West Virginians to Receive $26.2 Million in Credits On Phone Bills This Year
Full Transparency
Our new editorial transparency tool uses blockchain technology to permanently log all changes made to official releases after publication. However, this specific post is not being tracked. Please visit our media contacts page to request more details regarding this post.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginians will save a total of $26.2 million on their local phone bills this year as a result of a federal program that helps keep local phone rates affordable.
Beginning with January bills, residential customers will see a monthly credit of up to $4 in their basic local telephone service. Business customers will receive a credit of up to $6.50 monthly.
"We're grateful for any assistance that helps our customers," said Gale Given, president of Verizon West Virginia. The monies for the credit come from a Universal Service Fund established by the Federal Communications Commission to help predominantly rural states curb the high cost of providing local phone service. This is the second year in a row that Verizon West Virginia has received a subsidy.
"It's extremely costly to offer phone service in West Virginia because of our mountainous terrain and largely rural population," Given explained.
The West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) has decided how the dollars will be spread among the company's customers. Residential customers with Frequent Caller service will receive a monthly credit of $4 or 14 percent off the basic rate.
Monthly credits for other basic residential services are as follows: Community Plus Caller, $2.80; Community Caller, $2; and Thrifty Caller, $1.
Business customers with Frequent Caller service will receive a monthly credit of $6.50, a 12-percent reduction off the basic rate. Those businesses with Thrifty Caller service will be credited $3 each month.
This year's subsidy from the federal Universal Service Fund is nearly $5 million below last year's allocation. The amount of the allocation is based on a formula that examines Verizon's total telephone access lines in the state and the cost of providing service to those lines.
