Verizon Communications will drop previously announced plans to impose a supplier surcharge for DSL-based Internet access service on its retail customers. A small number of customers who have already been billed for the surcharge will receive a credit.
Verizon Online began notifying its retail customers earlier this month of its plans to pass through a surcharge imposed by its affiliated operating telephone companies to cover costs associated with providing DSL service to customers who do not also subscribe to Verizon’s traditional phone service. At the same time that the surcharge was to have been added, a federal government charge, the Universal Service Fund recovery fee, was eliminated from the bills.
In a statement, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said “I am pleased that both Verizon and BellSouth have eliminated fees recently imposed on their DSL customers. Consumers should receive the benefits of the Commission’s action last summer to remove regulations imposed on DSL service. The continued deployment of broadband at affordable prices for consumers remains my top priority as Chairman.”http://www.verizon.com
- Earlier this week, BellSouth decided to eliminate a $2.97 per month charge associated with consumer DSL service, agreeing to pass on the savings that began when a federal regulatory fee expired earlier in August. According to media reports, the decision followed a set of letters sent by the FCC to BellSouth and Verizon informing them of forthcoming investigations into potential violations of truth-in-billing laws. At issue is whether operators are continuing to collect regulatory fees that the government is no longer assessing.