Critics Urge FCC to Delay Action on Phone Rates

The Federal Communications Commission's scheduled Nov. 4 vote to change how phone companies charge each other to deliver traffic is facing growing opposition from companies concerned about losing revenue and consumer advocates worried that the plan will cause phone bills to rise. The idea is to simplify the way phone companies compensate each other for delivering calls, so that all providers -- traditional land line, wireless and Internet-based -- would pay the same rate. Currently, rates vary depending on the type of call and where it travels. Changing the rates would result in some phone companies receiving less revenue -- an estimated $4 billion total. To help those companies recoup some of that lost money, the FCC has proposed raising fees on consumers. Phone companies now charge consumers as much as $6.50 a month in a subscriber-line charge for traditional, wired phone service. Under the new plan, that rate would jump to as much as $8 a month. FCC officials can't say how many subscribers would pay a higher upfront fee for service, or when a price increase would occur. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin proposed the plan in mid-October and scheduled a vote on Election Day, prompting some opponents to suggest that he is trying to sneak the plan by when the public isn't watching.