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boogie74
join:2001-06-19
Neenah, WI
clubs:
| reply to KrK
Re: Where's our fixed rate?
said by KrK  :
SBC's USF is OUTRAGEOUS. Let's make no mistake here, SBC sets the pricing structure of the fee, not the FCC or someone else.
What SBC is essentially doing is placing an extremely high fee on their "heavily demanded" services while discounting and placing a very minimal fee on the basic services.
In other words, the people with fast DSL packages are subsidizing and paying far more then their share of the fee so that SBC can keep the fee low on service areas like long distance where they have to compete with others....
When you add the $6 charge (as well as the charge already charged on POTS, LD, etc etc) it makes SBC's DSL packages look much less attractive. This is why they split it out.... so they can market a falsely low selling point and then say "Oh this $6 USF fee... that's the Government's fault..."
People have a right to be pissed off. At SBC. They set this rate structure!
Ummm... no. But nice try. Regulators set the USF for EVERY company (including SBC- they don't get a "Get out of jail free" card on this to set their own USF rates) on a quarterly basis. These rates are changed quarterly based on a number of variables including revenue and expense audits, population studies, public telecom needs (schools and libraries) as they fluctuate, etc. The rates are based as a percentage of revenues (which is why higher priced plans have higher USF charges) and are also set based on data presented and audited in arrears.
Of course, you have no desire to believe anything legitimate about SBC anyways- if SBC said the sky is blue, you'd call them liars and crooks that were stealing your grey clouds to eliminate competitors of the jet stream to somehow charge for sunlight!
Boogie | |
KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
 ·AT&T Yahoo
·AT&T DSL Service
 ·Cox HSI
·AT&T Southwest
| So true... while at the same time, misleading. Regulators set the rate. As you mentioned, based on several factors, like revenue and expenses. Provided by the Telcos.
SBC decides who, when, and if they are going to assess USF charges. And I guess they figure their more profitable plans should pay more.
As for believing anything legitimate about SBC, I'll have to wait and see when they provide something legitimate. I certainly am not going to take anything you say about them as fact!
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"Regulatory capitalism is when companies invest in lawyers, lobbyists, and politicians, instead of plant, people, and customer service." - former FCC Chairman William Kennard (A real FCC Chairman, unlike the current Corporate Spokesperson in the job!) | |
boogie74
join:2001-06-19
Neenah, WI
clubs:
| So you've said,
quote:
SBC's USF is OUTRAGEOUS. Let's make no mistake here, SBC sets the pricing structure of the fee, not the FCC or someone else.
What SBC is essentially doing is placing an extremely high fee on their "heavily demanded" services while discounting and placing a very minimal fee on the basic services.
And then you've said,
quote:
So true... while at the same time, misleading. Regulators set the rate. As you mentioned, based on several factors, like revenue and expenses. Provided by the Telcos.
You seem to contradict yourself. Beyond that, however, the actual methodology isn't created by SBC. It's standard for all companies. At present it is figured as a percentage (around 9% total) of all revenue generated by interstate voice and data traffic.
This means that higher bandwith DSL creates more revenue from interstate data traffic in a month's time than lower bandwith DSL. You must realize that this isn't only retail customer associated revenue either. Any time data or voice traffic is handed off to another carrier, access charges are assessed.
This all adds up to the fact that higher bandwith and higher voice traffic makes for a higher USF charge.
It's too bad that you were relying on the "SBC is the devil" concept to support your entire method of thinking. Perhaps you should learn a bit more about how this sort of thing works and spend less time pretending to know what you're talking about.
Boogie | |
KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
·AT&T Yahoo
·AT&T DSL Service
·Cox HSI
·AT&T Southwest
| It's misleading to claim the charge is set by the FCC. It isn't, and you know it. SBC has decided how much to charge, and to whom. Period. It IS a rip-off. Period.
The USF is a giant slush-fund as it is. This stinks, but that's business as normal for SBC. Next thing you'll know they'll want to sue companies who "cheat" them by using the Internet to send voice encoded as data, rather then pay long distance fees. I can't wait.
--
"Regulatory capitalism is when companies invest in lawyers, lobbyists, and politicians, instead of plant, people, and customer service." - former FCC Chairman William Kennard (A real FCC Chairman, unlike the current Corporate Spokesperson in the job!) | |
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