Bill Would Limit Overseas Phone Costs

Congress has passed the Call Home Act of 2006, which directs the Federal Communications Commission, in coordination with the Department of Defense and the Department of State, to seek reduced phone rates for service members deployed overseas. Currently, Alaskans serving in Iraq and Afghanistan pay as much as 33 cents a minute to call their families back home, according to Senate officials. The legislation directs the FCC to evaluate and analyze the costs of calls to and from official duty stations, evaluate methods of reducing rates including the deployment of new technology such as Voice-over Internet Protocol, encourage phone companies to adopt flexible billing for troops and their dependents, and seek agreements with foreign governments to reduce international surcharges on phone calls.