The government has a program to cut your Internet bill. Verizon is using it to force you onto a new data plan.

Sharon from Harrisburg, Pa., who asked to be identified only by her first name, said she was told by two customer service representatives that she could receive the EBB discount only if she increased her current Internet speed and reconfigured her TV package, too. She said the ultimate price would have depended on what video package she was forced to switch to, as well as new equipment with fees — but she dropped her EBB application out of frustration before she got that far.