High usage leads to FairPoint’s ‘cost recovery’ fee

FairPoint Communications says that an added monthly charge of $2.97 to its customer’s bills is needed to keep up with the heavy use of bandwidth by an ever-increasing number of connected devices.

FairPoint spokeswoman Angelynne Beaudry told the Bangor Daily News that the company informed its customers of the “broadband cost recovery fee” on its website and in a mailing sent out last month.

But that hasn’t stopped a few customers from calling the Public Advocate Office, which represents Maine utility consumers in matters covered by the Public Utilities Commission, for clarification. Timothy Schneider, Maine’s public advocate, told the BDN that officials were worried that the wording of the fee may lead some to believe it came from regulators.

“This is an unregulated service. There’s not really anything we can do about it. It’s not within our jurisdiction,” Schneider told the BDN. “Our primary concern is that customers may have signed up for service being promised at one rate, and now with this additional charge, it’s another.”

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