What is the Federal Universal Service Charge?
The Federal Universal Service Fund (USF) helps provide affordable telecommunication services for low-income customers and customers in rural areas. It also provides discounts on Internet access for eligible schools, libraries and rural health providers. The USF is collected from the telecommunications carriers and administered by the Universal Service Administration Corporation (USAC). USAC is responsible for disbursing the funds from a pool. This pool is established by the FCC and meets certain eligibility criteria.
A. The “Federal Universal Service Charge” (FUSC), also authorized by the FCC, is not part of your local service rate. The purpose of this charge is to help to keep rates affordable for all Americans, regardless of where they live. The amount of the FUSC on your monthly bill depends on the services you order and the number of telephone lines you have. In most cases, the FUSC is applied as a percentage, which is set by the FCC and varies on a quarterly basis, of the federal End User Access you are billed each month. The Federal Universal Service Fund assists with the costs of providing “affordable” telecom services to low-income individuals and to residents in rural, high-cost areas. In addition, the program helps schools, libraries and rural health care providers obtain leading edge services, such as high-speed Internet access. All providers of telecom contribute to the support of these universal service programs.
