DSL Extreme → Re: Will ExtremeDSL drop FUSF fee?

Effective August 14th, 2006, the FUSF recovery surcharge line item ($2.21 for SBC clients, $3.11 for Verizon clients and $3.56 for Covad clients) on your bill will be replaced with “Supplier Surcharge Recovery" of $1.93 for all clients. This reduction is based on the recent deregulation of broadband digital subscriber line (DSL) service by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Due to these changes your total monthly statement will be reduced.

What is the Supplier Surcharge?
The Supplier Surcharge is comprised of Federal Universal Service Fund recovery fees that are still charged on core components within the DSLExtreme network as well as a supplier imposed surcharge which is not a tax or government imposed fee. Although the FCC stopped requiring the FUSF contribution on each client’s loop, our ATM aggregation circuits and other transit circuits which carry end-user DSL Internet service do continue to incur an FUSF cost from our carrier. Additionally around the same time the FCC eliminated the per-circuit FUSF, our suppliers increased the per-loop wholesale cost by a similar amount. The net result is a Supplier Surcharge Recovery which is lower than the previous FUSF, of which a portion is going toward our suppliers for the new higher wholesale loop cost, and a portion covers FUSF costs related to ATM aggregation and transit circuits.

Is there anything I need to do?
DSLExtreme has automatically adjusted the monthly billing on your account and provided the appropriate credits where necessary. No action is required by you.

I am not keen on the current situation with other DSL providers (AT&T, Verizon, etc), as it changes daily. However, from what I've read, all of them are dropping the "Supplier Surcharge" fee due to bad press. So they won't charge their "direct" end-users this fee, but they will charge us indirectly through DSLExtreme!? That's just not right.

..."around the same time the FCC eliminated the per-circuit FUSF, our suppliers increased the per-loop wholesale cost by a similar amount."

I thought some of us are "locked-in" to a specific price forever. I don't remember an escape clause in my contract that allows DSLExtreme to pass to me any increase in "per-loop wholesale cost".

Please note I'm not faulting DSLExtreme here. My fingers are pointing at the telco's. They saw the elimination of DSL FUSF as an opportunity to increase profit. It didn't fly with their customers. It shouldn't fly with DSLExtreme.

George,

Thanks for your informative post. It certainly is too bad that the telcos continue to charge you a fee (no matter what they call it) when they now are no longer charging their customers the fee. It certainly makes your offering less competitive as your prices are the same as the telcos but you are now forced to charge an additional amount to your customers.

I wonder if the FCC is aware of this situation like they were when certain telcos tried to charge their customers replacement fees when the FUSF charge was eliminated.