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February 17, 1999 11:55 AM, EST

Trucking companies that receive calls to their toll-free numbers from pay phones got a slight reprieve when a surcharge on such services was lowered by more than four cents a call.

On Feb. 5, the Federal Communications Commission announced that it would lower the charge to 24 cents. The agency instituted a 28.4-cent fee in October 1997 to compensate owners of public telephone for all calls to toll-free numbers, such as those with 800 and 888 prefixes.

The move brought a storm of protest from trucking companies that use their toll-free lines to receive calls from drivers on the road. Most of those calls originate from pay phones, often at truck stops.

Trucking put the cost of the 28-cent surcharge at $70 million a year.

The FCC also froze the surcharge at 24-cents, meaning it would remain at that level even if the coin rate for pay-phone calls increased. The fee had been based on the coin rate, minus 6.6 cents.

Walter B. McCormick Jr., president of American Trucking Associations, said the commission’s move was a “positive step in the right direction.” He said the 15% reduction will save trucking companies about $11 million a year.

For the full story, see the Feb. 15 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.