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To: StocksMan who wrote (20223)	4/1/2004 12:33:08 PM
From: StocksMan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20297

Verizon Wireless dials up new fees By Jon Chesto Wednesday, March 31, 2004 Verizon Wireless plans to charge New England customers an extra $2 a month if they want to get itemized bills listing all calls. Howard Waterman, a spokesman for Verizon Wireless, said the move will simplify monthly paper bills for consumers and help protect the environment. Customers with the cell phone company - the nation's largest - will be able to get their detailed bills online, and some who request it by June 30 can still get the itemized charges without the $2 fee. Consumer advocates blasted the move. "It's a way for them to make more money, pure and simple," said Edgar Dworsky, a Somerville resident and founder of the Consumerworld.org web site. ``When you take away information, you're taking away one of the consumers' tools to make sure they were charged properly.'' Deirdre Cummings, a consumer advocate at the Massachusetts Public Interest Reseach Group, said the change will make it tougher for consumers to keep track of their phone calls and review the bills for potential fraud. Customers outside of the Northeast already get the streamlined bills, Waterman said. The thinner bills also now go to customers in the Northeast who signed on to the service after March 1. Verizon Wireless' change follows a similar move by Nextel last year when Nextel chose to charge $2.50 a month for itemized bills. However, a Nextel spokeswoman said all calls beyond a customer's bulk allotment show up on their bills. Adam Guy, a Yankee Group analyst, said the move seems like a sensible measure for Verizon Wireless, a Bedminster, N.J.-based venture owned by Verizon and Vodafone. The researcher said it can cost cell phone firms $1.50 to send one typical bill in the mail. "It's not like Verizon is really trying to gouge people," Guy said. "I wouldn't be surprised if the rest of the industry follows suit." business.bostonherald.com