What the hell is a "Federal Subscriber Line Charge" on the phone bill

[wvbygod]

Federal Subscriber Line Charge: $6.50

This is for Verizon btw. Any ideas what this criminality is?

[EOTE]

1. It's probably the tax that we pay...

in exchange for the privilege of being spied on. Data collection ain't cheap, you know?

[eShirl]

4. ah! beat me to it

:)

[eShirl]

2. the feds spend a lot of man-hours spying on us

it's only right we have to pay a reasonable fee for that priviledge

[glinda]

3. call them and ask specifically in detail

then let us know

[Codeine]

5. From a site called "The Consumerist"

Tucked into your landline phone bill is probably a very official looking fee called the "Federal Subscriber Line Charge," but did you know it doesn't go to the federal government?

It's a fee the FCC allows phone companies to charge to recoup the cost of having phone lines connecting your house to the network. The only thing "federal" about it is that the FCC caps it at $6.50 per line.

Sometimes it's referred to as a, "Federal access charge," "Customer or Subscriber Line Charge," "Interstate Access Charge," or some other variation.

Having no other service provider available, and fed up with "the way AT&T masquerades fees as legitimate charges," reader Samuel called up and threatened to cancel over it. He got AT&T to apply a $6 credit to his bill every month for a year.

http://consumerist.com/consumer/complaints/what-is-the-federal-subscriber-line-charge-and-how-can-i-buck-it-272157.php

[PeaceNikki]

6. Here

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/telephone.html

What is the Subscriber Line Charge and why do I have to pay this charge?
The Subscriber Line Charge is a fee that you pay to your local phone company that connects you to the telephone network. Local telephone companies recover some of the costs of telephone lines connected to your home or business through this monthly charge on your local telephone bill. Sometimes called the federal subscriber line charge, this fee is regulated and capped by the FCC, not by state Public Utility Commissions. It is not a tax or a fee charged by the government. The money received from the subscriber line charge goes directly to local telephone companies. To ensure that all Americans can afford at least a minimal level of basic telephone service, the FCC will not allow phone companies to charge more than $6.50 for a single line. More information on the Subscriber Line Charge and other charges on your phone bill.

The FCC allows local telephone companies to bill customers for a portion of the costs of providing access. These charges are not a government charge or tax. The maximum allowable access charges per telephone line are set by the FCC, but local telephone companies are free to charge less or nothing at all. Access charges for second or additional lines at the same residence are higher than the charges for the primary line. These charges can be described on your telephone bill as "Federal Access Charge," "Customer or Subscriber Line Charge," "Interstate Access Charge," etc.

[jayfish]

7. Self-Delete

Described better above.

Jay