"Free" calls for 28 cents

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 1/1/1998

There ain't no such thing as a free lunch--or a free phone call, either. And that's about to hit businesses that rely on toll-free calls hard.

As a result of a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule, local phone companies now may charge 28.4 cents for each "800'' or "888'' toll-free call made from their pay phones. Long-distance phone companies are passing that fee along to their toll-free service customers, which include thousands of trucking companies, airlines, and other transportation businesses. Many of those businesses, along with other groups that rely on toll-free calls--among them crisis centers and consumer groups--have formed a coalition to petition the FCC to lower the fees.

The American Trucking Associations estimates that the new fee could cost trucking companies alone as much as $70 million a year. Robert Voltmann, CEO of the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), says that the average member of his organization takes almost 48,000 calls from pay phones each year, and that the fee would add thousands of dollars to members' costs. Lana Batts, president of the Truckload Carriers Association, says calls by drivers from pay phones represent anywhere from a quarter to three-quarters of truckload carriers' total phone bills. Drivers for many, if not most, trucking companies use pay phones several times a day to check voice mail, obtain load and dispatch information, and to call home.

The FCC rule derives from a telecommunications law adopted by Congress. Part of the law allows local phone companies to be compensated for toll-free calls made on their equipment. Initially, the FCC attempted to impose a 35-cent fee, but after a protest led by long-distance company MCI, it rolled the fee back to the current 28.4 cents. That is still unreasonably high, opponents argue. The per-call cost for phone companies is about 6 cents, Voltmann says.

Voltmann adds that the telecommunications act was intended to create competition among providers in local markets, which should keep fees down. However, it is not yet a competitive market. In the meantime, says Voltmann, "You can't drive an 80,000-pound rig around looking for a [particular] phone."

In addition to the ATA and the TIA, logistics-related members of the coalition include the Truckload Carriers Conference, the Air Transport Association, and the American Movers Conference. Other members include the Consumer Federation of America and the National Network to End Domestic Violence.

The coalition is not counting on the FCC to act favorably. The group also is asking Congress to make the fee part of its FCC oversight hearings. If neither avenue produces the desired results, the group will try a different tactic. Says Voltmann, "If push comes to shove, we'll take them to court."