Verizon petitions Maryland, Virginia regulators to stop printing white pages

Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) call to not print phone books in Maryland and Virginia, much like the payphone and Sony's decision earlier this year to stop manufacturing the cassette tape Walkman, is an innovation whose time has simply passed.

Following similar petitions it made in Florida, New York, New Jersey and Delaware, Verizon has asked state regulators in Maryland and Virginia to stop delivering residential white pages to the state's residents.

As reported in the Washington Post, Verizon spokesman Harry Mitchell said the telco will ask the D.C. Public Service Commission to also stop delivering white pages.

But if you're worried you can't find your neighbor's number to invite them to your Christmas party, fear not. Customers will be able to get access to these numbers online, in a printed format or CD-ROM.  

Verizon's move seems justified as the use of white pages continues to dwindle. According to a Gallup poll conducted for SuperMedia, the company that prints Verizon's white pages, white page use dropped from 25 percent in 2005 to 11 percent in 2008.

Of course, Verizon is not the only RBOC clamoring to stop printing white pages. AT&T (NYSE: T) announced recently that it would stop delivering white pages books in Houston and it said other cities will soon follow.

For more:
- The Washington Post has this article

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