BellSouth Drops Surcharge Plans For High-Speed Internet Offering

BELLSOUTH DROPS SURCHARGE PLANS FOR HIGH-SPEED INTERNET OFFERING
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal 8/26, AUTHOR: Amy Schatz Amy.Schatz@wsj.com]
BellSouth reversed its decision to impose a surcharge on high-speed Internet customers Friday, after federal regulators turned up the heat on BellSouth and Verizon Communications for levying a new surcharge that essentially replaced a fee the government had dropped. On Friday, officials at the Federal Communications Commission sent an eight-page "letter of inquiry" to Verizon, asking for more information about the surcharge it plans to levy. The letter is the first step toward a formal investigation. Several FCC commissioners, including Chairman Kevin Martin, were fuming about the companies' decision to essentially raise surcharges just after the government scrapped a fee that would have cut monthly bills by a dollar or two for about 10 million households. "The commission takes its obligation to protect consumers very seriously," said FCC spokesman David Fiske. "Consumers must be provided with clear and nonmisleading information so they may accurately access the services for which they are being charged and the costs associated with those services." Yesterday afternoon, BellSouth said it would immediately stop charging its 3.2 million Internet subscribers a $2.97 "regulatory cost recovery fee." "It was clearly becoming subject to criticism, and frankly we want to do what's in the best interest of our customers," said Herschel Abbott, BellSouth's vice president of governmental affairs.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115651642324345562.html?mod=djemTECH
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