Telephone charges increased Telephone rates for both residential residen-tial and single-line business telephone tele-phone customers throughout the nation will go up 60 cents a month on Dec. 1 when the federally authorized au-thorized Subscriber Line Charge (SLC) is scheduled to increase. At the same time, most interstate long distance telephone rates will decrease. de-crease. The subscriber line charge is part of a Federal Communications Commission plan to restructure pricing in the telecommunications industry. Certain other business line services are also affected. The charge is listed as a separate item on customers' local service bills. "Many customers will see no change in their total telephone bill because most long distance companies com-panies will lower their charges when the local increases go into effect," said Carol Dunlap, U S West Communications spokesperson. spokesper-son. Increases in the SLC are offset, dollar for dollar, by decreases in the access fees paid by long distance companies. The FCC ordered AT&T to pass along those savings to customers through reduced rates.' Competing interstate long distance companies usually follow with similar rate reductions. The SLC is part of an overall FCC plan to price telecommunications telecommunica-tions services closer to actual costs and help pay the costs of facilities and cable to connect a customer's home or business telephone with a company's central office. Part of the cost of that line is subsidized by long distance companies who also pay a fee for access to the local network. U S West Communications has filed tariffs with the FCC to implement imple-ment the order. In Utah, which has a certified FCC Lifeline plan, qualified Lifeline Life-line customers are eligible to have part or all of their monthly SLC waived.