Doing Business With Us

Questions About Your Bill: Notify your local telephone company of a billing error by telephone or in writing within 60 days of receiving the bill. You have the right to withhold payment of any disputed amount pending completion of the billing review. All actions to collect that disputed amount will be suspended until a review is completed.

The FCC also requires disclosures to telephone subscribers, which are as follows:
Your local exchange and long distance service cannot be disconnected or interrupted as a result of your failure to pay charges for interstate pay-per-call service, charges for interstate 900 pay-per-call services provided under a presubscription, comparable arrangement, or charges you have disputed for interstate tariffed collect information services.

You may obtain blocking of access to 900 pay-per-call services where it is technically feasible. Requests for blocking and requests for unblocking will be subject to a reasonable one time fee. Our tariffs include the applicable terms and conditions. You have a right not to be billed for pay-per-call services not offered in compliance with Federal laws and regulations established under Titles II or III of the Telephone Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act. Your access to 900 pay-per-call service may be involuntarily blocked for failure to pay legitimate pay-per-call charges.

Autopay: You can choose to have TelAlaska bill your credit card each month automatically and send you a copy of your statement for your record. With autopay you:
Save time and money.
Take advantage of credit card perks, such as airline miles.
Do not have to worry about the check arriving on time.
To sign up for autopay, click here.

Repair Service: Call 611 for repairs.
During working hours, Monday through Friday, you can reach Customer Service, by dialing 611, who will put in a trouble report for a technician to be dispatched as soon as possible. If after hours and it’s an emergency, call 611, and our answering service will direct your call to the technician on call. You are responsible for all inside wiring, your telephone, cord and jack. Your local telephone company is responsible for all line and equipment maintenance to the customer interface box, usually located outside your residence or business. If the problem is in our lines, you will not be charged for repairs. However, unless you have an Inside Wire Maintenance Agreement with us, you will be charged for repairs to the wiring, jacks and phones from the Customer Interface Box into your home.

Service Requests: Problems with your telephone service can be caused by our lines or switching equipment - or there may be something wrong with one or more of your telephones. The source of the problem can make an important difference to you.

When you call our Repair Service with a service problem, we’ll do our best to locate and clear the trouble. If it is found to be in our lines or switching equipment, we will take quick action to correct the problem and, of course, there is no charge. If you determine that the source of the problem is the telephone that you own, then you should follow the instructions on the warranty for repair. These steps can help you determine why your phone is not working: Check to see if all of your telephones are hung up.

Perform a visual inspection of all exposed wiring and connections for damaged or loose connections.

When there is more than one outlet, check each instrument at each outlet to determine if proper operation can be obtained from any outlet. If proper operation is obtained from any outlet, the trouble has been isolated to an instrument or house wiring.

In order to isolate an outlet jack or house wiring problems, simply move a working telephone to each outlet in the house to determine which location is causing the trouble.

A test point device (Network Interface) may have been installed where your telephone service wire comes into your premises. This test point is there to assist in isolating your wiring trouble from the telephone company’s trouble. Follow the steps below: Residential Network Interface Device Information: Inside cover has this information for step by step troubleshooting. CAUTION - REMOVE PLUG FROM TEST JACK BEFORE MAKING WIRE CHANGES.

TO TEST LINE - REMOVE PLUG FROM TEST JACK, PLUG IN WORKING PHONE. IF YOU CAN MAKE A CALL, PROBLEM IS INSIDE HOUSE. IF YOU CANNOT MAKE A CALL, UNPLUG PHONE, REPLACE PLUG IN TEST JACK AND CONTACT PHONE COMPANY.

Plug - (RJ 11 Jack) Squeeze top of plug and gently pull straight out.

Inside Wire, Binding Posts. (All posts have color coded wires terminated to them).

Inside Wire is the responsibility of the customer. Terminate your inside wire to the binding posts, color to color. (Green to Green, Red to Red, etc...)

Inside Wire Maintenance Plan: For just pennies a day you can rest easy knowing that TelAlaska will repair and maintain your telephone equipment and lines up to and including your inside telephone jack. Your only responsibility will be for your own phone and its wire to the jack. The cost is $2.00 per month.

New Service Requests: To order new service or change existing telephone service, please give us a call and have the following information ready:
The type of service you require.
Whether you need jacks or inside wiring installed.
The type of listing you want in the phone book.
Your employment and credit information.
Location description and/or address and alternative number where you can be reached.

New Construction Service Requests: Call as soon as possible to set up service to a new building or one that has not had previous telephone service.

Telephone facilities may not be available in all locations and some delays to your request for service may occur. We will provide service to these areas as quickly as it is possible to obtain necessary easements and perform the construction.

How to Reduce Unwanted Calls
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have developed a national “do-not-call” registry intended to assist consumers in stopping most unwanted telephone marketing calls. Telemarketers are now required to access this database every 90 days to remove the phone numbers listed from their call lists. There is no charge to consumers to register their phone numbers.

There are two ways to register your phone number on the “do-not-call” registry:

• Visit www.donotcall.gov and follow the instructions for registering. You will need to confirm your registration by responding to an email that is sent to you.
• Call 1-888-382-1222 from the telephone number you wish to register.

Please keep in mind that the restriction does not include all types of telephone marketing calls. You may still receive calls from political organizations, charities, telephone surveyors or companies with which you have an established business relationship. An established business relationship exists if, in the last 18 months, you have made an inquiry, application, purchase, or transaction regarding products or services offered by the person or entity involved.

Regulations, Rules & Tariffs: Your telephone company operates under the regulations, rules and tariffs in compliance with Federal and State requirements and laws. Copies of our rules, regulations and rates are available for public inspection during business hours at TelAlaska’s Anchorage corporate office or at our local offices by appointment through customer service.

• Federal Excise Tax – TelAlaska is required to collect this three percent (3%) tax mandated by the federal government on local telecommunications service.
• Subscriber Line Charge (SLC) – The SLC was established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to cover costs of the local phone network used to originate and terminate interstate long distance calls that are not recovered through charges paid by long distance companies.
  • Residential or Single Line Business – $6.50
  • Multi-Line Business - $9.20
• Federal Universal Service Charge (FUSC) – The Universal Service Fund is a federal program funded by the Federal Universal Service Charge (FUSC). The program is designed to keep local phone service rates affordable in all areas of the United States, including higher cost rural areas. The fund also supports schools and libraries, rural health care providers, and low income consumers. This rate may change quarterly.
  • As of October 1, 2009, the FUSC rate is 12.3% assessed on the customer's interstate access service charges. It also applies to international long distance chargers, and the Subscriber Line Charge.

• Network Access Fee (NAF) – The Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) adopted a new Intrastate Access structure to lower the rates that long distance phone companies pay for using the local exchange companies’ networks. As a result of the change, the Commission instituted a Network Access Fee or NAF beginning April 1, 2005. Although not required, the surcharge provides an opportunity for long distance carriers to reduce in-state long distance calling rates. The RCA has set the NAF at $3.00 per line as of April 1, 2007.
• Enhanced 911 (E-911) Emergency System Surcharge – The E-911 system provides support for emergency communication services provided by municipalities. The surcharge is authorized by Alaska law (AS 29.35.131-29.35.173). The statutes provide that an E-911 surcharge of up to $2.00 per month per local access line and wireless telephone number may be imposed where an enhanced 911 system is utilized. TelAlaska remits the proceeds from these surcharges, less a small administrative fee, directly to the municipalities that have adopted them by ordinance.
• The monthly rates that apply to local and wireless phone service are as follows:
  • Seward/Moose Pass/Cooper Landing – $1.15 per access line and wireless phone number
  • Anchorage – $.50 per access line and wireless phone number
  • Nome - $.75 per access line and wireless phone number
• Regulatory Cost Charge (RCC) – The Regulatory Cost Charge is a surcharge applied to all regulated in-state retail customer billings to pay the local and long distance phone companies’ share of the budget of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.
  • The rate as of July 1, 2008 is set at 2.347% of billing for local phone charges and 1.098%
    for Intrastate long distance service billings.
• Alaska Universal Service Fund Surcharge (AUSF) – AUSF is a surcharge on a customer’s local and Intrastate services to pay the state portion of the Lifeline Program. This program helps qualified low income customers receive basic telephone service. The surcharge also provides financial support for certain high-cost rural companies and offers limited assistance for the operation of public interest pay telephones.
  • As of January 1, 2008, the rate is 0.77%.
• Universal Access Surcharge (UAS) for Telecommunications Relay Service – Alaska Statute 42.05.296 requires that telephone companies provide service to the deaf, hard of hearing and speech impaired subscribers so that they can communicate by telephone. The regulations require cost recovery through a surcharge added to the local service rate. The rates are as follows:
  • Residential, per line or trunk $.10
  • Single Line Business per line or trunk $.10
  • Multi-line Business including CO Centrex, per line or trunk $.20
• Local Sales Taxes – TelAlaska is required to collect local taxes on behalf of organized cities and boroughs within Alaska.