Rategates´ Telecom Glossary

FCC - Federal Communications Commission
Regulates interstate communications: licenses, rates, tariffs, standards, limitations, etc. Appointed by U.S. President. Federal Access Charge - See Federal Subscriber Line Charge.
FCC Approved Customer Line Charge - See Federal Subscriber Line Charge.
Federal Excise Tax - See Federal Tax.
Federal Tax - Aka: Federal Excise Tax
This tax appears on both your local and long distance phone bills. It is charged as a set percentage regardless of which telephone service provider you use. Little known fact is that it started as a temporary luxury tax in 1898 on telephone service to pay for the Spanish-American War. Now the proceeds go to the U.S. Treasury as general revenue, since the war is over. For more details on this tax, you can contact the Internal Revenue Service Excise Tax Branch. Federal Tax - Aka: Federal Excise Tax
Federal Subscriber Line Charge - Aka: Federal Access Charge, Customer Line Charge, Interstate Access Charge, Interstate Single Line Charge, FCC Approved Customer Line Charge, Subscriber Line Charge or SLC This federally ordered charge billed by your local telephone company pays part of the cost to the local telephone company of supplying a phone line into your home or business. It is designed to help local phone companies recover the cost of providing "local loops" which refers to outside telephone wires, underground conduit, telephone poles, and other equipment and facilities connecting you to the telephone network. This is NOT a tax. It is a charge that is part of the price you pay to your local telephone company. Neither the FCC nor any other government agency receives the Federal Subscriber Line Charge. The FCC places a maximum cap on this charge.