Frontera Telecom

Miscellaneous Charges and Taxes

The following taxes, charges, and surcharges may apply to the services you receive from Frontera.
State Sales Tax	Texas state sales and use tax, currently 6.25% on all calls that originate and/or terminate in the State of Texas.
Local Sales Tax	Additional sales tax, up to 2%, charged by cities, counties, and special purpose districts in the State of Texas. Rates vary by entity, and not all entities charge local sales tax for telecommunications services.
Federal Excise Tax	Currently 3%; applies to all long distance calls and local telephone service.
Federal USF Surcharge	This is the mechanism for funding the federal Universal Service Fund (USF). The FUSF charge is assessed to all telecommunications companies with interstate operations, including long-distance carriers, wireless companies, pager companies, and payphone companies. The amount collected through this charge funds telecommunications services' discounts to schools, libraries, rural health care providers, and low-income customers; it also provides funds to local telephone companies that serve rural, insular, and high-cost areas. The FCC permits telecommunications companies that pay the charge to recover it from their customers. The current rate is around 9.5%.
Texas USF Surcharge	The TUSF allows affordable service to high-cost rural customers, funds the Relay Texas and Specialized Telecommunications Assistance programs for the hearing-disabled, and funds telecommunications services discounts to low-income customers (Tel-Assistance and Lifeline). The rate is currently 3.6% on all taxable telecommunications services.
Texas Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund Reimbursement	The Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund (TIF) charge funds the provision of advanced telecommunications services to public schools, hospitals, and libraries. Such funds are distributed through grants and loans. All telecommunications utilities and commercial mobile service providers pay 1.25 % of their taxable telecommunications receipts into the TIF; the total amount in the TIF may not exceed $1.5 billion. The charges assessed by affected companies vary.
Equalization Surcharge	Previously the 911 surcharge and the poison control surcharge, which were combined into this new surcharge. This surcharge generates additional funds for regions that do not collect sufficient funds through the 9-1-1 emergency service fee. The state 9-1-1 advisory commission imposes this surcharge on customers receiving intrastate long-distance service. The surcharge also funds six regional poison control centers that are open 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week, and toll-free referral and information services. The surcharge cannot exceed 6/10ths of 1% of the charges for intrastate long-distance service. The PUC must review the establishment of the surcharge. Regional 9-1-1 planning commissions receive an allocation of the revenue to implement 9-1-1 service, while the Texas Department of Health receives an allocation to fund poison research and maintenance of the poison control centers.
Public Payphone Surcharge	This surcharge, which is currently $0.75, recovers fees that have to paid to payphone service providers for the use of their payphones to complete long distance calls using either prepaid or postpaid calling cards.