickly they will form an alliance against this corrupt government that goes against everything this country was built upon. Watch how quickly they get sent to prison, and if that doesn't work, Florence ADX. Well, to make new land, you need to colonize, guess what we are doing in Iraq. | |
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sporkme
drop the crantini and move it, sister
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-01
Morristown, NJ
·Optimum Online
| said by GOLFnSUN :... but as long as they live, then all providers of telephone service should pay. There shouldn't be different fees for different types of phone service. And how about non-phone services?
This is a good one... I work with a covad partner and they buy "layer 2" circuits from covad, meaning that we get an OC-3 to covad and our DSL and T1 customers' traffic is backhauled to us and we provide the internet service. We pay the 10.2% FUSF on every one of these non-phone circuits. On higher-priced circuits like T1 and SDSL, that's a really big chunk of change.
Now if we just resell a line where covad provides the backhaul, no FUSF because it's "internet service".
Total crock-o-shit. | |
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factchecker
@cox.net
| said by GOLFnSUN :Both Federal and state USF funds should be ended. If the states feel that taxpayer money is needed to wire rural areas, let them fund that thru the normal tax methods states use to fund their operations. Or have the rate payers in those areas pay slightly more to offset the costs of living in the boonies.
The USF does need to stay for one reason and only one reason - the eRate program for schools and libraries. Yes, it has some problems, but nothing an updated set of rules based on past experience can't fix (our company does eRate work and has seen it). | |
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factchecker
@bellsouth.net
| Re: All USF funds should die .... said by morbo :since you have experience with it, what are the actual "rates" charged by telco for eRate?? also, are USF funds restricted to telco services or can it be used by cableco to provide internet, etc? Our organization handles the eRate purchases of equipment (servers, switches, routers, etc) and the installation, maintenance, etc. of that equipment. The problems we have seen have been in relation to those types of activities.
it's difficult to imagine how $1.50 on every phone line is justified for the amounts charged for schools and libraries. think about it. schools on average need a few t-1 lines or eqivalent. Only a portion of that $1.50 goes to the eRate program. I don't have the exact number on hand, but that $1.50 gets broken down to different programs:
»www.fcc.gov/wcb/tapd/universal_service/
»en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_···_offered | |
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bear73
Metnav... Fly The Unfriendly Skies
Premium
join:2001-06-09
Grand Forks Afb, ND
·Midcontinent Commu..
| said by GOLFnSUN :... but as long as they live, then all providers of telephone service should pay. There shouldn't be different fees for different types of phone service. No, USF is stated for deploying POTS to rural areas. it is time for this fee to end. Kinda like the fee that was killed off a few years back that paid for the Spanish-American War...
USF time is done. If the gov't wants to tax the populace for deploying broadband to rural areas, then propose the bill and vote it into law. Time for No More Fees....
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If ya gotta go, Go with a SMILE! | |
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factchecker
@cox.net
| Re: All USF funds should die .... said by bear73 :No, USF is stated for deploying POTS to rural areas. That's only a portion of what the USF does. USF funds go to several programs, including providing internet to schools/libraries and providing communications services to rural heath care providers. | |
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DOStradamus
MVM
join:2003-11-04
Santa Rosa, CA | ..but Sonic boffs me for $3.01 after SBC gets FUSF from me! And I pay more in FUSF than the taiffed rate for my landline. | |
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insomniac84
join:2002-01-03
Schererville, IN | Isn't this for physical connections? Shouldn't a fee like this only apply to someone with a physical network? Which means everyone pays for it with their physical internet connection? Otherwise it would apply to everything like webpages, email, im, etc. | |
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NetFixer
Freedom is NOT Free
Premium
join:2004-06-24
Murfreesboro, TN | Re: Isn't this for physical connections? Just be patient, it will eventually happen. | |
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Trinijoy
Premium
join:2005-09-12
Brick, NJ | YES GO VONAGE GO VONAGE GET THE PEOPLE THAT SUED YOU. SUE THEM. | |
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Lowtarget
Premium
join:2003-12-22
Alger, OH
clubs: | Re: YES Whats next in this crazy world? Pay 5 cents tax for emails we send.. lmao | |
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bear73
Metnav... Fly The Unfriendly Skies
Premium
join:2001-06-09
Grand Forks Afb, ND | Re: YES that was proposed a few years back....
USPS was looking for a way to offset its loss in revinue from people mailing bills and letters...
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If ya gotta go, Go with a SMILE! | |
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clickwir
join:2001-06-21
Dickson City, PA | Re: YES No, that was a lie. Spam if you will, just one of those "Shock and Awe" type emails that gets forwarded and forwarded around but contains no real, correct information. | |
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nonprof need it
@verizon.net
| USF does some good Im an it admin for a corp and we receive usf funds and it really has helped us immensely. we cant receive the same rates as the cities for the exact same service. why? not enough competition in rural areas so our rates are out of this world for t1s. unfortunately the masses have to fund this including myself. these funds help out your schools and healthcare centers that are non profits. our healthcare center helps out many people who could not otherwise afford health insurance even though they have jobs. so this service helps people out, it truly does. ill bet that many readers of these comments kids computer access at schools are funded through USAC. | |
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sporkme
drop the crantini and move it, sister
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-01
Morristown, NJ
·Optimum Online
| $19 Billion... ...estimated FUSF "revenue" this quarter.
Biggest scam ever. If the FCC allowed an audit of this, I think you'd be able to issue a few warrants. 
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with every mistake we must surely be learning | |
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bradrenfro584
@insightbb.com
| vonage usf So if vonage is sues the state for usf, that means they think they shouldn't have to pay it. So if that is the theory, we shouldn't have to pay it either, and should be getting a refund. Wait till they win the lawsuit, and then ask for the usf from all the prior months. | |
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tglea
join:2007-08-13
Mexico
 ·Vonage
·Cox HSI
| Re: vonage usf Exactly!!! If Vonage is suing the state of Nebraska to not pay into the USF of the state, then why don't they sue the federal government for forcing customers to pay into the national fund? I have Vonage and a Nebraska billing address so I would be directly affected. I too am tired of all these fees that Vonage continues to add and increase in price. | |
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Vonage Sues State For Forcing it to Pay Into USF
All USF funds should die ....
