Ok, so I'm curious about all the data services available for wireless internet access over cellular providers. I go looking around and, having worked with a telecom, I look for the "hidden" charges as I know it is their favorite thing to do, sucker you in with a "low" price and then - BAM - your bill is not what you expected. I was shocked at how brazen and, in my opinion, fraudulent these charges have become. In no particular order:

• AT&T
  • Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge $1.25
  • Federal Universal Service Fund 11.0%
  • State Universal Service Fund 4.99%
  On a $59.99 plan, you pay AT&T - $70.83
  
  
• Verizon
  • Tolls, taxes, surcharges and other fees up to 34%
  • Monthly Federal Universal Service Charge is 11%
  • Wireless monthly Regulatory Charge - $0.07/line
  • Monthly Administrative Charge - $0.70/line
  On a $59.99 plan, you pay Verizon up to $87.76
  
  
• Sprint
  • One mention of an 11% "fee" charge was seen
  • $1.55 in line fees
  Sprint hides their charges extremely well, so this number is probably lower than it should be - $59.99 plan, you pay Sprint $68.14
  
  
• T-Mobile
  • Regulatory Programs Fee of $0.86 per line
  • Taxes, tolls, roaming, and other charges (including Universal Service charges) additional. Not specified, but when I looked at an example bill (for $39.95), I found:
    • Federal Excise Tax - $1.25
    • Federal Universal Service fund - $0.62
    • State Sales Tax - $2.60
    • City Utility Users tax - $2.55
    • Local Sales Tax - $0.56
    • State 911 - $0.20
    • County 911 - $0.50
    • Regulatory Programs fees - 0.86
  T-Mobile - best I can figure - $59.99, you pay $60.85
  
  
• Alltel - they won't even give you a clue what they charge, but someone who posted a complaint said (on a $39.95 bill):
  • Federal USF - $1.79
  • Regulatory & Admin Fee - $1.15
  So, $59.99, pay Alltel a minimum of $62.93

I find it astonishing that the businesses are allowed to setup a binding contract (usually for two years) based upon a figure you pay per month plus an undisclosed figure that they change change without consideration to you at any time for whatever reason and, if you don't like it, they can stick you with a disconnect fee. This is a classic bait and switch tactic - and it is difficult to actually figure out what a plan will end up costing - all of the above are based upon estimates and vague legalese wording.

And the real irony of this all, cell phone providers are considered to be among the worst customer service providers in business, give consumers the worst contract deals and have less the stellar product offerings (dropped calls anyone)... amazing

If you have read my most recent article, Tools for Designers: del.icio.us and Flickr', I made mention of starting a CMX Blog piece for anyone interested in sharing their design and inspiration tools,resourceful solutions for their business, and for self-organizational purposes.

Please leave a comment on this post to share your thoughts. I look forward to seeing what you're up to and if I can get new ideas and be inspired by your ideas.

Happy blogging!