What is the Federal Universal Service Fund Charge?
Since 1930, it has been our nation’s policy to promote telephone service to all households. These fees help make phone service affordable and available to all Americans, including consumers with low incomes and those living in areas where the cost of providing telephone service is high. In addition, the fees help support services in schools, libraries and rural health care facilities. The federal fee applies to all services that are considered “interstate” (such as long distance service originating from your phone and terminating outside of Kansas). The Kansas Universal Service Fee applies to all local services, such as your local line, calling features and long distance calls within the state of Kansas. Federal and State legislation require all retail providers of telecommunications services to contribute to the Universal Service funds. Carriers are permitted to charge a monthly customer fee to cover contribution costs.
