Verizon is set to begin offering a lower-bandwidth DSL package at $14.95. With bandwidth at 768k/128k, it’s intended to draw subscribers away from dialup.

BellSouth expects to continue reselling DSL lines to competing Internet service providers after an FCC ruling which states that broadband providers do not have to resell their capacity to other carriers.

The FCC has issued a Notice of Inquiry asking for comments on how to protect U.S. consumers from anticompetitive, or “whipsawing,” practices, such as the recent Jamaican levy on inbound international calls.

The California ISP Association blasted the proposed Verizon-MCI merger on Friday, saying it would eliminate competition, create geographical monopolies, and undermine consumer choice, in comments to the California Public Utilities Commission.

The Communications Workers of America has set a Sept. 30 deadline for nearly 25,000 Qwest employees to vote on a tentative contract agreement.

Google is testing its Froogle Mobile service which will allow consumers to comparison shop for items on online shopping sites from their wireless phones.

MCI is closing sales and customer service call centers in Alpharetta, Ga., Hunt Valley, Md., and Iowa City, Iowa, on September 30, 2005, laying off 1,000 employees.

The Communications Workers of America announced it had reached a tentative settlement with Qwest last night that achieved the union’s major objectives.

America West Airlines is offering a free BlackBerry 7100t to anyone who books a ticket on their Web site and activates service with T-Mobile between now and October 31.

Mark DeLaVega, of Richardson, Texas, says he was fired from MCI for refusing to use an order-entry system which would have exposed his social security number to every other employee using the system.