Do all telephone companies contribute to the Federal Universal Service Fund?
Yes, both local and long distance telephone companies are required by the FCC to contribute to the Federal Universal Service Fund. Q: Does Cox make money on the Federal Universal Service Fund Charge? A: No. What we collect from our customers is paid directly to the Federal Universal Service Fund. Our collections do not exceed what we pay to the Federal Universal Service Fund. Q: Do all telephone companies assess the same percentage from their customers? A: Cox assesses the same percentages that are assessed by other local and long distance carriers. In most cases, carriers adopt the guidelines set by the FCC. Q: It seems my USF rates just decreased. Why are they now increasing? A: The FCC recently increased the USF percentage to 9.5%. In order to be consistent with their recommendation, and also with what other carriers are charging, we decided to decrease our USF to 9.5% of interstate and international usage and the Universal Service End User Charge will be a percentage-based fee to m
