The FCC won’t apply regulatory fees to calls placed by military p...

last year that requires the agency to reduce calling costs for armed forces personnel. AT&T said the order will let it offer “more affordable phone service” to military personnel, which is “the least that we can do considering the sacrifices” of the military. The agency won’t apply Universal Service Fund and Telecom Relay Service contribution requirements, saying this is “an initial but immediate response” to the Act. It said it also will issue a notice of proposed rulemaking soon that will propose additional steps the FCC might take to carry out the Act. “In the interim, we invite military personnel and their families, as well as other parties who have experience calling to or from American military bases abroad, to provide us with first-hand information concerning the various means Armed Forces personnel currently use to communicate,” the FCC said. The Commissioners issued a joint statement saying they “applaud Congress for passing legislation designed to reduce one of the many burdens facing our troops stationed around the globe.” Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Stevens (R-Alaska) said the FCC action is a first step in carrying out the Act that the Committee pushed through Congress last year. “As a former military pilot stationed overseas during World War II, I know how much it means to be able to communicate with families and loved ones at home,” Stevens said: “It can cost soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan as much as 33 cents a minute to call their families in Alaska.” The FCC action will immediately lower phone costs for military families, he added.