BellSouth drops Internet fee after FCC threat

Phone carrier was about to be sent "letters of inquiry" to see whether new charges comply with FCC rules.

The story "BellSouth drops Internet fee after FCC threat" published August 25, 2006 at 5:25 AM is no longer available on CNET News.

Content from Reuters expires after 30 days.

[disco-legend-zeke]

Is this the "LOWER PRICED INTERNET" promised when NET NEUTRALITY is killed?

Yeah, the TELCOS just love to pass the savings on to the consumer.

[CancerMan2]

They Should Have Waited 6 Months

The greedy dumbos at Bellsouth (BS) should have waited 6 months before rolling out the new-old fee. They could have called it a "technology enhancement investment". But no, they were too eager to please their new boss Ed at AT&T.

For a really good laugh, read through BS's "Our Values in Action (Code of Conduct)" that they must have paid some outside consultant to write up and then charged back to the ratepayers. You can't get to this information directly, because the link from <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.bellsouth.com/corporate_governance/" target="_newWindow">http://www.bellsouth.com/corporate_governance/</a> is conveniently broken. The MIA ethics can be found here:
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://ethics.bellsouth.com/OVIA_K00801W.02.pdf" target="_newWindow">http://ethics.bellsouth.com/OVIA_K00801W.02.pdf</a>

Some choice words from "Our Values in Action"
"What We Should Do:
We deliver on our promises to our customers. We own the customer experience and go the extra mile to meet their needs. We strive to earn our customers&#8217; trust, and we treat them with honesty and respect. In all our customer contacts, we act with the utmost integrity and in a manner consistent with the law.

We Treat Our Customers Fairly
BellSouth competes in the marketplace on the
merits of our products and services, on the prices we charge, and on the quality of our customer service, all to meet the needs of our customers. We deal with our customers fairly, including customers who may also be our competitors. We seek to retain their business, and work hard to attract new customers by
offering innovative products and services at attractive prices.

We Follow Ethical Sales Practices
Our customers are one of BellSouth&#8217;s most valuable
assets. We earn and preserve the trust of our customers by serving them with honesty and integrity in a professional, courteous manner."

[heystoopid]

Sadly

Sadly, as with all corporate mission and and ethic statements, they are usually fictional window dressing and posted to hide the companies real intent and direction!

[Jim Hubbard]

Yeah....I trust Bellsouth.....

....I trust them with my DSL, the artificial charges they tried to cram down my throat and I even trust them to "do the right thing" with net neutrality.

I also have winged golden monkeys flying out of my ass.

[bkwest918]

SBC/AT&T still charges the FUSF Passthru Fee's

Why isn't anyone doing anything to AT&#38;T?

/b