PacBell to Add New Surcharge in Feb.

Pacific Bell customers will see an additional 50-cent charge per phone line on their monthly bills starting next month. The new fee is to partly reimburse SBC Communications Inc., the parent company of San Francisco-based PacBell, for the $800 million it expects to spend to make it possible for customers to keep their existing phone number when they switch local phone companies. The Federal Communications Commission allows local phone companies to be reimbursed for a portion of those costs. The fee could remain on phone bills for up to five years.