Earthlink, Earthlink Ripoff! Atlanta Internet

I signed up for combined Earthlink Internet and phone services last February for a guaranteed rate of $49.99 per month for one year. I now have a new charge of $5.00 on my invoice for 'Network Access Charge'. After a very unsatisfying live chat in which I was informed that this fee is mandatory and that, yes, it will be an additional monthly charge from now forward, I stated that this violated my original agreement. The representative actually AGREED with me but said the charge would remain in effect neverthless. This additional charge has apparently been added to ALL earthlink service accounts. $5.00 more a month is not going to break me, but there is a principle involved here and I'm angry about it. I don't understand an agreement in which one party can change the terms in mid-stream.

Is there any recourse? I've already read other recent complaints on the same issue. Can we band together and fight this? I've filed an FTC complaint already. I would let this go if I had not already had numerous Earthlink issues.