Rates, Terms and Conditions

Rates, Terms and Conditions

The following miscellaneous rates, fees and charges apply. They are separate from the service-related rates and charges reflected elsewhere. In addition, General Terms and Conditions and the applicable Supplemental Product Terms and Conditions reflected elsewhere apply.

1. MISCELLANEOUS RATES, FEES AND CHARGES

1.1 Federal Universal Service Fund Surcharge: (FUSF) The Federal Universal Service Fund Surcharge is a charge shown as a percentage rate and applied by the Company on all invoiced interstate and international charges for services subject to the Universal Service Contribution Factor established by the FCC to support Universal Service programs. The Surcharge, which is identical to the Contribution Factor established by the FCC and revised regularly on a quarterly calendar year basis, may not be waived under any circumstance, is not eligible for discounting or promotions, and is applied to a Customer’s total net interstate and international charges, specifically, the charges remaining after the application of all available discounts and credits. The current Contribution Factor (and identical Surcharge rate) is located on the FCC web site at:

http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/contribution-factor-quarterly-filings-universal-service-fund-usf-management-support

1.2 Carrier Recovery Charge: The Carrier Recovery Charge is a monthly surcharge telecommunications carriers, such as Cooperative Communications, are permitted to assess in order to defray a portion of the costs to interconnect and terminate calls on other networks, fees paid to government programs such as Telecommunications Relay Service, along with other charges assessed by the FCC, and additional indirect costs associated with administrating and complying with government programs. This surcharge is not a customer tax or fee assessed by a government agency. The CRC is calculated as a percentage of the customer’s total Monthly Charges. The current percentage factor is .059 and is subject to change.

1.3 Presubscribed Interexchange Carrier Charge (PICC): The PICC is a monthly charge assessed on a per-line basis and applied to lines presubscribed to the Company’s interstate long distance services or to lines not presubscribed to the Company’s interstate long distance services but nevertheless employed by Customers selecting the Company as their service provider. The charge varies by service type.

1.4 Payphone Surcharge: A surcharge of $.55 will be assessed to each toll free call placed from a pay telephone, in addition to any usage charges or other surcharges applicable to the call.

1.5 Expedite Charges: An Expedite Charge will be imposed whenever the Company, upon Customer request, undertakes to perform the installation of Service and Service-related components outside normal scheduling intervals and, as a result thereof, incurs costs, including those billed by third parties upon whom the Company is reliant in satisfying the Customer’s request. The Expedite Charge is a Non-Recurring Company charge and/or a pass-through of charges imposed by third parties.

1.6 Taxes: Service rates and charges are exclusive of all taxes, fees, tax-related surcharges and tax-like surcharges, including, but not limited to, the Subscriber Line Charge and those charges set forth in Section 1 herein. Customer shall be responsible for, and must pay, all taxes, including, without limitation, sales, use, excise, gross receipts, value added, access, bypass, franchise, telecommunications, consumption and other taxes, fees, duties, charges or surcharges, however designated, and imposed directly on the Company based on the provision, sale or use of Service. If Customer believes it, or the Services it receives and uses, are exempt from any tax, Customer will provide Company with a properly executed exemption certificate in a form acceptable to the Company that evidences the exemption claimed. In no event will Customer be responsible for any income taxes levied on Company or any underlying carrier’s net income. Customer’s obligation of pay applicable taxes (and all other charges due and owing for Service) shall survive the expiration of the Agreement.

1.7 911 System/Emergency Response Fee: The 911 System-Emergency Response Fee is assessed on all local customers and is billed on a per line basis. The monies collected from this surcharge are remitted back to the state for use in funding the 911 or Enhanced 911 (E911) Emergency Systems. The current charge is $.90 per line.

1.8 Local Number Portability Surcharge (LNP): LNP is a service that allows customers to keep their telephone number if they switch from one local telephone company to another. The LNP surcharge is a per-line charge assessed on and included in the PICC charge of the end users billing. The monies are used to assist in recovering the cost of configuring and maintaining the network to provide this service. The current charge is $.23 per line.

1.9 Regulatory Fee: The Regulatory Fee is a monthly charge that allows the Company to recover costs imposed by federal and state regulation including, but not limited to, federal and state utility assessments, funding Telecommunications Relay Service for the hearing-impaired, national number administration and administration fees. The fee is calculated at .040 percent of the Customer’s total gross charges.

2.0 New York State Customers:
New York State Department of Public Service (DPS)
DPS Complaint webpage: www.dps.ny.gov/complaints
DPS Helpline: 800-342-3377