Q. What are prorated charges?

A. Prorated charges are charges for any partial month that a Customer is billed for. Phone companies bill one month in advance so, while this bill may charge for more than one month, you will be receiving a reimbursement from your former carrier for the charges that you have paid to them in advance. Make sure you look for credits on their last bill to you.

Q. What are one-time charges?

A. One-time charges are generally charges that were incurred in the installation and/or configuration of your new services. They will not occur more than one-time, unless an additional service is set up at a later date.

Q. Please explain the taxes and surcharges on this bill.

A. Taxes for Minnesota Customers are as follow:

Federal Access Charge: The Customer Access Line Charge, is a charge proposed and authorized by the Federal Communications Commission, for providing access to and maintenance of the local network.

Federal Excise Tax: The Federal (U. S. Government) Excise Tax is a tax imposed directly on the customer by the Federal Government for certain communications services. Congress determines the tax rate and the services to which it applies. The Federal Excise Tax is intended to tax services that allow the customer the ability to communicate with virtually all subscribers of the telecommunications network.

Federal Universal Service Fund: The Federal Universal Service Fund (USF) supports the telecommunications needs of consumers living in high-cost areas, low-income households, schools, libraries, and rural healthcare providers. Each telecommunication company may implement the Federal USF differently.

Federal Charge - Local Number Portability (LNP): The Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires that each local exchange carrier provide number portability in accordance with requirements prescribed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). In the FCC Docket 95-116, RM 8535, In the Matter of Telephone Number Portability, the regulatory decision was to allow the local exchange carriers to recover a portion of the costs.

State, City or Local Tax - State, County and City: A sales tax is imposed upon the sale, lease, or rental of products and services defined as taxable by the state of Minnesota. The rates for county and city sales taxes vary.

Tele-Relay, 9-1-1, & Telephone Assistance Plan Surcharges

TAM (Telecommunications Access Minnesota): This surcharge funds a statewide program to provide telecommunication services to residents who have communications disabilities, i.e., hearing or speech. Funds are remitted to the State Commission and used to establish and administer a statewide Telephone Dual Relay System that will permit full and simultaneous communication between communications disabled persons and persons with conventional telephone equipment.

The TAM surcharge is mandated by state legislatures to make telephone service as accessible to communications disabled persons as it is for persons without such disabilities. Since it is governed by the state legislature it applies to all customers physically located in the state. Each year the commission holds a public hearing to determine the amount of surcharge necessary for the coming year. Rates may change as decided by the commission(s).

9-1-1: Qwest collects 911 surcharges each month for states, counties and/or cities that use this money to fund their emergency services communications systems (E911 or 911). The surcharge is imposed upon each access line within a jurisdiction