Verizon today announced a new subscription service designed to cut down on robocalls and other spammy automated messages that plague mobile users each and every day. The service, called Verizon Caller Name ID, comes in the form of an app and it will notify users when an incoming call is likely to be a robocall, spam, or fraudulent. The big catch: unlike competing carriers’ similar features, Verizon wants to charge customers $2.99 per month for Caller Name ID.

This is perplexing for a couple of reasons. For one, you might expect a cell carrier would want to offer this service for free, as a benefit of being a paying subscriber. (One can dream.) The Federal Communications Commission even passed a new…

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