Verizon’s $5.8 billion charge is the latest sign of legacy phone companies adapting to how businesses connect — specifically, for less money after vetting more competitors. AT&T’s business wireline unit took a $13.5 billion write-down a year earlier for similar reasons. The lowered expectations reflect a commercial wireline market that’s been shrinking since 2016, MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett says. “The forces at work here are secular, and they are only getting worse,” he says. “It’s doubly challenging for Verizon and AT&T as the two largest players in the market by far.”