BEDMINSTER, N.J.-Verizon Wireless said it was eliminating local number portability-related monthly regulatory charges for its customers beginning with upcoming customer billing cycles. The carrier said it has been charging 40 cents per customer per month since March to help defray the cost of implementing LNP and so far has generated about $15 million in total LNP-related revenue from customers.
Verizon Wireless will continue charging customers 5 cents per month in regulatory charges to cover other government mandates.
“Our decision to eliminate 100 percent of the regulatory charge associated with LNP is the right thing to do not just for our own customers, but for our competitors’ customers as well,” said Denny Strigl, president and chief executive officer of Verizon Wireless. “In this heavily taxed industry, we do not advocate adding anything unnecessary or extraneous to our customers’ monthly bill.”
Sprint PCS said it has also trimmed its monthly regulatory recovery fee to 25 cents per month after a previous reduction from $1.10 to 40 cents in June.
Cingular Wireless L.L.C. charges up to $1.25 per month for its regulatory cost recovery fee; Nextel Communications Inc. charges a federal programs cost recovery fee of $1.55 or $2.83 per month for a number of government programs; and T-Mobile USA Inc. charges 86 cents for its regulatory programs fee.
