Two weeks ago, the "KeepUSF Fair Coalition" (Universal Service Fund) congratulated FCC Commissioner Martin on his new appointment to Chairman and suggested increasing Universal Service Fund up to 40% and adding taxes to Voice over the Internet" (VOIP). They claim that this would be good for Seniors, Hispanics, low-income families, and consumers.

"Keep Universal Service Fair Coalition" is another Bell (SBC, Verizon and BellSouth) skunkworks campaign. The group is mainly comprised of astroturf and co-oped groups funded by the Bell companies and are being coordinated by Issue Dynamics and Sam Simon, to push the Bell monopoly agenda. In this case, this group is pushing an anti-customer position on the Universal Service Fund -- Raise this tax and put it on new services, including VOIP. (This group includes TRAC, Alliance for Public Technology,
American Association Of People With Disabilities, World Institute On Disability, League Of United Latin American Citizens, the Gray Panthers, and others.)

Using coopted and astro-turf groups, over ther last decade they have taken away your voice at the FCC, in Congress, and in the media, harming everything from broadband and the Internet, the wiring of municipalities, the offering of innovative services, such as VOIP, to increasing the charges on your phone bill and harming competition.

Teletruth believes that the Universal Service Fund has turned into an out-of-control phone company corporate subsidy and needs to be investigated. We're for wiring schools, not billion dollar corporate give-aways and new taxes, especially on new services, such as VOIP.

• Teletruth Letter to Chairman Martin

• Read a summary of the problems
• Read more details of the USF problems , including the FCC Inspector General's Report, the GAO Report,
• Read what the FCC says about the USF Charges

Here's Some Details

• The Unversal Service Fund is a tax on interstate wireline and wireless services, and represents a number of different funds including the Erate (wiring of schools and libraries), the High-Cost Fund, Lifeline, and other funds.
• The Universal Service Fund has increased from 3.9% on long distance services in 1999 to 11.1% in 2005, a 185% increase.
• The largest part of this fund is NOT for wiring of schools and libraries, but to 'High-Cost Funds", which are corporate subsidies to the phone companies. The High Cost Fund represents over 60% of the total collected, doubling from $1.7 in 1999 to $3.4 billion in 2004. --- and growing.
• These funds are NOT going to corporations that need this money. Many of the phone companies receiving funds have 55% profit margins (EBITDA), in a large part. from this High Cost fund.
• Declining Costs: The costs to offer local service has continued to drop over the last 5 years. The USF increases have been against a backdrop of construction cuts, down 50%, and employees-per-line plummetting 65% since 1984.
• Double-Quintuple Taxation? Many states have also added statewide High-cost funds, Erates, Lifeline services and other services covered under the federal program, and NO ONE HAS EXAMINED THESE PROFITS or multiple funds!
• Major Fraud and Lack of Audits -- Everyone from the FCC Attorney General and other regulators are finding Erate fraud, a lack of audits, as well as large profits to companies that don't need the money

In Washington, there are lots of groups, such as Issue Dynamics, Alliance for Public Technology, (APT), that claim to represent you --- and are on the Consumer Advisory Committee, but are paid for by Verizon and SBC. Read more

Talking Points!

Investigate Teletruth's claims about Skunkworks and the Universal Service Fund

• Investigate USF Charges, including the High Cost Fund.
• Why has the USF gone up when the costs of service keeps decreasing?
• Why has this Fund gone up 185% in 5 years?
• Why are all these fake groups not being exposed and many are on the FCC Consumer Advisory Committee?

• Chairman Kevin J. Martin:
• Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy:
• Commissioner Michael J. Copps:
• Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein

NOTE: Powell has left the FCC.Make the other Commissioners care about the Public Interest.

Contact the Press: Write and tell them to start investigating who controls the FCC and the Country's agenda.

• joe@msnbc.com
• oreilly@foxnews.com,
• forbes@foxnews.com,
• Nightly@NBC.com,
• hardball@msnbc.com

They're always talking about holding regulators accountable. Isn't time someone exposed the truth about who controls the FCC' agenda?

• The Teletruth Complaint pertaining to APT and other members of the FCC Consumer Advisory Committee
  
• Information pertaining to Issue Dynamics, Skunkworks and Astroturf groups.
  
• Keep USF Fair Press Release to FCC Chairman Martin
  
• KeepUSFFair Coalition Members
  
• Keep USF Fair Plan(PDF)
• National Association of the Deaf'Telecommunications Primer,paid for by Verizon Foundation
  
• * Testimony, FCC Inspector General, Subcommittee on Oversight andInvestigations of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, U.S. House of
  Representatives on "Problems with the Erate Program: Waste, Fraud, and AboutConcerns in the Wiring of Our Nation's Schools to the Internet" Statements,1/6/2005, (PDF)
• General Accounting Office Report (GAO), "Greater Involvement Needed by FCCin the Management and Oversight of the Erate Program" February 2005, (PDF)
• FCC Inspector General Semiannual Report, for April 1-September 30, 2004,releasedJanuary 2005, (PDF)
• Congressional Budget Office Report "Financing Universal Telephone Service",, March 2005