The Federal Communications Commission, the agency charged with regulating the telecommunications industry, said that it will send a letter of inquiry to Verizon to determine if their new fees comply with FCC rules mandating truth in billing.
A year-old FCC decision to phase out the Universal Service Fund (USF) appears to be the source of the inquiry.
On Aug. 14, the FCC permanently did away with the USF, which subsidized communications services to lower income households, schools and rural areas.
Verizon previously charged between $1.25 and $2.83 to subscribers per month to cover the monthly $2.97 USF fee. The company said it plans to charge its customers between $1.20 and $2.70 per month going forward.
The FCC also sent a letter of inquiry to BellSouth, the nation’s No. 3 communications carrier. The company had planned to charge its subscribers a fee for Internet access similar to that charged by Verizon, but elected to drop the fee issue altogether in order to concentrate on seeking FCC approval for a planned merger with AT&T, the nation’s No. 1 carrier, a company spokesman said.
AT&T is not expected to receive a letter of inquiry.
Letters of inquiry are generally the first step taken by the FCC to determine if enforcement action is necessary.
The FCC had no further comment on the inquiry.
"The FCC has a number of questions about what we're doing," Verizon spokesman Eric Rabe said. "Obviously, we'll answer those."
