News

DC to Verizon: Inform customers about IP transition, maintain copper service

The Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia (DCPSC)took steps to protect DC residents in the IP transition from copper networks to fiber, directing Verizon to inform customers about the specifics of the transition and maintain copper networks for customers who want that service.


The DCPSC ordered Verizon “to continue and improve its efforts to education telephone customers about the differences between telephone service provided over copper facilities and telephone service provided over fiber facilities.” The difference is important for customers in DC, which has a lot of power outages, because copper networks are self-powering and fiber networks are not. Copper phone service will usually work in a power outage, but fiber service won’t without a battery backup.


The DCPSC also ordered Verizon to support copper network telephone service for customers who want it. Verizon has a history ofneglecting its copper lines and forcing customers to buyinferior services they don’t want.


DC’s Office of the People’s Counsel and the Communications Workers of America were parties in the proceeding, which was opened in response to complaints that Verizon was pressuring consumers to change their copper network telephone service for fiber network service.


The Public Service Commission’s orders are the most recent in a series of actions local governments and communities are taking to curb Verizon’s abusive practices.In New Jersey, the Division of the Rate Counsel filed actions against Verizon, seeking an investigation into a threatening letter Verizon sent its customers.In New York, an audit by New York City’s Department of Information Technology and Communications described Verizon’s NYC FiOS rollout as “a litany of corporate incompetence” and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman called for an investigation of Verizon’s inadequate copper network maintenance.

Commission Takes Steps to Protect Customers during the Copper-to-Fiber Transition (DCPSC, Aug. 25, 2015)


CWA: Verizon neglects copper lines (Speed Matters, June 11, 2015)


Verizon’s Voice Link ploy running into its own superstorm (Speed Matters, July 3, 2013)


NJ Rate Counsel takes action against Verizon (Speed Matters, July 1, 2015)


NYC’s Verizon audit: “a litany of corporate incompetence” (Speed Matters, July 25, 2015)


New York Attorney General, consumer groups call for investigation of Verizon, NY telecom industry (Speed Matters, Aug. 21, 2015)