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AT&T Pays Chicago Suburb $26K Because U-Verse VRADs Are Ugly

Over the years several communities have gotten upset about the AT&T VRAD cabinets required to deliver the company's U-Verse FTTN/VDSL service. In some areas, complaints involved anger of AT&T ignoring easement rights or childhood traffic dangers, while in other markets the complaints have been aesthetic or property-value driven. In San Francisco, community opposition to installing 725 six-foot-tall utility cabinets was so heated, AT&T had to shelve expansion plans until just recently.


In Illinois, AT&T has battled groups like Stop The Box for years over VRAD placement, with AT&T finally going so far as to agree to pay $1,500-$2000 for landscaping surrounding each box. In the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge, city council members last week forced AT&T to pay $2,000 per VRAD as part of what's called a "landscape agreement."

Except said landscape agreement won't have anything to do with landscaping:
quote:
Under the agreement, the city could receive $26,000 if all 13 boxes are installed. But, despite its name, language in the agreement does not require the city to use the money on landscaping or screening around the boxes which measure about 4 feet tall and 5 feet wide. "As I understand it, we can take the money and run," said 3rd Ward Alderman Jim Smith.
Most of AT&T's much publicized Project VIP expansion for U-Verse is really just AT&T going back to areas they planned to wire back in 2009 -- but faced resistance due to the ugly nature of what have affectionately grown to be known as "lawn fridges."

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FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

3 recommendations

FFH5

Premium Member

Park Ridge extortion to call it what it is

If not used for the reason they claimed it was for(landscaping), this is nothing but government extortion of a business. But it is hardly surprising. Small communities have been doing this type of thing against cable companies for ages.