Phone

Services are provided on a month-to-month basis, beginning on the day of installation. Charges for installation and one month’s service must be paid when requesting service. You will be billed monthly in advance. A change in services provided or location will incur a service or upgrade fee. If service is discontinued due to nonpayment, the past due charge and reconnect fee will be required to reconnect the service.

The following charges may appear on your monthly Pioneer Communications Bill.

• Access Recovery Charge:
  • The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted significant reforms to regulations concerning the recovery of eligible telecommunications carriers’ costs of providing interstate services and access to the telephone network on November 18, 2011. In its order, the FCC authorized a new per line fee, known as an Access Recovery Charge (ARC), which became effective for Pioneer Communications’ telephone service customers in July 2012 and is subject to change annually.
• Basic Service:
  • This is a basic monthly service rate for dial tone, allowing you to make and receive local (non-toll) calls. Failure to pay the local service rate and applicable taxes and fees will result in disconnection and loss of service.
• Carrier Cost Recovery Fee:
  • This fee aids Pioneer Communications in recovering costs associated with providing state-to-state long distance service, including expenses for national regulatory fees; this recovery fee is not an end-user tax or charge imposed by the government.
• 911 Charge:
  • A state/local government charge to fund emergency 911 services, such as fire and rescue.
• Federal Universal Service Charge:
  • The federal government established national programs to support universal telephone service. This fund assists with the costs of providing “affordable” services to low-income individuals and to residents in rural, high-cost areas. In addition, Congress has expanded the program to help schools, libraries, and rural health care providers obtain advanced services, such as internet access. All providers of telecommunications services contribute to the support of these programs. The amount on your bill depends on the services you order and the number of telephone lines you have; generally, the surcharge is applied per line, and this rate may be adjusted quarterly. Federal Communications Commission’s website. 
• Kansas Universal Service Fund: 
  • This is a charge applied as a percentage of your intrastate long-distance toll charges, mandated by the Kansas Corporation Commission, to ensure all customers in rural, high-cost areas of the state have access to affordable service. This charge supports the Kansas Universal Service Fund (KUSF), which supports the Kansas Lifeline Program, Kansas Relay Services, the Telecommunications Access Program, as well as network enhancements and upgrades in rural areas. For more information on the Kansas Universal Service Fund, please visit the KCC website.
• Federal, State and Local Taxes:
  • These are excise and franchise taxes for telecommunications services assessed by the federal government, the State of Kansas, and local cities and counties. The taxes will vary depending on your location.
• Federal Subscriber Line Charge & Federal Subscriber Multi-Line Charge:
  • This charge is created and regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and allows local phone companies to recover a portion of the costs associated with interstate access to the local phone network. The Multi-Line Charge applies to individuals or businesses that have more than one line.