"This fee helps AT&T recover costs associated with providing state-to-state and international long distance service, including expenses for national regulatory

"This fee helps AT&T recover costs associated with providing state-to-state and international long distance service, including expenses for national regulatory fees and programs, as well as connection and account servicing charges..." It's a regulatory fee that AT&T gets hit with, so they pass it on to customers. Other than the fact that I'd prefer they absorb the cost, I don't see how it's unethical in any way.