Last month we noted how Verizon has increasingly been under fire from regulators in West Virginia, Florida and New York for slacking when it comes to maintenance and customer service for their aging DSL networks. With so much money to be made on getting into the TV business via FiOS TV, workers, customers and regulators say the telco is cutting corners in markets it's less interested in (when they're not busy just selling these markets outright). The result is poor customer service and long repair times for DSL and landline customers in a significant portion of the company's footprint.

Delaware is the latest to confirm something is seriously afoot when it comes to Verizon copper, an independent consultant finding that Verizon's coming up short in that state as well in terms of keeping its landline and DSL customers happy. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the consultant's report has been redacted upon request by Verizon. But the PSC's concerns are made pretty clear in comments to the News Journal concerning a Verizon settlement with the state:Every time we've asked the carrier, Verizon has vehemently denied that they're neglecting their copper-based markets, but it's becoming rather clear that those markets (and the employees who work in them) believe otherwise. In what's an additional trend we're noticing, Verizon's battling harder with each state PSC to weaken the determination of what constitutes a speedy repair, as the Charlston Gazette examines:Of course Verizon's thinking that if they weaken the standards it will look like they're doing a better job -- without actually having to do a better job -- a tactic most cable and phone companies have employed for years. Combined with Verizon's efforts to sell unwanted markets to companies using fancy financial tactics that wind up crushing the buyer underfoot, the company's decision to hang up on a significant portion of their customer base seems like a story overshadowed by the company's investment in FiOS.