Buffalo coalition challenges Verizon for FiOS gap

On February 8, members of the Don't Bypass Buffalo Coalition met in the freezing cold and delivered a petition and letter to Verizon. For more than a year, the coalition, backed by CWA, has been pressuring Verizon to bring high-speed FiOS to residents of this lakeside city, but the company has resisted.

Don't Bypass Buffalo is a coalition that includes area civic, business, religious and community leaders who have protested the fact that while Verizon has built out its fiber network in the surrounding suburbs, the city, which includes many low-income residents, has endured the company's stalling tactics.

At the rally, local New York State Assemblyman Sean Ryan said that Verizon had "broken the social compact they should have with New Yorkers." In front of TV cameras, Ryan scolded Verizon, saying that the social compact says:

"We pay our bills. We use Verizon. Verizon is regulated and they should be providing the same services for the city of Buffalo that they provide to small towns, villages and suburbs throughout New York State." 

Don't Bypass Buffalo (website) 

Verizon Assailed for Withholding FiOS (WNED-TV, Feb. 9, 20120

Don't Bypass Buffalo (Facebook)