According to telco critic Bruce Kushnick, the FCC is working on a plan, drafted largely by AT&T, aimed at raising the fees you pay on your landlines and broadband connections. Dubbed the "Missoula Intercarrier Compensation Plan," the proposal would raise the FCC line charge on your phone bill from $6.50 to $10, increase the amount users pay into the USF and add additional charges to your landline and broadband connection. "The FCC hasn't made these points clear to customers because in the light of day, outside the Washington DC Beltway, if the FCC had called the plan 'Raise phone rates,' someone might notice," says Kushnick.

According to AT&T, the plan (pdf) is just the opposite. It's a proposal that 350 carriers have signed off on after "months of vigorous debate and discussion" aimed at creating reasonable intercarrier compensation rates. The plan would divide carriers into three categories, depending on their size, and then allocate funds accordingly. AT&T says the plan will reduce consumer prices, protect low income consumers, improve the USF, increase competition and facilitate innovation.