Verizon to eliminate DSL service fee

Verizon Communications said it will drop plans to impose a new surcharge for its DSL-based internet services a week after announcing the new charge.

The telecommunications company's change of heart comes after the US Federal Communications Commission began investigating it and BellSouth Corp over possible violation of federal truth-in-billing laws.

Verizon announced the new surcharge just as the government's Universal Service Fund was being phased out and customers were set to receive lower bills.

The company had said the new charge would cover surcharges '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.'

Verizon's decision follows BellSouth's announcement last week that it too would eliminate a DSL service fee it said was 'designed to recover a number of costs remaining from previous regulatory obligations and other network' expenses.