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Verizon Tells Employees to Ignore Bad Press on FiOS Failures

Verizon has been taking a lot of heat lately for failing to live up to its FiOS deployment promises. Just in the last month both New York City and Pittsburgh have threatened to file suit against the telco for failing to live up to deployment promises, and 14 Mayors sent the telco a terse letter saying the company has a long history of taking subsidies and tax breaks in exchange for FiOS deployment that's either only partially delivered, or not delivered at all.

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Apparently hoping to calm employees who pay attention to the news, Verizon has been circulating a talking point sheet dubbed "trust the facts" that effectively informs NYC staff that every single media outlet reporting on this issue is wrong, and Verizon met all of its obligations.

"Recently, there have been inaccurate statements in the press about our Fios build," states the memo. "The information below will help you understand the reality of our success and ongoing commitment to Fios."

After throwing out a few random investment stats, the memo claims that Verizon "passed all prems, in all five boroughs of NYC," and that criticism of the company is unfounded. But as we've noted a few times, Verizon intentionally didn't define the term "passed" in the agreement, allowing it last week to tell attendees of a NYC hearing on the issue that just getting fiber somewhere near a home is the same thing as serving that home.

"We consider it to be passed if we're within the realm of substantial fiber placement," a Verizon spokesman told attendees.

Long-standing telco accounting critic Bruce Kushnick does a good job deconstructing Verizon's claims, noting that not only did Verizon rely on an undefined definition of the word "passed," it also wiggled around obligations by fiddling with the definitions of terms like "households," and "residential housing (dwelling) units." He also notes that Verizon rose DSL and POTS rates on many residents claiming it was for FiOS upgrades -- which were then never delivered:

quote:
In 2006, Verizon cut a deal with the NY State Public Service Commission to raise local phone rates, and this was repeated multiple times. By late 2009, local phone customers had been hit with 84 percent rate increases to fund a "massive deployment of fiber optics".

These increases on just basic phone service added about $760 per line, (including taxes, fees and surcharges) in New York City if the customer had service since 2006, or a fraction of this excess as everyone who had service during 2006-2015 got hit with these rate increases. Also, each add-on service, from inside wire maintenance to nonpublished numbers, all had increases of 100-300 percent, adding hundred of dollars extra per additional service.
In short Verizon lawyers wrote most of these FiOS franchise agreements with all manner of loopholes to ensure they never actually had to engage in full FiOS deployments. The problem is that most of the cities complaining should have bothered to read the contracts before they were signed (or held transparent, open hearings on the negotiations). Trying to hold Verizon accountable after the fact historically hasn't accomplished all that much.

Most recommended from 20 comments


smk11
join:2014-11-12

18 recommendations

smk11

Member

So do something about it.

Take them to court, kick them out of your city/county/state, seize assets, harass executives that live nearby, cancel all verizon wireless state contracts, etc. Stop talking and start doing. While you're at it, fund your own muni fiber.

cabana
Department of Adjustments
Mod
join:2000-07-07
New York, NY

17 recommendations

cabana

Mod

Its the POTS Pits

As a customer who had a long time POTS line ... who survived a basement flood ... and was basically stalled into oblivion for a meaningful fix on the POTS line that stopped working ... (read ... they did not want me to have dsl or pots in my building anymore) ... I was forced to accept cable in my building and VOIP for crappy phone service.

Verizon promised ad nasuem ... FIOS FIOS FIOS ... you don't need your POTS line to be fixed ... your street will be one of the first to get FIOS (due to a huge construction project in the area) ..... YEARS later ... still see FIOS trucks parked here there and everywhere ... and guess what ... STILL NO FIOS available.

I think Verizon gives good service in places. Perhaps they even believe that FIOS is on track in some bizarre long term business plan. But I am not holding my breath.

I am stuck with bumpy VOIP from a third party vendor ... and had to buy a cellphone booster tower to keep myself from frost bite hanging out the window in the winter for achieving cellphone signal.

I see my money go out ... I see taxes and sur charges supposedly to benefit me ... but I sure don't see what or where it goes ... and with little to no option as a customer ... I just have to take what I have for now.

As long as we give "incentives" to the monopoly for "upgrades and build outs" then the very definition of common sense is in dire straights.

Hey ... how about this idea ... a VALUABLE service for communication should not have its sole purpose be profit. It is a SERVICE that is as needed as ambulance ... or roads.

Incentives are not to underline your profit margin ... they are ... cough ... gasp ... meant ... to encourage you to BUILD and to assist in not taking the hit financially for the build ... not meant to be pure profit.

ACCOUNTABILITY ... period ... we the people would like a big old refund please . We did not get what we paid for ... period. (of course I am not delusional ... I do realize I am just yelling into the wind) .

Oh well
Exile714
join:2015-08-19

15 recommendations

Exile714

Member

Why should the employees care?

People and the government aren't mad at Verizon's employees, they're mad at the corporate leadership which emphasized short-term gains by cherry-picking their deployments rather than fulfilling their commitments. Is there any doubt all fiber deployments will be profitable eventually, as subscribership and usage rise? Fiber doesn't degrade that quickly, but Verizon (and ATT, and everyone else) only wants to deploy where they can realize a profit in less than 3 years time.

That's a corporate leadership issue. The employees are just doing what they're paid to do.
joeMI
join:2006-08-15
Mcmillan, MI

12 recommendations

joeMI

Member

passed should mean service

In my opinion, and I know that doesn't mean much, "passed" should mean that service is available to the residence or business if they choose to subscribe to it. Anything else is meaningless.

TIGERON
join:2008-03-11
Boston, MA

11 recommendations

TIGERON

Member

ALL wireline to be sold

Anyone still believe that Verizon (and AT&T) is going to hold onto their remaining wireline? This should remove all doubt that whatever copper assets they have Frontier and CenturyLink will be the acquiring companies of the rest of it.
ham3843
join:2015-01-15
USA

1 edit

6 recommendations

ham3843

Member

Corporate MALFEASANCE!

It would seem that Verizon's obsession on short term profits at the expense of the
LONG term profitability, health and viability of the company (by only concentrating on wireless assets) is a form of corporate malfeasance and failure of fiduciary duty on the
part of many top Verizon executives and directors as well. I believe shareholders should sue the company on those grounds. You could say the SAME THING about AT&T as well.

PoloDude
Premium Member
join:2006-03-29
Aiken, SC

6 recommendations

PoloDude

Premium Member

Who you going to believe?

Us, or your lying eyes.
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

3 recommendations

tmc8080

Member

Ny state

get rid of Verizon's statewide franchise exclusivity in NY state! That should mean that a competitor can get the green light to build at ANY time! NY state is the lynchpin of deciding to either keep or jettison wireline biz, if they come under significant pressure to invest or divest.. they will have to S#*@ or get off the pot!
andre2
join:2005-08-24
Brookline, MA

3 recommendations

andre2

Member

You F*cked Up. You Trusted Us.

»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· 2j0OWUi8

Zenit_IIfx
The system is the solution
Premium Member
join:2012-05-07
Purcellville, VA
·Comcast XFINITY

3 recommendations

Zenit_IIfx

Premium Member

VZ Management:

»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· DMGxiyJw


VZ Management: I see nothing, I was not here, I did not even get up this decade!

Recently Shammo said FiOS will cover 70% of the ex-Bell Atlantic footprint and that VZ will spend 4 billion dollars to do it. I will only believe it when I actually see the fiber going up, and going in the ground.