Verizon Says Claims It's Abandoning Its DSL Customers 'Pure Nonsense,' As Company Clearly Busy Abandoning DSL Customers
from the you-realize-we-have-eyes,-right? dept
As we've been exploring for some time, both AT&T and Verizon have been turning their backs on traditional copper-based phone service and DSL users they're unwilling to upgrade. Both of the companies' next-gen fixed-line broadband deployment plans (U-Verse and FiOS, respectively) have been all but frozen as the ISPs focus on notably more profitable wireless service. The shift is understandable: wireless tends to be cheaper to deploy, less unionized, and relatively less regulated, and the fact that it's usage capped in the face of soaring mobile video growth means future revenue projections are very handsome indeed.The only problem? Tens of millions of people remain on DSL lines the companies refuse to upgrade to fiber. Many of these lines were built on the backs of billions in taxpayer subsidies -- subsidies that quite often were given for fiber upgrades that were never actually delivered. Both AT&T and Verizon are willfully trying to drive these customers away via the one-two punch of price hikes and support neglect, while going state by state lobbying for the gutting of all regulations requiring that they continue to offer service or meet base levels of service quality.
Cable operators are pretty happy with this paradigm, as the decrease in DSL competitors means less competition than ever before. Unions, however, obviously aren't a huge fan of this transition given the decrease in deployment and support, and have ramped up their attacks on Verizon's neglect of older networks. The Communications Workers of America has been pushing regulators to disclose the impact this neglect has had on consumer complaint numbers:
"The CWA plans to file public information requests this week with a handful of state regulators including in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to see whether it can uncover data showing the extent of the problems..."Verizon is systematically abandoning the legacy network and as a consequence the quality of service for millions of phone customers has plummeted,” said Bob Master, CWA’s political director for the union’s northeastern region."That specifically shouldn't be hard in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where state lawmakers handed Verizon billions in tax breaks and subsidies for symmetrical fiber lines, then more recently voted to let Verizon completely off the hook for failing to meet agreement obligations. Making things worse, states like New Jersey then let Verizon lobbyists sell them on deals that gut the company's remaining obligations to users in these states, meaning what service that remains labors under a completely deregulated environment where there's no punishment for total Verizon apathy.
So with Verizon pretty obviously neglecting its aging copper networks, it's pretty amusing to see a Verizon rep try to tell the Journal that's simply not happening:
"It’s pure nonsense to say we’re abandoning our copper networks," Mr. Young said. Mr. Young said the company is investing in its copper network, and it only offers Voice Link as a temporary replacement while repairs are being done. About 13,000 customers have decided to keep the Voice Link service, Mr. Young said."Except it's hard to insist a claim is "pure nonsense" when anybody with eyes (or a rural Verizon DSL and phone connection) can see what Verizon's up to. Verizon's been particularly distasteful in its recent decisions to use storm damage (be it Hurricane Sandy or other major storms) to simply refuse to upgrade damaged DSL and POTS (plain old telephone service) lines, instead shoving customers toward the Voice Link service Mr. Young highlights. Except Voice Link is less reliable and provides numerous fewer features than the fixed lines it's replacing, something that has annoyed locals and municipalities.
So while the unions' arguments are obviously self-serving, they're highlighting a pretty important problem that's still managing to fly under the radar despite being a topic of great importance to millions of impacted, neglected consumers. Verizon not only took billions in subsidies and failed to deliver fiber, they're now lobbying states for the right to neglect these remaining copper-based customers they simply couldn't care less about. In short, they've shafted these users from countless directions, in countless ways, for more than a decade. For Verizon to try and claim that these easily-documented problems are "nonsense" is a heaping dose of nonsense in and of itself.
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Filed Under: broadband, competition, dsl, fcc, wireless
Companies: verizon
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I called the state corporation commission who told me that Verizon had produced statistics that said fios was better than copper and that everyone was being switched over. The SCC said they effectively could no longer regulate Verizon.
I canceled my Verizon service immediately. I had to go through one of those rehearsed "save" people. I had to use the "You're the phone company, you don't care. You don't have to." to get out. I still haven't had to use the "God told me to save the money and buy bullets" strategy yet.
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It's awfully hard to get less than the "effectively none" that we have now around these parts.
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The end of POTS means that dial-up internet with face its long overdue demise, and everything will go broadband.
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Actually a valid claim for some areas
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Amusing? It's already too sad to even call it depressing. This imbecile knows exactly what is happening, the company knows it is true but for PR purposes it's all good. And the Govt is happy to swallow that pill so far.
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Nonsense
Hercules had to shovel the nonsense from the stables.
Nonsense is on fire yo.
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Anyway, I told them I wanted to upgrade and they told me, "Sorry, we made a mistake, we don't have the bandwidth." When I asked them to explain this - because I am an old bat who is not at all tech-savvy, they just kept repeating they didn't have bandwidth. They continued to send me promotional emails about it, and even when I went to their website and did the "input your address and we'll tell you if you can get these phenomenally fast speeds", it told me I could. But, sure enough, when I tried to actually upgrade, I got the "no bandwidth" reply.
So now I have streaming that stops altogether in bad weather, buffers like crazy even on a good day, and have the choice of either buying a new TV and an antenna (my neighbor downstairs did that, and she gets 2 - yes, 2 - channels), go back to DirecTv, or put up with DSL Extreme. DISH is not an option because the landlady "doesn't want another satellite dish on the roof."
My contract is up in October and I honestly don't know what I am going to do. Streaming using Verizon's data on my smartphone is out of the question, as my data is only 2 G per month and just one episode of one hour-long TV show will wipe that out, pretty much.
I hate it but I don't know what to do.
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Promises Made in Exchange for Tax Relief Are Contracts
Howzabout naming the phone companies as respondents to a class action along the lines of "we'd like our money back...with interest"?
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The joke is on us. We called AT&T and were told that they don't service our area.
So, I guess we'll give up our landline since we have no choice. I just want phone service. I do know I won't ever do business with Verizon again.
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loss of internet and phone service
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Re: loss of internet and phone service
When I initially went online, I signed up for the guaranteed lifetime charge of $19.99 a month. I have suffered two TBI's, multiple head traumas and am wits end not knowing what to do.
When we lose power here we still have both landlines, (one is a fax) but our FIOS neighbors lose theirs. I have amplified hearing on the home phone because of ruptured eardrums. Can anyone offer suggestions?
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Verizon is phasing out DSL and Wired Phoned Service
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