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Dear linkLINE Verizon-powered & ATT-powered DSL Customers,
Beginning in January 2005, customers who are billed by linkLINE
for both their DSL circuit and internet charges will be invoiced
on their bill for a tax being collected by the FCC called the
Federal Universal Service Fee, or FUSF.
Verizon Customers:
If you pay for your DSL circuit on your local telephone bill and
only purchase ISP services through linkLINE, this fee is collected
on your local Verizon phone bill, and this notice does not apply
to you.
This fee does not represent a price increase or modification of
your Terms of Service through linkLINE. Our Terms of Service have
always included the provision that all local, state, and federal
charges imposed would be passed on to customers. However, between
1998 and 2000 no taxes were actually imposed, so we did not
collect them from our customers. This changed when the FCC ruled
in 1999 that DSL was an “interstate” service that fell under their
jurisdiction, and began collecting these fees from Verizon.
A couple years ago, when Verizon & ATT began collecting FUSF on wholesale DSL
circuits, we temporarily absorbed these FUSF fees while we sought
clarification and validity of these fees through a number of legal
and government channels. We did not want to spend substantial
resources to modify our billing system to collect this tax only to
prevail and have to return them to customers. Along with other
ISPs, we hoped we would be successful in overturning the tax as it
relates to the specific DSL circuits we resell. In recent months,
following our challenges, we have received verification from both
State and Federal authorities that the FUSF charges being
collected by Verizon & ATT apply to line-shared DSL circuits.
Verizon & ATT currently collect 10.9% of the wholesale circuit cost on
each circuit. For FAQ, please
click here.
LinkLINE is proud that, despite substantial increases in many of
the costs to provide DSL service since 1998, including energy,
security, labor, and network costs, we have been able to remain
competitive and not raise prices charged for DSL. We realize that
our customers are very cost conscious, however, we regret we
cannot continue to absorb FUSF taxes as we have for over a year.
We assure you we will only “pass-through” the actual charges
billed to us for end-user circuits only. Should these fees be
repealed or reduced, we will pass the reduction or elimination to
our customers immediately.
We appreciate your continued business. If you have any questions
or concerns about the FUSF charges, you may contact linkLINE
billing at (877) 546-5345, or contact us through email at
support@linkline.com.
Sincerely,
linkLINE Communications Inc.
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