Internet callers may see price hike

Phone customers who make calls through the Internet in Kansas may see higher bills come January. On Monday, the Kansas Corporation Commission issued an order requiring voice-over-Internet-protocol services -- also known as VoIP -- to kick into a state fund that assures phone service is available to everyone, especially hard-to-serve rural areas. Customers of regular phone companies have paid the Kansas universal service charge for years, but Internet phone providers haven't until now. The commission order requires VoIP companies to pay 4.65 percent of their Kansas revenue to the fund --the same as traditional phone companies pay. The VoIP companies can absorb the cost or pass it on to customers in a bill charge, said commission spokeswoman Rosemary Foreman. Because VoIP companies operate outside state regulation, no one knows how many Kansas customers they have, said Sandy Reams, managing auditor for the commission. She estimated that VoIP companies make about $35 million a year in Kansas. She estimated their universal service payments will be about $1.6 million.