FCC PANEL RECOMMENDS PHONE FEE HIKE
A Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) board recommended raising the two-dollar monthly
subscriber line charge for residential telephone customers by
1.50 dlrs over the next two years.
    The subscriber line charge was first levied by the FCC in
June, 1985, in an effort to more acurately reflect the cost of
providing phone service as a part of phone deregulation.
    The recommendation by the board, composed of federal and
state utility regulators, was expected to be approved by the
FCC in a seperate decision in the next few weeks.
    The subscriber line charge for residences and businesses
with single phone lines will rise to 2.60 dlrs in June 1987,
3.20 in September 1988, and 3.50 dlrs in April 1989.
    The staff of the FCC said at a public meeting that the
increase in the charge would make possible a reduction in
long-distance phone rates of 15 pct or 17 billion dlrs over six
years.
    Supporters of the subscriber line charge have argued that
long distance phone rates had been subsidizing local phone
service, which would lead to abandonment of the phone network
by large commercial phone customers.
 Reuter
