Your monthly invoice includes a line item called REG COMP, short for Regulatory Compliance. This charge covers the taxes, fees, and surcharges that come with providing your business phone and messaging services. It includes things like:
- E911 Registration and Service Fees: These cover the costs of ensuring that emergency calls to 911 are properly routed to the correct public safety answering point (PSAP) and that your location information is accurately provided to emergency services.
- Federal Universal Service Fund (USF) Contributions: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandates that all telecommunications providers contribute to the USF, which helps support affordable telecommunications services for low-income consumers, rural healthcare providers, and schools and libraries.
- FCC Regulatory Fees: These are annual fees the FCC charges providers to cover the cost of regulating the industry.
- Local Number Portability Administration (LNPA) Fees: These cover the costs associated with allowing you to keep your existing phone numbers when switching providers.
- Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) Fund Contributions: These contributions support services that enable individuals with hearing or speech disabilities to communicate by telephone.
- STIR/SHAKEN and 10DLC Compliance Costs: These are associated with authenticating your outbound calls and registering your business SMS campaigns, so your calls and texts reach customers without being blocked or flagged. More on this below.
Many other phone companies list similar charges as separate surcharges, recovery fees, or other itemized fees on their bills. At UpLync Communications, we bundle many of these into a single, transparent REG COMP charge to simplify your invoicing.
Why voice and texting compliance costs exist: STIR/SHAKEN and 10DLC
Two federal and carrier-driven frameworks also factor into REG COMP:
STIR/SHAKEN (Secure Telephone Identity Revisited/Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using toKENs) for Voice Calls: This technology acts like a digital "signature" attached to every phone call. It allows the receiving phone company to verify that the number displayed on your caller ID is legitimate and hasn't been "spoofed" or faked by scammers. The goal is to increase trust in the phone network, reduce unwanted robocalls, and help you identify legitimate calls from important contacts.
- 10DLC (10-Digit Long Code) Registration for SMS Messaging: This is the system that major mobile carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) use for businesses sending text messages from standard 10-digit numbers. It requires registering your business and each type of message campaign you send (appointment reminders, alerts, etc.) with The Campaign Registry. Registered traffic gets better deliverability; unregistered traffic gets throttled, surcharged, or blocked outright. Carriers charge providers like UpLync per-message and per-campaign fees to maintain this system, and we cover the registration, vetting, and ongoing monitoring required to ensure reliable message deliverability.
Why this charge can change over time
Compliance requirements in this space are set by the FCC and major carriers, not by UpLync, and they continue to evolve. When those costs or requirements change, REG COMP may be adjusted to reflect that, and we'll always let you know ahead of time.
We handle the certificates, registrations, and monitoring so you don't have to. That means your calls get authenticated, and your texts actually reach customers instead of getting blocked or flagged as spam. If you have questions about your REG COMP charge,
contact our support team anytime.