Because the VoIP industry is subject to government taxes and regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, there are several fees that Sun Communications is legally permitted to charge customers.<\/p>\n\t\t\tE911 fees<\/a>\n\t\t Enhanced 911 (E911) fees cover the cost of ensuring that we meet the FCC’s VoIP regulations\u00a0regarding the ability to locate a caller who dials 911.<\/p>\n The FCC mandates that providers must:<\/p>\n E911 fees also fund emergency response systems, and are charged per service line by the local and state government. Specific fees will depend on the customer’s state. Generally, they range in price from $0.20 to $2.00 per line. Users may also be charged for using 411 information services.<\/p>\n\t\t\tUSF Fees<\/a>\n\t\t USF fees help to cover the provider’s costs associated with adhering to the Universal Services Fund.<\/p>\n These fees are charged on a per-licensed seat, per-month basis, and must cover only the minimum amount needed to cover these charges.<\/p>\n Note that these fees may fluctuate, as the required contribution factor changes four times each year.<\/p>\n\t\t\tNumber Porting Fee<\/a>\n\t\t VoIP providers generally charge $10-$20 per ported telephone number.<\/p>\n (Also Known as: Local Number Porting or LNP Fees)<\/p>\n This is a one-time charge. which\u00a0covers the cost of porting (transferring) local, fax, and toll-free phone numbers from past phone companies to the desired new provider. They are charged on a per-line basis.<\/p>\n These fees are not required by the FCC, and are set by your provider.<\/p>\n Sun Communications is only allowed to charge what it costs to port a number, but these fees may vary based on location and carrier.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\t\t\tFeder, State & Local Tax<\/a>\n\t\t Virtual telephony companies are legally required to charge and remit customer taxes on the federal, state, and local levels.<\/p>\n The exact cost of telecommunications taxes will vary based on location as well as the specific type of service provided. However, many customers don’t realize that in some cases, the provider has control over how much it charges users for communication and use\u00a0tax.<\/p>\n VoIP taxation may include:<\/p>\n Providers are no longer required to charge a public switched telephone network (PSTN) tax.<\/p>\n\t\t\tGross Revenue Surcharge<\/a>\n\t\t The gross revenue surcharge covers the cost of federal and state taxation costs that providers (and all phone companies) are legally required to pay on their total revenue.<\/p>\n A customer’s gross revenue surcharge is their percentage of the taxes charged on the revenue they brought the provider.<\/p>\n Note that, while of course, tax laws payments are government-mandated, the gross revenue surcharge to customers is not.<\/p>\n\t\t\tIntercarrier Compensation<\/a>\n\t\t Interstate access charges are mandated by federal laws, while intrastate charges are managed on a local level.<\/p>\n Intercarrier compensation is fees that one carrier pays to another to make, send, and end telecommunications over their network.<\/p>\n The fees on your\u00a0business phone bill\u00a0will vary based on the location of the origination and termination of the call, whether the carriers are local, long-distance, or wireless, and type of call.<\/p>\n Intercarrier compensation is made up of access charges and reciprocal compensation.<\/p>\n Access charges are fees long-distance carriers pay to local service providers, allowing them to both make and terminate VoIP\u00a0calls on a local network.<\/p>\n Reciprocal compensation, on the other hand, are charges relating to calls made in the same local area.<\/p>\n In most cases, access charges will be more expensive than reciprocal compensation.<\/p>\n\t\t\tInternet Infrastructure Surcharge<\/a>\n\t\t While not mandated by the federal or state governments, some providers may charge customers to cover the costs of the local Internet infrastructure and network.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\t\t\tEarly Termination Fees<\/a>\n\t\t The number-one cost to look out for is a provider’s early termination fee, (ETF) which is charged when a customer ends their relationship with a VoIP service before the contract is officially finished.<\/p>\n The fee will vary based on the number of users and the length of the contract.<\/p>\n If you don’t understand the early termination fee before signing a\u00a0three-year contract, you could end up paying for two VoIP services, only one of which you’re actually using, for several months.<\/p>\n Usually, you’ll need to cancel the old service a minimum of 30 days before the next annual or monthly billing cycle to avoid being charged again. Because of this, you may wish to avoid an automated billing option.<\/p>\n In some cases, the new provider you’re switching to may be able to negotiate these early termination fees with your old provider on your behalf.<\/p>\n\t\t\tUSF Fees<\/a>\n\t\t USF fees help to cover the provider’s costs associated with adhering to the Universal Services Fund.<\/p>\n These fees are charged on a per-licensed seat, per-month basis, and must cover only the minimum amount needed to cover these charges.<\/p>\n Note that these fees may fluctuate, as the required contribution factor changes four times each year.<\/p>\n\t\t\tNumber Porting Fee<\/a>\n\t\t VoIP providers generally charge $10-$20 per ported telephone number.<\/p>\n (Also Known as: Local Number Porting or LNP Fees)<\/p>\n This is a one-time charge. which\u00a0covers the cost of porting (transferring) local, fax, and toll-free phone numbers from past phone companies to the desired new provider. They are charged on a per-line basis.<\/p>\n These fees are not required by the FCC, and are set by your provider.<\/p>\n Sun Communications is only allowed to charge what it costs to port a number, but these fees may vary based on location and carrier.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\t\t\tFeder, State & Local Tax<\/a>\n\t\t Virtual telephony companies are legally required to charge and remit customer taxes on the federal, state, and local levels.<\/p>\n The exact cost of telecommunications taxes will vary based on location as well as the specific type of service provided. However, many customers don’t realize that in some cases, the provider has control over how much it charges users for communication and use\u00a0tax.<\/p>\n VoIP taxation may include:<\/p>\n Providers are no longer required to charge a public switched telephone network (PSTN) tax.<\/p>\n\t\t\tGross Revenue Surcharge<\/a>\n\t\t The gross revenue surcharge covers the cost of federal and state taxation costs that providers (and all phone companies) are legally required to pay on their total revenue.<\/p>\n A customer’s gross revenue surcharge is their percentage of the taxes charged on the revenue they brought the provider.<\/p>\n Note that, while of course, tax laws payments are government-mandated, the gross revenue surcharge to customers is not.<\/p>\n\t\t\tIntercarrier Compensation<\/a>\n\t\t Interstate access charges are mandated by federal laws, while intrastate charges are managed on a local level.<\/p>\n Intercarrier compensation is fees that one carrier pays to another to make, send, and end telecommunications over their network.<\/p>\n The fees on your\u00a0business phone bill\u00a0will vary based on the location of the origination and termination of the call, whether the carriers are local, long-distance, or wireless, and type of call.<\/p>\n Intercarrier compensation is made up of access charges and reciprocal compensation.<\/p>\n Access charges are fees long-distance carriers pay to local service providers, allowing them to both make and terminate VoIP\u00a0calls on a local network.<\/p>\n Reciprocal compensation, on the other hand, are charges relating to calls made in the same local area.<\/p>\n In most cases, access charges will be more expensive than reciprocal compensation.<\/p>\n\t\t\tInternet Infrastructure Surcharge<\/a>\n\t\t While not mandated by the federal or state governments, some providers may charge customers to cover the costs of the local Internet infrastructure and network.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\t Some providers grossly inflate their cost to increase their profit margin.<\/p>\n At Sun Communications, we don’t use fees as a way to increase our profits.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When evaluating a company, understand which features are a part of a bundled service plan and which ones are purchased a la carte.<\/p>\n In many cases, providers will offer what appears to be a great deal on a monthly plan, but attempt to hide the fact that the most important features must be purchased in addition to the base plan.<\/p>\n This means you could end up paying more to improve the cheapest plan than you would if you had initially selected the more expensive one.<\/p>\n Note that add-on costs for additional audio call minutes, storage space, and advanced\u00a0call center metrics<\/a>\u00a0are standard.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Regulatory, Compliance, and Intellectual Property fees are not mandated by the government but are instead determined entirely by the provider.<\/p>\n These fees are designed to help the company pay for things like fraud prevention, trademark filing and patent\/copyright protection, and compliance with federal and state regulations.<\/p>\n RCIP fees are often charged on a per-line basis, which means they can add up quickly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As stated above, VoIP\u00a0service\u00a0providers are required to pay regulatory fees for the Federal Universal Service fees, Telecommunications Relay Service, and more.<\/p>\n While these fees are not illegal, they are often another way for providers to cram additional fees onto an already high monthly bill.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Similar to federal program fees, regulatory recovery fees also offset the cost of provider compliance with state, local, and federal telecommunications laws.<\/p>\n They may also include E911 system upkeep, covering the cost of filing and reporting requirements, and bookkeeping.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n While it’s normal to be charged a fee for online,\u00a0texting customer service<\/a>, and telephone support, providers also use the umbrella term “administrative charge” to tack on a monthly flat rate charge or additional fees that do not seem to cover a specific service.<\/p>\n This is especially common among resellers.<\/p>\n Providers should be able to adequately explain the reason for these charges, which are often used to offset government-mandated charges.<\/p>\n If these mysterious administrative charges are even more expensive than the monthly subscription cost, it’s a red flag.<\/p>\nE911 Fees<\/h3>\n
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USF Fees<\/h3>\n
Number Porting Fees<\/h3>\n
Federal, State, and Local Tax<\/h3>\n
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Gross Revenue Surcharge<\/h3>\n
Intercarrier Compensation<\/h3>\n
Internet Infrastructure Surcharge<\/h3>\n
Early Termination Fees<\/h3>\n
USF Fees<\/h3>\n
Number Porting Fees<\/h3>\n
Federal, State, and Local Tax<\/h3>\n
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Gross Revenue Surcharge<\/h3>\n
Intercarrier Compensation<\/h3>\n
Internet Infrastructure Surcharge<\/h3>\n
VoIP Fees to Watch Out For<\/h2>\n
Feature Add-on Fees<\/h3>\n
RCIP Fees<\/h3>\n
Federal Program Fees<\/h3>\n
Regulatory Recovery Fees<\/h3>\n
Administrative, Service, and Support Charges<\/h3>\n
\n\t\tPrivacy Policy\n\t<\/h1>\n\t