The Federal Communications Commission has formally scrapped...

The Federal Communications Commission has formally scrapped an unpopular proposal that would have substantially raised telephone charges for computer users. In its order, the FCC concluded “this is not an appropriate time” to levy interstate access charges on providers of information services because the industry is in a “uniquely complex period of transition.” The commission is considering plans by the local Bell telephone companies to give equal access to information providers. The agency’s plan would have added about $4.50 an hour to the cost for a computer user to link up electronically with an information provider.