Thanks Ken. Yeah, it seems intentionally vague, and the price bump was definitely a surprise based on how they handled this under previous ownership.
On Wed, Apr 1, 2026 at 11:08 PM Ken Hohhof <[email protected]> wrote: > That’s above my pay grade, might need a lawyer to interpret. I don’t have > a good feeling about their use of the word mandate, it could be interpreted > narrowly or broadly. Like, if the city mandates they have to pay a fee to > repave the road in front of their building, can they pass that on to you? > Seems like there should be some delineation between their cost of doing > business, and a tax or fee directly connected to your circuit. Ideally it > should ALL be their cost of business, with the possible exception of a tax > they are expected to collect from you and remit to the government, like > sales tax. > > > > But I am not a lawyer and didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn Express last > night. In fact I’m not very good at deciphering lawyer speak. > > > > *From:* AF <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Jason McKemie > *Sent:* Wednesday, April 1, 2026 7:00 PM > *To:* AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group <[email protected]> > *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Wholesale Regulatory Fees > > > > New circuit with a company I have had circuits with for many years - > although they did get acquired. > > > > The line on the MSA is: > > > > "We bill and collect regulatory surcharges, taxes and fees that are set by > federal, state and local governments. These charges are subject to change > from time to time. If local/state or federal government mandate any > surcharges, taxes and fees they will be additional to the price below and > billed monthly." > > > > There was a similar statement on previous MSAs, however there was no > charge despite the same geographic endpoints on the transport circuits. > > > > On Wed, Apr 1, 2026, 6:50 PM Ken Hohhof <[email protected]> wrote: > > So this is a new circuit and they are disclosing the fees upfront? And I > assume it involves a term contract rather than month-to-month? > > > > Seems like the fact they call it a fee is irrelevant, add it to the > circuit cost and that’s what they are proposing to charge. > > > > I guess my question would be, by calling it a fee, does that mean they can > arbitrarily raise it at any time despite you having a contract price? > > > > Seems vaguely like the terms when leasing office space, it can be a gross > lease, net lease, triple net, etc. > > > > *From:* AF <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Jason McKemie > *Sent:* Wednesday, April 1, 2026 6:36 PM > *To:* AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group <[email protected]> > *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Wholesale Regulatory Fees > > > > So this is just certain providers tacking on whatever fees they feel like? > > > > I didn't pay anything when I had a transport on the state's network. I > suppose I'm just wondering if there is a legit regulatory basis for this > sort of thing or if it is arbitrarily defined by the provider. > > > > > > > > > > On Wed, Apr 1, 2026, 4:11 PM TJ Trout <[email protected]> wrote: > > Try buying a transport circuit directly from at&t, they charge 60% in fees! > > > > On Wed, Apr 1, 2026, 1:08 PM Josh Luthman <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Fees are by definition something to add to the bottom line. They are not > taxes. Fees and taxes are two different things. > > > > On Wed, Apr 1, 2026 at 3:06 PM Jason McKemie < > [email protected]> wrote: > > I just had my upstream start charging "regulatory fees" for some new > circuits. The transport is via AT&T. I've had multiple wholesale and ptp > circuits over the years and have never paid this sort of fee. They claim > they previously absorbed this as a cost of doing business, but the new > owners are re-structuring how this is handled. The fees amount to almost > 14% of the total transport. > > > > Is this an actual thing, or is it just a fake tax they're adding to pad > their bottom line? > > -- > AF mailing list > [email protected] > http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com > > -- > AF mailing list > [email protected] > http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com > > -- > AF mailing list > [email protected] > http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com > > -- > AF mailing list > [email protected] > http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com > > -- > AF mailing list > [email protected] > http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com >
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