Carrier charges

This fee is a monthly charge to customers or other telephone companies by a local telephone company for the use of its local network.

What are access rates?

When you make a long distance call, your long distance carrier must pay the local exchange carrier (CenturyLink) for starting, or originating, the call. In addition, your long distance carrier must pay the telephone company that provides local service to the person you are calling to complete the call. The charges that the long distance provider pays to CenturyLink to originate the call and the other local exchange company to complete the call are referred to as "access," as in the access the long distance provider must get to the local network.

Why is this charge on my bill even if I don't make long distance calls?

Local exchange companies incur significant costs to provide service to their customers. The access revenues that local exchange companies receive from long distance companies help offset some of those costs to keep the cost of local service affordable. As the costs are associated with local service, the FCC determined that it was appropriate to allow local exchange carriers to recover a portion of the lost access revenues from their customers.

What reductions to access rates are being made?

In an Order released on November 18, 2011, the FCC required local exchange carriers to reduce the rates they charge to long distance companies to complete or terminate long distance calls. The current system that is used by long distance companies to compensate local companies for use of the local network was first established in 1984, after the AT&T divestiture, and at a time when there was no competition for local service. Much has changed since 1984 and the FCC recognized that this system did not work well when there is competition for local service. In addition, the FCC believes the current system may make it difficult to develop and use new technologies, such as internet protocol networks.

Long distance carriers are getting reductions in their costs, but my costs are increasing because of the ARC? Why is this fair?

The access revenues that local exchange carriers receive from the long distance carriers help offset the cost of providing local service. The FCC determined that the customer chooses to place a long distance call and the long distance carrier that is used; therefore the customer should bear more of the cost.

Why aren't cable companies implementing an ARC?

The FCC's order provided that only incumbent local exchange carriers may recover a portion of the lost access revenues from an ARC charge. While cable companies will also see access reductions, no provision was made to permit cable companies to implement an ARC charge.

For CenturyLink Internet customers, these charges offset the costs associated with flowing high-speed data across the various networks and backbone carriers both nationally and internationally.

The DTS (Digital Transport Service) Port is a connection that does not include the facility between the customer's premises and the DTS serving office. The charge is comparable to the ISDN PRI Port charge.

The DTS Port Charge is applied in addition to Subscriber Line Charges (SLC). DTS Port Charges do not represent any new hardware or new service components. They are part of the construct for SLC charge application — 5 SLCs plus a DTS port charge — in accordance with how the charges applied to ISDN PRI circuits.

These charges are mandatory for this service; they are part of the SLC/EUCL (End User Common Line) cost recovery structure.

Who put it on the bill?

The charges are placed on the bill by CenturyLink based on a ruling by the United States Congress via the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1983.

Extended Area Service (EAS) expands a customer's local calling area by allowing calls to certain neighboring communities without additional toll charges. EAS is often used in areas where customers regularly call nearby communities for work, school, healthcare, government services, shopping, and other everyday needs. The monthly EAS charge helps cover the cost of providing the expanded local calling area and the network resources required to support it.​

This charge is assessed in several states to recover the cost when government entities require that CenturyLink's network facilities and lines be relocated, such as when new roads are established or highways are widened.

How is it calculated?

We take the cost of required relocations for the prior year and divide by the number of lines provided to business and residential customers. As a result, these charges can be expected to fluctuate year to year, as dictated by the needs of your state's infrastructure.

What states are affected?

• Arizona
• Colorado
• Florida
• Idaho
• Iowa
• Nevada
• North Dakota
• South Dakota
• Utah
• Washington 

What is the Federal Universal Service Fund?

What is the money used for?

Is the charge the same each month?

Who determines the amount?

Is the FUSF surcharge a government-mandated tax?

This fee helps defray costs associated with building and maintaining CenturyLink's High-Speed Internet broadband network, as well as the costs of expanding network capacity to support the continued increase in customers' average broadband consumption.

Is it new?

The ICRF has been on customer bills for several years in many of our service areas.

How much is it?

It is $3.99* per month, per internet connection. If you have two high-speed internet (HSI) lines, you will be charged $3.99 for each line for a total of $7.98.

Who does it apply to?

Customers on certain eligible CenturyLink High-Speed
Internet plans may see this fee on their bill. Some market exclusions apply. ​

Also called:

• Broadband Cost Recovery Fee

CenturyLink charges this fee when a residential or business customer chooses CenturyLink as their long distance carrier for calls outside their local calling area. The fee is applied monthly to each line on the account.

Who gets the money?

This is used by CenturyLink to recover some of the costs of offering long distance service.

Who is affected?

Customers on certain eligible CenturyLink Long Distance plans may see this fee on their bill.

Previously called:

• National Access Fee
• Presubscribed Line Charge
• Access Line Charge
  
• Carrier Cost Recovery Charge

Customers on certain eligible CenturyLink Voice plans may see this fee on their bill if they subscribe to Voicemail or Inside Wire Protection Plan, either as a standalone product or as part of a CenturyLink package. The fee is a monthly recurring charge and only applied once per account.

Assessed per access line for connecting your telephone line to your long-distance carrier.

This is a per-line charge for connecting your telephone access line to the preferred or presubscribed long distance carrier. If you have a long distance carrier, the charge is assessed by that carrier. If you use a "10-10-XXX" carrier but are not pre-subscribed to that carrier, the carrier cannot charge you the PICC. However, if you don't have a long distance carrier assigned to your local telephone account, the local carrier can charge the PICC.

Who authorized this charge?

The United States Congress, via the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), authorized telephone companies to assess this charge effective January 1, 1998.

Where do the funds from this charge go?

The revenues from this charge go to the company collecting it to assist in providing long distance service to its customers.

The charge can have various labels for the different long-distance companies.

It may also be known as:

• National Access Fee (MCI)
• Carrier Line Charge (AT&T)
• Pre-subscribed Line Charge (Sprint)

The Property Tax Recovery Fee helps recover a portion of property tax costs imposed on the Company and its affiliates by various taxing jurisdictions. It applies to eligible interstate, international, and unregulated charges after applicable discounts and credits. Although assessed by the Company, the surcharge is not a tax or government-imposed charge. FUSF and other applicable taxes, fees, and surcharges may apply to it.​

Assessed to corporations, such as private utility companies, that conduct business in the state for use of public rights-of-way. Law allows the assessed companies to recover the expense via customer fees.

Who gets the money?

State's General Revenue Fund

Also known as:

• Cost of Service Surcharge
• Business and Occupation Tax

This portion of interstate long-distance rates pays for some of the cost of the local portion of the telephone network.

The subscriber line charge helps local telephone companies recover some of the costs associated with connecting telephone lines to your home or business. Long distance carriers take advantage of those local lines to connect their long distance calls, and this charge contributes the infrastructure needed to make the telecommunication system work. Regulated by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), this fee is assessed to all incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) end users.

History

This flat monthly charge was established by a U.S. congressional ruling related to the 1983 Bell System settlement. It was intended to reduce the level of access charges long distance providers pay local phone companies for the use of local networks, therefore promoting competition among long distance providers.

Also known as:

• FCC-Approved Customer Line Charge
• FCC Subscriber Line Charge
• Interstate Subscriber Line Charge
• Customer Subscriber Line Charge
• Federal Line Fee
• Interstate Access Surcharge