> > Subject:  INTERNET TOLLS AND SURCHARGES
> >
> >
> > CNN has reported that within the next two weeks Congress is going to
> vote on
> > allowing telephone companies to charge a toll fee for Internet access.
> >
> > Translation: Every time you send a long distance e-mail you will
> receive a
> > long distance charge. This will get costly. Please visit the following
> web
> > site and file a complaint.  You can complain directly to your
> > Congressperson. If you use the Internet and / or e-mail this is an
> issue.
> > The following address will allow you to send an e-mail on this subject
> > DIRECTLY to your Congressperson.
> >
> >       http://www.house.gov/writerep <http://www.house.gov/writerep>
> >
> > Pass this on to your friends. It is urgent!
> >
> > WAIT, THERE'S MORE. In addition, the last few months the Government has
> been
> > attempting  to quietly push through legislation that will affect your
> use
> > of the Internet.
> >
> > Under proposed legislation the U.S. Postal Service will be attempting
> to
> > bilk email users out of "alternate  postage fees".  Bill 602P will
> permit
> > the Federal Govt. to charge a five cent ($.05) surcharge on every email
> > delivered, by billing Internet Service Providers at the source. The
> > consumer would then be billed in turn by the ISP.
> >
> >  The U.S. Postal Service is claiming that lost revenue due to the
> > proliferation of email is costing nearly $230,000,000 in
> > revenue per year.  You may have noticed their recent ad campaign
> "There is
> > nothing like a letter".  Since the
> > average citizen received about 10 pieces of email per day in 1998, the
> cost
> > to the typical individual would be
> > an additional 50 cents per day, or over $180 dollars per year, above
> and
> > beyond their regular Internet costs.
> > Note that this would be money paid directly to the U.S. Postal Service
> for
> > a service they do not even provide.
> > You are already paying an exorbitant price for snail mail because of
> > bureaucratic inefficiency. It currently
> > takes up to 6 days for a letter to be delivered from New York to
> Buffalo.
> > If the U.S. Postal Service is allowed to
> > tinker with email, it will mark the end of the "free" Internet in the
> > United States.  One congressman, Tony Schnell(R)
> > has even suggested a "twenty to forty dollar per month surcharge on
> all
> > Internet service" above and beyond
> > the government's proposed email charges.
> >
> > Send this e-mail to EVERYONE on your list, and tell all your friends
> and
> > relatives to write to their congressman and say "No!" to Bill 602P.
> >
> > It will only take a few moments of your time, and could very well be
> > instrumental in killing this bill.
> >
> > REMEMBER THESE ARE TWO SEPARATE ISSUES THAT EFFECT ALL OF US ONLINE.
> >  LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD NOW, NOT AFTER.


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Steve Cole
Outer Banks Solutions, Inc.
Phone: 919.231.2171  Fax: 919.231.7077
Sales:  800.558.5336
[log in to unmask]
www.outerbankssolutions.com
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