Verizon Florida to pay $2M settlement

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Verizon Florida agreed to pay $2 million to settle charges of failure to provide discounts and for prolonged service outages, officials said.

The Florida Public Service Commission charged the telecommunications company with poor upkeep on land lines, the Miami Herald reported Wednesday.

The commission cited the firm with 262 violations in 2007 and 194 in 2008 regarding failures to keep the lines operational.

The company was also sited for failing to offer discounts through the state's Lifeline program, a fund designed to help senior citizens and low-income families.

Verizon Florida agreed to pay $1.75 million in refunds to customers and $250,000 to the state, half of which will go to the Lifeline Assistance program, specifically designed as phone bill relief for eligible customers, the newspaper said.