A rate hike on phone calls in Pennsylvania could have a broader impact on VoIP costs in the near future. The increased charges are designed to pay for the ever-rising costs of maintaining county-operated 911 emergency systems.
A recent article in the Chambersburg Public Opinion reveals that residents of Franklin County, PA currently pay for approximately half of the cost of the county’s 911 system, via their real estate taxes. But the other half is derived from surcharges assessed on cell phone and landline usage as well as VoIP calls. The intent is to shift the overall cost of maintenance away from property taxes and back to user fees, which could impact VoIP callers in the area.
According to Douglas Hill, executive director of the County Commissioners’ Association of Pennsylvania, the group is negotiating with telecom carriers and emergency personnel to draft legislation that will restructure the entire state’s way of handling emergency dispatch systems.
"The intent is to cover all costs," said Hill. "The technology changed, and costs changed, and the fee structure hasn't kept up."
And while VoIP comprises the fastest growing segment of phone use in the state, the $1 per month surcharge for VoIP callers hasn’t changed since 2008. The same surcharge applies to wireless callers and hasn’t been updated since 2004.
To put those numbers in perspective, it cost $3.9 million to operate Franklin County’s 911 emergency center in 2012. But the state only collected about $1.15 million in wireless surcharges, $250,000 in VoIP surcharges and $500,000 in landline charges, creating an obvious shortfall that property owners made up for in their taxes.
With the cost of maintaining and improving emergency systems on the rise as new technologies are being incorporated and supported, the burden of funding will now be shifted entirely to callers if the legislation passes. With some researchers predicting worldwide VoIP traffic will reach 156 petabytes per month next year, VoIP callers in Pennsylvania may be in for a surprise expense.