er fees and taxes. We can get by this point fairly quickly by using the simple technique our elected governing brethren use when exercising their awesome responsibility to levy taxes-simply tell the merchant to charge and immediately remit a flat percentage against an item or on the total amount. Maybe we should add on one other little detail. How many taxing entities are there? Hard to say, but we can estimate starting with one federal, 50 state, and thousands of local municipal and county entities who want to charge some small amount for the privilege of paying a telephone bill within the boundaries of the governmental jurisdictions where one lives and works. Now we are at a point in our anatomy and pathology where we have written a high-level description of the method for arriving at the charges for one or a primary telephone line for 1 month of service. With the magic of simple addition and multiplication on an already complex process, we can contemplate printing and presenting a bill for payment. What does the bill look like? First there's a summary of fixed monthly charges for subscribing to the service, complete with taxes. Then there's the long distance calling summary, complete with details about the time the call started, duration, and charges for each call. For one call, or none, add one more page for long distance service. For the 21st call, add one more page. From the service provider perspective, we now have a streamlined process where we can bill for the majority of our customer base as long as they are single line customers. Oh, and by the way, because we are considering this from the telephone company's perspective, we also have a streamlined provisioning process whereby every single order PRACTICAL IP AND TELECOM FOR BROADCAST ENGINEERING AND OPERATIONS for changes or new service drives the single line billing process. What happens when someone wants a second telephone line? Simple answer: Install one and send a second bill each month. By now your hair is hurting, or if it isn't, then get ready,