Expanded Local Calling (ELC) Fee & Surcharge

Provides funding for Expanded Local Calling services to allow a larger local calling area for certain customers, primarily those in rural areas.

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Who put it on the bill?

State Legislature

What is it?

Expanded local calling (ELC) service allows customers primarily in rural exchanges to have a larger local calling scope. For many rural areas, services within much of the community of interest (schools, doctors, county government, and hospitals) were outside the normal local calling areas, and calls to these locations were long-distance. Cities or customers within local calling areas can petition for ELC calling to adjacent exchanges. Petitions must confirm a community of interest with signatures and majority of customers that will encounter additional charge for extended calling must agree. If the cost of providing ELC service exceeds the revenues the company offering the service receives, state law allows the telephone company to surcharge all of its customers in the state to cover the lost revenue.

Who gets the money?

The local telephone companies providing ELC service to their customers get the revenue for recovery of cost of providing the services including the loss revenue associated with converting previously long-distance calling to local calling. Companies must submit their cost recovery amounts for Commission approval.