Welcome. And thank you for allowing AT&T to serve you on the web. If after reviewing the information below, you still have questions on changes to your AT&T bill in connection with Access Reform and the Telecommunications Act of 1996, contact your AT&T Representative.

Background

In May 1997, the FCC issued two companion orders, which fall under the heading "Access Reform".

1. The Universal Service Order: Expanded the Universal Service Fund (USF) which will support telecommunications services for schools, libraries, low-income consumers, rural healthcare providers and high-cost, rural and insular areas.
2. The Access Charge Reform Order: Restructured the way access charges are collected, and established Presubscribed Interexchange Carrier Charge (PICC), a charge that Interexchange Carriers will pay Local Exchange Carriers.

Access reform will affect every Interexchange Carrier (IXC) in the industry, including AT&T. To date, access reform has resulted in only a small decrease in the switched access charges IXCs pay to local phone companies. Meanwhile, the new expenses that IXCs will incur are substantial.

To recover these expenses, AT&T began to bill two new charges in January, 1998:

1. The Universal Connectivity Charge, which recovers costs associated with the Universal Service Fund; and
2. The Carrier Line Charge, which recovers costs associated with PICC.

AT&T has implemented these charges to recover its costs, and does not expect to recover more than the costs it is incurring.