Taking a step to avoid legal hassle in the wake of FCC (Federal Communication Commission) order to investigate fee structure of America’s broadband service providers, BellSouth Corp has decided to drop a $2.97 monthly fee for its services.



The FCC has sought an explanation from the third largest Internet service provider BellSouth about the new price structure that replaces a surcharge for a government subsidy program that aims at providing communications services to schools, poor households and rural areas.



Before FCC taking any hard step, the broadband service provider has announced drop in the monthly fee that would be in effect from this month. The regulatory body is also enquiring whether the service providers are obeying the current Truth-in-Billing rules.



As discussed earlier, FCC has ordered the broadband service providers to contribute towards Universal Service Fund (USF) last year. However, most of the carriers including Verizon have explained that the new rule is against the customers. Thereafter, the Communication Commission has phased out the USF fee for the telephone companies’ high-speed Internet service.



It is seen that BellSouth is charging its 3.3millon high-speed internet subscribers $2.97. While the second largest VoIP service provider Verizon is about to impose a new monthly surcharge of $1.20 or $2.70. Before it, Verizon had charged a monthly fee of $1.25 to $2.83 from its customers to contribute USF.









Read