Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing in Verizon Fiber Optics http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r17152443 en Fri, 04 Dec 2009 06:23:42 EDT Fri, 04 Dec 2009 06:23:42 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17412087 anon : Ther reason you have to switch from DSL to Fios internet is because they abandon the copper to your house when the fiber to your house.

Good Luck! Hope it works out well for you!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17412087 Wed, 06 Dec 2006 22:39:17 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17412013 vince99 :
said by BeanCounter :

Started by going to www.verizonfios.com website and putting in my phone number. When it said that service was available I went to the packages page of the site and called the phone number and went from there...
I hope your online order experience turns out better than mine did...

I placed an order online last night for FIOS TV. I currently have DSL, so I thought the system would then tell me I must get FIOS internet service along with the TV. But it didn't do that--it just acknowledged my TV order and gave me an installation date.

I call Vz on the phone today to check on this. Turns out that the online order system messed up. They couldn't access the record for the order I placed last night. :o Then they said I need to get FIOS internet along with the TV service. I thought so. So they cancelled the order and set up a new one for both TV & internet. Supposedly my installation is on for 12/14.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17412013 Wed, 06 Dec 2006 22:26:37 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17411588 anon : Started by going to www.verizonfios.com website and putting in my phone number. When it said that service was available I went to the packages page of the site and called the phone number and went from there.

I have Fios Internet to start which means I am prime for them since all they really have to do is run the coax to the TV and hook the box up to the router.

Do you have Fios internet yet?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17411588 Wed, 06 Dec 2006 21:19:52 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17407309 anon : Tried to order, but they are still saying not available.

Who did you talk to BeanCounter?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17407309 Wed, 06 Dec 2006 09:23:05 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17406991 serg_leo : Looks like I was right. But unfortunately it still not available in Germantown....]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17406991 Wed, 06 Dec 2006 08:05:19 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17406512 anon : Getting Fios TV is a Go!!!!!!
Ordered today and they said they could set me up on Thursday of this week. Had to delay until the 26th due to crazy schedule and inability to commit to a date before then.

Finally I will pay less and get more!!! Can't wait to call Comcast and tell them to go screw them selves and their constantly increasing prices and decreasing quality of service (By service I mean sound and picture that randomly goes out during an interesting part of a show)

Yaaa!!! Thanks to all the great info every one has provided about the whole process and an especially big thanks to those of you who attended meetings and gave excellent reports about what happened at them. At least knowing what was happening made the whole stupid delayed process bearable.

Cheers to competition!!! Hopefully it will work in everybody's favor.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17406512 Wed, 06 Dec 2006 02:45:07 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17373882 gleklen :
said by beancounter :

Per Verizon Phone Rep. Verizon has to wait 30 days from the date the agreement was passed to offer service.
According to the Gazette, "Verizon may begin offering the service and rate plans after Council President George L. Leventhal (D-At large) of Takoma Park signs the agreement later in the week."

»www.gazette.net/stories/112906/m···76.shtml]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17373882 Thu, 30 Nov 2006 19:24:23 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17371576 jaums :
said by BarneyBadAss See Profile :

said by serg_leo See Profile :

Sounds like BS. How they are planning to offer TV service to more than 75,000 households by end of December then?

offer /= installed... in my book.. but that's how I read it
OFFERED = To present for acceptance or rejection

INSTALLED = To connect or set in position and prepare for use

I watched the proceedings, and I believe that's what Vz meant when they said "offered".

Come on guys, we all know that they can OFFER it to anyone whose neighborhood is fibered and Central Office has what it needs. To be INSTALLED requires the ONT and the wiring, etc. in the home to the TV set. Vz said for fibered and equipped areas of MC it's a 7 day interval for those with FiOS Internet and for those without, 7 days to install the ONT + 7 more for the TV service. They also said they were ready to borrow techs from other areas.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17371576 Thu, 30 Nov 2006 13:19:53 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17371485 TheOtherPete :
said by serg_leo See Profile :

said by beancounter :

Per Verizon Phone Rep. Verizon has to wait 30 days from the date the agreement was passed to offer service. She said that is per the Franchise agreement. So the Magic day is December 28th.

More darn waiting. This is just painful. If it was not an overall better package then Comcast I would be supper mad.
Sounds like BS. How they are planning to offer TV service to more than 75,000 households by end of December then?

In my understanding offer = service in place. And according to then it will take up to 7 business days to set up new service. :uhh:
I can't imagine any interpreation of "offer" that implies service in place.

To me, offer means that they will start accepting orders from MoCo residents (that are in areas where the fiber is already deployed).

If I offer to sell you my car did you just buy it?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17371485 Thu, 30 Nov 2006 13:06:37 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17371282 BarneyBadAss :
said by serg_leo See Profile :

Sounds like BS. How they are planning to offer TV service to more than 75,000 households by end of December then?

offer /= installed... in my book.. but that's how I read it
--
---Barney]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17371282 Thu, 30 Nov 2006 12:39:04 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17371121 JTRockville :
said by serg_leo See Profile :

Sounds like BS. How they are planning to offer TV service to more than 75,000 households by end of December then?
Not sure, but I'll definitely enjoy watching 'em try.

* peeks out the window, iso a test rig *]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17371121 Thu, 30 Nov 2006 12:14:53 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17371013 cbrain :
said by serg_leo See Profile :

Sounds like BS. How they are planning to offer TV service to more than 75,000 households by end of December then?

In my understanding offer = service in place. And according to then it will take up to 7 business days to set up new service. :uhh:
You'd never make it in advertising. ;)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17371013 Thu, 30 Nov 2006 11:59:02 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17370817 serg_leo :
said by beancounter :

Per Verizon Phone Rep. Verizon has to wait 30 days from the date the agreement was passed to offer service. She said that is per the Franchise agreement. So the Magic day is December 28th.

More darn waiting. This is just painful. If it was not an overall better package then Comcast I would be supper mad.
Sounds like BS. How they are planning to offer TV service to more than 75,000 households by end of December then?

In my understanding offer = service in place. And according to then it will take up to 7 business days to set up new service. :uhh:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17370817 Thu, 30 Nov 2006 11:26:00 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17366618 BarneyBadAss :
said by beancounter :

Per Verizon Phone Rep. Verizon has to wait 30 days from the date the agreement was passed to offer service. She said that is per the Franchise agreement. So the Magic day is December 28th.

More darn waiting. This is just painful. If it was not an overall better package then Comcast I would be supper mad.
Perhaps this is intended to give the existing "competitors" time to react and adjust their pricing stratigies?
--
---Barney]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17366618 Wed, 29 Nov 2006 18:57:59 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17363009 anon : Per Verizon Phone Rep. Verizon has to wait 30 days from the date the agreement was passed to offer service. She said that is per the Franchise agreement. So the Magic day is December 28th.

More darn waiting. This is just painful. If it was not an overall better package then Comcast I would be supper mad.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17363009 Wed, 29 Nov 2006 08:46:06 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17360061 BarneyBadAss : I don't beleive it.

I'm simply stunned that Mo. Co. managed to get this approved.

I can hardly wait to see what we get in the way of channels and lineups.. of course with all those PEG channels...

But I can hardly wait to be free of cable!
--
---Barney]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17360061 Tue, 28 Nov 2006 19:43:23 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17359241 Lenagainster :
said by TheOtherPete See Profile :


...Verizon plans to begin offering FiOS TV by the end of December to more than 75,000 households in parts of the county where it has upgraded to an all-fiber network. The company will announce pricing and packages soon.

That's ME! That's ME! Now to compare the packages and prices to my DirecTV; will they provide an "oldies" music channel? HGTV? Fox News? Local channels? That's one "ad" I'm anxious to see.

Lena]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17359241 Tue, 28 Nov 2006 17:44:31 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17357817 TheOtherPete : Official Press Release from VZ:

»newscenter.verizon.com/press-rel···ise.html


The long wait will soon be over for Montgomery County residents eager for cable TV competition, thanks to a Montgomery County Council vote today (Nov. 28) authorizing Verizon to offer its fiber-optic powered FiOS TV in the county.

Verizon plans to begin offering FiOS TV by the end of December to more than 75,000 households in parts of the county where it has upgraded to an all-fiber network. The company will announce pricing and packages soon.

...
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17357817 Tue, 28 Nov 2006 13:58:18 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17356973 serg_leo :
said by JTRockville See Profile :

UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED

Hooray!!! Looking forward to get TV service!!! ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17356973 Tue, 28 Nov 2006 11:42:35 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17356945 guppy_fish :
said by JTRockville See Profile :

UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED

I guess pigs DO fly ... :D

Well wishes for all of the MC residences and FIOS!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17356945 Tue, 28 Nov 2006 11:37:01 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17356877 DonLibes : No one addressed this specific question but I would bet Verizon directs their sales staff to start accepting orders this week if not tomorrow. As I recall, during yesterday's hearing, Verizon asserted that they would commit to offering service to 75K homes by Jan 1.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17356877 Tue, 28 Nov 2006 11:25:53 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17356641 TheOtherPete :
said by JTRockville See Profile :

UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED
So when do they start offering tv service to areas that are already lit up?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17356641 Tue, 28 Nov 2006 10:45:06 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17356609 PaulGo :
said by JTRockville See Profile :

WHY do they feel the need to point out who the lame ducks are in the crowd?
Because they are a bunch of quackers!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17356609 Tue, 28 Nov 2006 10:40:57 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17356588 JTRockville : UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17356588 Tue, 28 Nov 2006 10:37:30 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17356484 JTRockville : WHY do they feel the need to point out who the lame ducks are in the crowd?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17356484 Tue, 28 Nov 2006 10:22:42 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17356442 PaulGo : From what I have seen on Montgomery Cable 6 it looks like we will have an agreement with Verizon!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17356442 Tue, 28 Nov 2006 10:15:54 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17355478 DonLibes :
said by JTRockville See Profile :

Thanks for the summary jaums See Profile.

I honestly can't believe someone would be so stuck on whether 90 or 95% of the calls are answered within 30 seconds. It's so meaningless if no one is going to actually fix the problem you called about. In my experience (I just had a lovely experience with Verizon DSL tech support on the eve of Thanksgiving), Verizon takes longer than Comcast to answer the phone, but they fix the problem the first time. Which would you rather have: the wrong answer really fast, or the right answer reasonably fast?
Perception can have more impact than reality. But the whole thing is silly - both for the reason you raise but also because all calls are immediately answered by "the box" - Verizon's version of an automated helper which we shall all soon come to know and love for trying desperately to shield us from reaching a human. I'm sure people at Verizon are proud of "the box" but when I heard the Verizon rep repeatedly mentioning it at the hearing, all that came to mind was Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke.

Any man forgets his number spends a night in the box.
Any man playing grab-ass or fighting in the building spends a night in the box.
Any man not in his bunk at eight spends the night in the box.
Any man caught smoking in the prone position in bed... spends a night in the box.
Any man don't bring back his empty pop bottle spends a night in the box.
Any man calls Verizon spends a night in the box.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17355478 Tue, 28 Nov 2006 04:06:45 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17352936 cbrain :
said by JTRockville See Profile :

I honestly can't believe someone would be so stuck on whether 90 or 95% of the calls are answered within 30 seconds. It's so meaningless if no one is going to actually fix the problem you called about.
...
Get with the program. ;)

Judging by our county's record of actual enforcement, she figures it doesn't matter. It makes her look tough and she has a consumer protection sound bite. A matter of priority. Whether Verizon provides good or bad service, she claims victory. :huh:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17352936 Mon, 27 Nov 2006 19:14:43 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17352651 JTRockville : Thanks for the summary jaums See Profile.

I honestly can't believe someone would be so stuck on whether 90 or 95% of the calls are answered within 30 seconds. It's so meaningless if no one is going to actually fix the problem you called about. In my experience (I just had a lovely experience with Verizon DSL tech support on the eve of Thanksgiving), Verizon takes longer than Comcast to answer the phone, but they fix the problem the first time. Which would you rather have: the wrong answer really fast, or the right answer reasonably fast? I really hope this doesn't become a sticking point.

btw - "The Rockville guy" has been saying that since at least April 2005. I'll believe there's a resolution when I see the VZ press release.

* peeks out the window at that gorgeous black rectangular box *]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17352651 Mon, 27 Nov 2006 18:29:19 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17351559 jaums : I watched today's sub committee meeting on-line. The end result was that they will recommend, with some reservations, that the entire County Council grant the franchise to Vz at tomorrow's meeting.

The reservations consist of some additional language and sidebar documents that Prisner wants others to review - which should be able to be resolved before tomorrow's meeting.

AND, the unresolved reservations having to do with customer service: Since Vz's customer service call counts cannot, due to the design of their call distribution system, single out calls from MC, their plan is to submit call counts from all customers who call their center. The agreed-to goal is that 90% of calls will be answered within 20 or 30 seconds [I forget which]. Prisner was uncomfortable that the 10% that is, presumably, not answered in time, could all be from MC customers - the call records will not show that. Therefore, she feels the standard should be 95% rather than 90%. [It seems to me that for all of the "missed" calls to be from one jurisdiction would be statistically impossible, but she repeated that her recommendation to the full CC would be to insist on 95%]. Vz's response was that 95% would not be acceptable and would jeopardize Vz's commitment to provide TV service in MC by the end of the year, IF the franchise is granted tomorrow.

Another unresolved issue is the commitments to repair. Vz said they feel their commitment is better than Comcast's, but Prisner is concerned that the clock for the commitment doesn't start until a Trouble Ticket is issued by the Customer Service Rep. If the Rep fails to issue the Trouble Ticket in a timely manner, then the customer is left hanging. However, Vz's commitment is to have the repair completed by 3 working days; Comcast's is to start working on the repair by 3 working days. Vz said their system doesn't start tracking until the Trouble Ticket is opened, so offered to substitute that section of their commitment with the commitment in Comcast's franchise. Prisner wants that considered by others also.

Both sides agreed that these issues should all be able to be resolved in time for tomorrow's deadline and Vz repeated their commitment to have service in before the end of the year IF the franchise is granted tomorrow.

Private to JT: The Rockville guy was there and it was stated that Rockville has issues that are being worked on that that, hopefully, would be resolved quickly. IOW, the usual bla, bla, bla, nothing concrete.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17351559 Mon, 27 Nov 2006 15:51:03 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17319600 jaums : Council agenda for November 28

This meeting will be televised live on Channel 6;
repeated on 12/1/06 at 8 pm and 12/2/06 at 9 am
Tuesday, November 28, 2006

9:50 ACTION - Resolution to approve the Franchise Agreement for Use of Public Right-of-
Way: Verizon Communications (Healy)
MFP Committee recommendations will be available 11/27/06.

»www.montgomerycountymd.gov/conte···8agn.pdf]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17319600 Tue, 21 Nov 2006 19:53:47 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17318319 JTRockville :
said by Gazette.net article posted by PaulGo See Profile :

...

‘[Comcast] ask(s) that local franchise agreements provide for a fair, level playing field,” said Comcast spokeswoman Lisa Altman. ‘‘There are numerous sections of Verizon’s agreement that afford them a more lenient agreement than ours or other franchisees.”

For example, Verizon would not be required to have a live person answer customer calls during business hours as Comcast is, would be given 72 hours to complete outside repairs instead of the 24 hours set out in other agreements and Verizon technicians would be required to work only during daylight hours, Altman said.

...
Verizon is willing to commit to 72 hours repair time, regardless of whether the problem is "in the house" or "outside the house". Anyone whose ever had to wait for a Comcast lineman knows that it's pointless to even use hours when measuring the wait. After all, Comcast doesn't commit to ever resolving an "outside the house" problem. Plus, Verizon gives automatic credits. That's right - you don't have to call, beg for credit, double-check your bill for the next three months, then file a complaint with the county.

I think choice would be as good for Comcast as it is for us. So let's be fair. Comcast and RCN should be able to adopt Verizon's standards (all of them - not pick and choose), or keep their own. But as Mitchell said, that's between Comcast and the county or RCN and the county. Neither Comcast or RCN have any business interfering with these negotiations.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17318319 Tue, 21 Nov 2006 16:29:18 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17318056 jammmin : Both the Montgomery and PG County Councils vote on November 28th for franchise agreements with Verizon.

I hope both are successful. I will be a great day for the citizens of both counties.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17318056 Tue, 21 Nov 2006 15:47:06 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17317922 cbrain : I hope that quote is way out of context. As it stands, she is a great reason for the Federal babysitter. :huh:]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17317922 Tue, 21 Nov 2006 15:22:29 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17317421 TheOtherPete :
said by JTRockville See Profile :

Does Praisner expect Verizon to build the entire plant first, so they can "flip the switch" once the agreement is signed?
Under what circumstances has that ever happened (entire plant is built first, then agreement is signed later)?
Agreed, it is a ridiculous thing to say.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17317421 Tue, 21 Nov 2006 13:46:46 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17317203 BarneyBadAss :
said by JTRockville See Profile :

Does Praisner expect Verizon to build the entire plant first, so they can "flip the switch" once the agreement is signed?
Under what circumstances has that ever happened (entire plant is built first, then agreement is signed later)?
JT,

While it may not have ever been done before, there's this saying... something like:

"There's always a first time for everything!"

And knowing how this county operates, that's likely the rule rather than the exception! :o
--
---Barney]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17317203 Tue, 21 Nov 2006 13:07:45 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17317147 JTRockville :
said by Gazette.net article posted by PaulGo See Profile :

...‘‘Even if Verizon flipped the switch on [Nov. 28] everyone would not get service, there would be a phasing in,” said Council Vice President Marilyn J. Praisner (D-Dist. 4) of Calverton, who chairs the committee considering the agreement. ‘‘That was one of my complaints, that Verizon was lobbying people to encourage the council to approve an agreement when all parts of the county would not receive services immediately.”
...
Does anyone remember how long RCN/Starpower had to make service available to everyone in the county (which they no longer plan to do)?

Does Praisner expect Verizon to build the entire plant first, so they can "flip the switch" once the agreement is signed?
Under what circumstances has that ever happened (entire plant is built first, then agreement is signed later)?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17317147 Tue, 21 Nov 2006 12:57:35 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17316958 PaulGo : Verizon cable deal up for vote next week
Concern lingers over the rollout plan, especially in the upcounty
Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2006

by Janel Davis Staff Writer

Montgomery County residents could have a third cable television service option if the County Council approves a franchise agreement with Verizon Communications next week.

The vote would be one of the last major issues decided by the sitting council, which swears in four new members on Dec. 4.

Under the proposed 15-year agreement, Verizon would offer cable television service to homes and businesses using its underground fiber-optic lines. If approved, the service would be phased in across the county over seven years. Comcast and RCN already hold cable franchise agreements in the county. Verizon already provides telephone and Internet services within the county, which do not require a franchise agreement.

Under the agreement, Verizon would pay the county an annual franchise fee of 5 percent of its gross revenues from its cable service. The county would receive free cable at its buildings and at some hospitals, clinics and community centers. Verizon also would provide the county with 11 public access channels.

The Nov. 28 vote will follow months of debate — and at least one lawsuit — over parts of the agreement, including service rollout dates and whether the service rules for Verizon are the same as those for Comcast and RCN. Some council members say Verizon’s rollout schedule will bring service to the Poolesville area too late, and Comcast and RCN say customer service rules are different for Verizon.

‘‘Even if Verizon flipped the switch on [Nov. 28] everyone would not get service, there would be a phasing in,” said Council Vice President Marilyn J. Praisner (D-Dist. 4) of Calverton, who chairs the committee considering the agreement. ‘‘That was one of my complaints, that Verizon was lobbying people to encourage the council to approve an agreement when all parts of the county would not receive services immediately.”

Under Verizon’s rollout plan, Bethesda, Potomac, Germantown, Damascus and Wheaton would receive services first — within one to three years after the agreement is approved. Other areas, including Silver Spring, Rockville and Takoma Park, would receive service within three to five years; the Gaithersburg area within five to seven years. The Poolesville area would receive service last, within seven years of approval and only if the number of households demanding Verizon service exceeds 6,000.

‘‘From a Poolesville-rural upcounty perspective, the residents just want basic service at the same competitive rates that exist in other parts of the county,” said County Councilman Michael J. Knapp (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown, who represents Poolesville. He would like to see that area on the schedule without the household contingency.

Knapp said the upcounty schedule as it now stands could lead him to vote against the Verizon agreement.

‘‘There are other things to consider, but it is certainly a big part of the decision for me,” he said. ‘‘At the very least we have to get Poolesville on the rollout schedule. I would like to make sure that the residents know that it’s going to happen at some point in time.”

In addition to the contested rollout plan, other cable representatives have disagreed with ‘‘lenient” customer service and maintenance requirements included in Verizon’s agreement.

‘‘[Comcast] ask(s) that local franchise agreements provide for a fair, level playing field,” said Comcast spokeswoman Lisa Altman. ‘‘There are numerous sections of Verizon’s agreement that afford them a more lenient agreement than ours or other franchisees.”

For example, Verizon would not be required to have a live person answer customer calls during business hours as Comcast is, would be given 72 hours to complete outside repairs instead of the 24 hours set out in other agreements and Verizon technicians would be required to work only during daylight hours, Altman said.

Comcast’s grievances are unfounded, Verizon spokesman Harry J. Mitchell said.

‘‘Everywhere we have gone, they have worked that issue. If they feel that the agreement that Verizon has struck with the county is better than the one it has, then they should take it up with the county,” Mitchell said. ‘‘Comcast essentially has a monopoly on the county. They don’t have to meet the same requirements in phone services that Verizon does. The solution is not to delay competition.”

How much Verizon may charge would depend on which package a customer chooses, but it is hard to compare its rates to Comcast’s or RCN’s because the packages are different.

The county began lengthy negotiations with Verizon last year, but talks broke off when the company sued the county earlier this year.

The company argued that the county was unnecessarily delaying its decision on an agreement. But county officials said Verizon had not submitted necessary company information to begin the process.

In July, Bruce F. Romer, the county’s chief administrative officer, called the lawsuit was frivolous.

‘‘Verizon has not even applied for a cable franchise in the county. Its lawsuit is nothing more than a tool in its public relations campaign to gain congressional approval of a national franchise,” he said in a letter to The Gazette.

Verizon dropped the suit in September when the county agreed to open Montgomery up to the company’s cable service.

On Oct. 5, County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) forwarded a proposed agreement to the council and recommended that the council grant Verizon a cable franchise.

The council’s Management and Fiscal Policy Committee plans a worksession on Monday to resolve that and the rollout issues. A full council vote is set for the next day.

‘‘Hopefully we’ll have a complete franchise agreement to vote [on Tuesday],” Praisner said. ‘‘I prefer to finish it on the 28th because this is the council’s last meeting before we bring in four new council members. I prefer not to have to restart the process to educate the new members.”

The Prince George’s County Council is also scheduled to vote on a similar Verizon agreement on Tuesday. Anne Arundel and Fairfax, Va., counties already have cable agreements with Verizon.

»www.gazette.net/stories/112106/m···79.shtml]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17316958 Tue, 21 Nov 2006 12:20:02 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17278747 serg_leo : Thank you JT! Great summary!!! Let's hope that council will approve agreement on 28th and VZ will start TV service from December ;)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17278747 Wed, 15 Nov 2006 07:47:40 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17278625 JohnA :
said by JTRockville See Profile :

fiber optic cable installed on Troy Road today (!!)
Excellent!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17278625 Wed, 15 Nov 2006 06:43:01 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17277572 JTRockville :
said by PaulGo See Profile :

Thanks for the excellent summary!
Quite welcome. :)

Don is much better at summarizing these meetings, so let's hope he blogs about it too.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17277572 Tue, 14 Nov 2006 23:16:55 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17277567 JTRockville :
said by DufiefData See Profile :

What exactly are the "drops"?

>13) Calls must be answered within a certain amount of time - Verizon wants a bot to count as "answered by a live person". Everyone agreed.

LOL !
I guess no one in the meeting ever got trapped in a phone tree before. :uhh:

The "drops" were a big issue in past hearings. All providers are required to give a free account to certain public buildings. I'm not sure what level of service is required (limited basic TV plus lowest tier internet maybe?). Most providers had to give the free account at several hundred buildings (300? or 500?), but Verizon bargained to provide a free account at 100 buildings plus $1 million.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17277567 Tue, 14 Nov 2006 23:15:54 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17277540 JTRockville : That's correct JohnA See Profile. To my knowledge, the word "Rockville" (or "Montrose, for that matter) was never even spoken during the entire hearing. So Rockville is left to their own devices - the sooner they grant permits to Verizon, the sooner they get service. And judging by the fiber optic cable installed on Troy Road today (!!) they won't be holding the rest of us hostage.

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17277540 Tue, 14 Nov 2006 23:10:03 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17277516 DufiefData : What exactly are the "drops"?

>13) Calls must be answered within a certain amount of time - Verizon wants a bot to count as "answered by a live person". Everyone agreed.

LOL !]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17277516 Tue, 14 Nov 2006 23:04:21 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17276747 JohnA :
Correct me, if I'm wrong, JT, but it looks like no one from Rockville was invited, and no language was requested to change the idea that Rockville could ultimately end up with no service.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17276747 Tue, 14 Nov 2006 21:06:27 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17275860 PaulGo : Thanks for the excellent summary!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17275860 Tue, 14 Nov 2006 18:40:23 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17275044 JTRockville : Thanks to the PEG network, the meeting can be viewed here for the next two weeks:

»207.96.37.24/PlayVideo.asp?date=···econd=10

I watch it (it's 1.5 hours) and summarized it:

Attendees from the County Council:
Marilyn Praisner, Councilmember
Phil Andrews, Councilmember
Howard Denis, Councilmember
Sonya Healy, Legislative Analyst for the Council

Others in attendance (partial list):
Jane Lawton, Montgomery County Cable Administrator
Jerry Pasternak from the County Executive's Office
Briana Gowing, Verizon
Lori Edwards, Verizon

Lawton reiterated that the county cable office feels the agreement is beneficial to the county.

Edwards said she felt the agreement was fair, but that Verizon was more than willing to address any concerns the county may have.

Sonya Healy covered:

1) Proposed timelines - council would like benchmarks for interim timelines. Verizon offered to modify the language so it was more specific, for example change "significant numbers within 12 months" to "50% of residents within 12 months". The council asked for the specifics in writing.

2) Poolsville area will never meet the density requirements. Verizon is working with Sonya and will get back to the council with a specific penetration goal that would justify deploying Poolsville at the current density.

3) MDUs - Verizon doesn't see any technology deficiencies to deter deployment at MDUs, but there are other reasons why Verizon might not be able to deploy (like an exclusive agreement with another provider). Verizon will work on clarifying the language.

4) Business community - Praisner requested a letter of commitment for intent to serve the business community. Verizon agreed to work with Sonya.

5) Number of drops - Verizon to provide 100 drops (significantly less than others) + $1 million. Praisner wanted to ensure this money would remain earmarked in the cable fund for purpose of installing service at new locations. Praisner also expressed concern with the 300ft limit on the 100 drops. Everyone seemed willing to agree that $1 was a fair swap for less drops than the other cable franchisees, but Verizon's justification for the 300ft limit was pretty week (essentially, "it's a standard number").

6) System Operation - Verizon doesn't have mid-term technical tests. Miller and Van Eaton legal beagle chimed in that since Verizon is Title II, they were subject to other requirements and the mid-term was not necessary.

7) PEGs - channel lineups will not be the same across providers (for example, Verizon has already committed channel 6 to WDCA, so it can't be used for Montgomery County channel). Two-way town meetings are something the county is interested in, and could probably accommodated under Verizon's agreement, but something like HD would not be accommodated for our PEGs.

8) Franchise fee - Verizon agreed to 5%, like everyone else.

9) Customer service - Verizon may need to submit call center data by call center, not just for Montgomery County. Praisner clearly wasn't impressed with Verizon's lack of reporting ability - particularly since these standards are set by the FCC and Verizon must have known about them. Praisner insisted that there must be some way to accomplish this.

10) Notice of rate changes - not sure what the issue was, but everyone agreed.

11) Clarification of language that specifies customers should be able to reach a live representative during normal business hours - everyone agreed.

12) Local business office - council would like a certain number of subscribers to warrant a local office, Verizon agreed to open a local office when there are 50,000 customers, and agreed to alternate means of exchanging equipment (like pre-paid mailers, or sending a tech out).

13) Calls must be answered within a certain amount of time - Verizon wants a bot to count as "answered by a live person". Everyone agreed.

14) Clarify what "responds" means - Sonya added some language that she thought was to Verizon's benefit, but Verizon didn't see it that way so everyone agreed the language will be removed.

15) Repairs withing 24 hours - Verizon points out there's no firm commitment for resolving issues if they're inside the home. Verizon is willing to commit to a 72 hour resolution regardless of whether it's inside or outside.

16) Credits - Verizon's policy is to give credits for loss of service of over 4 hours whether or not a tech has been dispatched. Verizon automatically gives credit for outages. Verizon has no intention of adopting Comcast's credit policies (no credit until after tech visit, no automatic credit for outages ever issued).

17) System outage - clarify whether 10% of customers out is by service area, by wire center, or county wide?

18) Confidential - Verizon wants to decide what is confidential. Everyone agreed.

19) Filing Documents - Verizon must submit any regulatory documents it receives to the county within 15 days. Everyone agreed.

20) Bond - Pasternak will have these issues (whatever they are - they weren't rehashed in this meeting) resolved by the end of the week.

21) Other language changes like definition of subscriber, and "gross revenue document" vs "financial document". Everyone agreed.

Denis asked when the council planned to vote on this. Praisner hoped to vote by November 28th. Pasternak added: if council does not act by December 1, then someone needs to go back to the federal judge. Denis wondered what value 4 lame duck Councilmembers could add without risk of sending the agreement back to litigation/square one, and asked for guidance about what the "deal breaker" issues were.

Praisner wondered about the compatibility of Verizon's set-top boxes. Verizon's equipment should be compatible with most consumer equipment, and Verizon will attempt to connect all customer equipment.

Praisner raised the issue of power, since the customer is now required to provide power and for replacing the battery used for backup. Verizon explained what documents are given to the subscriber to explain these.

Praisner asked about notification of safety violations, and wanted the procedure in writing.

Praisner asked for "as built" maps again. Verizon said they would provide them for viewing, but not for keeping. Praisner didn't find that to be acceptable, unless they were on file at PSC and available for local government viewing.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17275044 Tue, 14 Nov 2006 16:31:47 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17272516 serg_leo : Folks,

Is anyone was on the MFP worksession yesterday? I don't see any updates on Don's Blog about this event.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17272516 Tue, 14 Nov 2006 08:11:02 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17226873 JTRockville : I hate to say it BarneyBadAss See Profile, but I don't share your excitement about video. It would probably take me a few days to even notice if my service was disconnected. But I don't get any pixelation on my teeny-tiny 80's era tv sets, or on my computer monitors, with DirecTV.

Still, even though I'm perfectly happy with DirecTV, I'll probably switch to Verizon so I can get our PEGs.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17226873 Mon, 06 Nov 2006 14:18:03 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17226298 BarneyBadAss : JT,

Good deal... glad to hear it... and I'm even happier it's not Dec 07 we're talking about!!

Now if we can only ge the TV stuff in place and working;

I'm so fed up with my 50" plasma always just pixilating... and no amount of complaining seems to be able to get it completely resolved.... ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17226298 Mon, 06 Nov 2006 12:42:16 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17226083 JTRockville :
said by BarneyBadAss See Profile :

said by JTRockville See Profile :

Noooooooooooo tin cans and string for ME BarneyBadAss See Profile!

The Verizon work crew said we'd have FiOS internet by January, or maybe in December.
Um... er.. uh... I'm presuming you are refereing to Jan 07 & Dec 07 respectively?
FiOS internet might be available to me as early as Dec 2006 BarneyBadAss See Profile! Can you believe it!?!? I'm starting to get excited. The crew has made it to the southern corner of Troy and Schuylkill (Troy crosses Schuylkill twice), but they haven't started down Troy yet.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17226083 Mon, 06 Nov 2006 12:04:38 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17226065 JTRockville : What a grand idea! I'm sure he'll be happy for me.
* giggles *]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17226065 Mon, 06 Nov 2006 12:01:19 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17226036 JohnA :
said by JTRockville See Profile :

btw - Two different crews gave the same projected dates.
It is possible, but you want to see them on your street very soon.

You can send your first email over fiber to Doug, and tell him of your good fortune, of having your issue, raised at the hearing, solved so quickly.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17226036 Mon, 06 Nov 2006 11:57:04 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17225981 BarneyBadAss :
said by JTRockville See Profile :

Noooooooooooo tin cans and string for ME BarneyBadAss See Profile!

The Verizon work crew said we'd have FiOS internet by January, or maybe in December.
Um... er.. uh... I'm presuming you are refereing to Jan 07 & Dec 07 respectively?
--
---Barney]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17225981 Mon, 06 Nov 2006 11:47:27 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17225289 JTRockville : I thought so too. Montrose Road CO has a huge footprint. But I wasn't going to argue with the crew - particularly since they're moving through Randolph Hills really quickly.

btw - Two different crews gave the same projected dates.

As long as it's available by Feb/March, it won't throw a monkey-wrench into my T-1 contract.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17225289 Mon, 06 Nov 2006 09:32:50 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17225203 JohnA :
said by JTRockville See Profile :

The Verizon work crew said we'd have FiOS internet by January, or maybe in December.
Seems rather fast to me, unless it's part of the send-a-message strategy.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17225203 Mon, 06 Nov 2006 09:10:30 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17225012 JTRockville : Noooooooooooo tin cans and string for ME BarneyBadAss See Profile!

The Verizon work crew said we'd have FiOS internet by January, or maybe in December.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17225012 Mon, 06 Nov 2006 08:19:24 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17222211 BarneyBadAss : And all this time I thought you were prepairing to use tin cans and string... :D :D :D

Hmmmm.... perhaps they are just going to install the fiber and only permit phone service and no I-net or TV :(
--
---Barney]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17222211 Sun, 05 Nov 2006 17:40:45 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17195785 JTRockville :
said by JohnA See Profile :

said by JTRockville See Profile :

Was I the unwitting messenger?
For Doug Breisch, apparently you were. Did you enjoy it?
Thoroughly. I'm still grinning.

* peeks out the window but doesn't see any Verizon trucks on Troy yet *]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17195785 Wed, 01 Nov 2006 09:24:03 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17195781 serg_leo : JT, Thanks for update!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17195781 Wed, 01 Nov 2006 09:23:21 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17195342 PaulGo : As long as the changes are not unreasonable I think Verizon will go along with the fine tuning. At this point Verizon will loose too much money if it has to go into litigation and face delays. There are legitimate concerns that need to be addressed by Montgomery County. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17195342 Wed, 01 Nov 2006 07:46:59 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17193838 JohnA :
said by JTRockville See Profile :

Was I the unwitting messenger?
For Doug Breisch, apparently you were. Did you enjoy it?

What you said was Verizon is going to do yours, whether they have to stop at the city or not. Puts them on about a 6 month time frame, to move or get left behind.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17193838 Tue, 31 Oct 2006 22:04:36 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17193773 guppy_fish : It will be interesting to see if MC is boneheaded enough to try and make changes to a court ordered mediated document. If they do, VZ will just go back to the court, the court will thrown the book so to speak at MC for being such nitwits.

Oh and to compare Comcasts goodies, that were extracted with the promise of a monopoly to what the court approved mediated contract has is just plain stupid .. I'm soooo glad I don't live in MC!

VZ was 100% right in the path they have chosen, and for good reason, MC is showing its colors ... it would appear they still don't get it, but I guess coming from people that wanted to overrule Federal Telcom laws, there is no surprise ...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17193773 Tue, 31 Oct 2006 21:55:23 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17193497 JTRockville :
said by JohnA See Profile :

Message being sent ..... properly received.
Was I the unwitting messenger?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17193497 Tue, 31 Oct 2006 21:10:01 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17193408 JTRockville : We tried speculating a while back (when the initial service area was being built) about what the criteria might be for areas likely to be served first. We concluded that there were so many variables, you couldn't pin it on any one thing, like incorporated vs unincorporated.

Have you seen the service area map? That might help you get a sense of when you'll get lit.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17193408 Tue, 31 Oct 2006 20:55:58 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17193321 anon : Are the unincorporated areas of the county likely to be wired before the incorporated areas? That would be welcome news for people in North Potomac/Dufief!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17193321 Tue, 31 Oct 2006 20:42:15 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17193216 JohnA :
said by JTRockville See Profile :

After the hearing, I spoke to Doug Breisch (sp?) of Rockville DTS, who seemed stunned that Verizon was preparing to light Montrose Road
Stunned is a proper reaction to finding out that they can and will be passed. Message being sent ..... properly received.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17193216 Tue, 31 Oct 2006 20:24:27 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17192940 JTRockville : No specific dates were given. Verizon seems prepared to move quickly, but I got the sense that the council is going to need to mull things over for a while.

In the past, Praisner made a big show of talking about how quickly the council could move once the agreement was proposed. This time, she took care to point out how many issues still needed to be resolved.

There's a worksession scheduled for November 13th, so we know there won't be a vote before then.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17192940 Tue, 31 Oct 2006 19:45:20 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17192866 jaums : JT, any hint today as to when the franchise will actually be either granted or ??? And, any hint from Vz about when TV service will be available to those who already have FiOS Internet? Thanks!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17192866 Tue, 31 Oct 2006 19:32:05 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17192599 JTRockville : Yes I attended and testified.

Only 10 people testified:
1) Jane Lawton representing the County Executive
Gave similar testimony as when testifying before the Exec
2) City Councilmember Susan Hoffman representing the City of Rockville
Gave similar testimony as when testifying before the Exec
3) Suzanne Weiss representing the Cable and Communications Advisory Committee (yes, the old name was on the agenda)
Testimony was largely regarding PEG issues.
4) Briana Gowing representing Verizon
Got cheers when she said MASN would be delivered without the $2 surcharge.
5) Michael Egan, individual
Asked for more consumer protections, but as Praisner pointed out afterwards, his suggestions are not legal
6) Richard Turner representing Montgomery Community Television
Testified to issues regarding free service at public buildings, and some other PEG-related issues
7) David Friedman, individual
Pointed out that Comcast supplies free service to 700 places, but Verizon is only required to serve 100.
8) Angela Lee representing Comcast.
Noted the differences between Comcast's requirements and Verizon's requirements (neglected to note that Verizon will pay 3% PEG/INet fee but Comcast is quite a bit shy of that)
9) Robert Carlisle, individual
Former Corning employee, is delighted to see the new network - the sooner the better.
10) Jaime Todaro, individual
Basically just said: Hurry Up Already!

In follow-up questions, Praisner asked Lawton to point out the changes the exec made in response to public testimony by the 13th, and she jokingly suggested that Rockville should de-annex if they want all their footprint covered in 2 years. She also suggested that Egan pursue a Cable Compliance Commission claim.

In response to Andrews' question regarding what could be done to speed things up, Gowing noted that the service dates VZ was willing to commit to in the agreement were the "outside" dates and service would likely be ready sooner in most cases.

Leventhal pointed out that we're just as likely to have uniformly high prices and uniformly bad service, and asked Verizon if there was any chance he was wrong. Gowing's answer was pretty weak, and Lawton added that other jurisdictions with agreements in place have not noticed better customer service.

In closing, Praisner pointed out that many folks on the I-270 "technology corridor" (a reference to Carlisle's testimony) would not see service for 7 years if ever, and assured everyone that this matter, as well as the inequitable number of free service locations would be looked in to.

After the hearing, I spoke to Doug Breisch (sp?) of Rockville DTS, who seemed stunned that Verizon was preparing to light Montrose Road, and asked me for specific streets where deployment is happening. I assured him it was all outside the city limits.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17192599 Tue, 31 Oct 2006 18:45:36 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17192354 serg_leo : Did you attended on the hearing? Could you post short notes?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17192354 Tue, 31 Oct 2006 17:57:43 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17191842 JTRockville :
said by JohnA See Profile :

said by JTRockville See Profile :

Judging by the activity I saw today though, I think Rockville might have already granted the permits.
I doubt it.
You are correct JohnA See Profile, no agreement for construction permits yet. And no backing down from Rockville's demands either. The same City Councilmember from Rockville who testified at the Executive's hearing also testified today, and reissued the same demands.

Did anyone watch?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17191842 Tue, 31 Oct 2006 16:23:57 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17190378 JTRockville : Well... they don't have the franchise yet, but they will soon. I hope you're right about the city limits.
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17190378 Tue, 31 Oct 2006 12:13:50 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17189596 JohnA :
said by JTRockville See Profile :

Judging by the activity I saw today though, I think Rockville might have already granted the permits.
I doubt it.

said by JTRockville See Profile :

Can/would Verizon light part of a CO?
They can. They have a county franchise to give you TV. My guess is that they will wire right up to the city limits and stop, and put Rockville on the spot. It's very easy to stop the fiber at the city line. All they have to do is maintain the copper, which they'll be doing for the next ten years anyway.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17189596 Tue, 31 Oct 2006 09:38:30 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17187544 JTRockville : My take on 3.1.2 is:

Many residents in the MSA must be served within 3 years, most within 5 years from the date of the agreement. But if Rockville won't grant reasonably priced permits by the end of next year, then anyone served by the Rockville or Montrose Road office will be served within 4 years from the date Rockville grants the permits instead of 3-5 years from the agreement date.

Of course, there's always section 3.2.

Judging by the activity I saw today though, I think Rockville might have already granted the permits.


Can/would Verizon light part of a CO?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17187544 Mon, 30 Oct 2006 21:54:50 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17186884 DonLibes : JT, Did you see the following passage? Can you explain in plain English how/whether it applies to you?
3.1.2. Middle Service Area: In the Middle Service Area, the Franchisee shall offer Cable Service to significant numbers of Subscribers in residential areas within three (3) years of the Effective Date of this Franchise, and to all residences within the Middle Service Area at which such service is requested within five (5) years of the Effective Date of the Franchise, except as specified in Section 3.2. If Franchisee is unable to reach agreement with the City of Rockville to obtain construction permits for the FTTP network under reasonable terms and conditions, as determined by Franchisee, by December 31, 2007, these timeframes shall not apply to Franchisee's provision of Cable Service to residences served by Franchisee's - Rockville and Montrose wire centers. Instead, Franchisee shall offer Cable Service to all residences served by the Rockville and Montrose wire centers at which such service is requested within four (4) years of obtaining construction permits for the FTTP network from the City of Rockville, except as specified in Section 3.2.
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17186884 Mon, 30 Oct 2006 20:10:27 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17184521 JTRockville : OMG, I hope you're right, PaulGo See Profile!

I chatted with a few of the workers today (thankfully the manager gave me his card), and found out my street isn't on their map.

Hey Verizon!
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?
CAN YOU HEAR ME FROM HERE, IN THE NO OUTLET?

[att=1]
Click for full size
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17184521 Mon, 30 Oct 2006 13:17:49 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17184244 PaulGo : Maybe the listened to your testimony and responded? When JT talks Verizon listens!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17184244 Mon, 30 Oct 2006 12:29:21 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17184120 JTRockville : * shreds her prepared testimony and tosses it into the air like confetti *

I was going to give the same testimony I gave at the exec's hearing. I figured: why not? When I prepared it, I thought the hearing was before the council, or maybe just the MFP.

But.....

AT THIS VERY MOMENT Verizon is hanging fiber optic cable on the poles in RANDOLPH HILLS of all places. Yep that's right - Verizon is preparing to light MONTROSE.

Kinda blows the whole premise of my topic.
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17184120 Mon, 30 Oct 2006 12:02:59 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17183571 PaulGo : The PDF Don linked to shows the proposed changes to the Verizon agreement. (Mostly related to service standards and some to build out). On my quick read it appears that Verizon is complying with most of the existing cable standards.
Pages 9 and 10 refer to the additional questions that the council wants Verizon to respond to.
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17183571 Mon, 30 Oct 2006 10:18:05 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17183300 JTRockville : Don, was the original agreement changed at all, or did the exec pass it on as it was?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17183300 Mon, 30 Oct 2006 09:18:25 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17182146 DonLibes :
said by JTRockville See Profile :

As DonLibes See Profile pointed out, the council loves to make amendments. So I'll guess they probably won't just rubber stamp it. But I'll make a further guess: any amendments they propose will be voted down.
As I mentioned in my blog, I believe amendments are required before the franchise can be passed. There are just too many holes in it as is. The council staff report alone identifies 12 issues that it wants addressed.

So you don't have to slog through the blog, here's a direct link to a searchable copy of the council briefing packet.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17182146 Mon, 30 Oct 2006 00:13:26 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17158312 JTRockville : Oh, indeed I did. Sorry about that - I corrected it.

Those are good questions PaulGo See Profile. The exec should have posted a fresh copy.

As DonLibes See Profile pointed out, the council loves to make amendments. So I'll guess they probably won't just rubber stamp it. But I'll make a further guess: any amendments they propose will be voted down.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17158312 Thu, 26 Oct 2006 05:48:51 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17155365 PaulGo : You put October 1 (instead of October 31) in your first post.
Do you think anything but a rubber stamp of the agreement will come out of this? Also based upon the comments to the County Exec. last month were any changes made?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17155365 Wed, 25 Oct 2006 18:06:56 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17152443 JTRockville : The agenda says October 31st. So unless a correction is published, I'd assume that's the date for the hearing.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17152443 Wed, 25 Oct 2006 09:47:08 EDT Re: Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17152386 jammmin : I assume you meant November 1st.

PG County Cable TV commission is having their public hearing today at 6:30pm. I plan to attend to give my support for FIOS TV in PG County]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17152386 Wed, 25 Oct 2006 09:31:26 EDT Montgomery County MD Public Hearing http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17152171 JTRockville : The county council will hold a hearing on the proposed franchise agreement with Verizon (see the council agenda, bottom of page 6 in this pdf: »www.montgomerycountymd.gov/conte···2agn.pdf )

If there's something you'd like to tell the council on-the-record regarding this agreement, October 31st at 1:30 is your chance.

Sign up early, and smile for the camera!

See you there.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17152171 Wed, 25 Oct 2006 08:38:09 EDT