On Sep 1, 2009, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, (PUC) ordered all rural telephone companies receiving Idaho USF (Universal Service Fund) payments to increase their rates on local telephone service. Direct Communications was ordered to increase its rate on residential service to $25.76 per line. This rate change must come into effect by Jan 1, 2010. You will see the new rate on your January billing statement.

This rate increase was not initiated by Direct Communications. USF is the primary way that rural telephone companies are funded. The sparse population in rural areas could never support with customer revenues alone the high cost of a modern telecommunications network--these costs are recovered by payments from state and national USF pools. Of course, with state aid comes state regulation, and so our prices are set by the Idaho PUC.

We are grateful to be able to provide state-of-the-art telephone and internet services to our rural customers, thanks to the USF system. If you have any complaints or questions, please contact the Idaho PUC, at (208) 334-0300 or visit http://www.puc.idaho.gov/

Read the full Idaho PUC order here.