[Discuss] Verizon getting out of being regulated by coercing customers to switch from copper to FIOS

[mbr at arlsoft.com (MBR)]

On 7/24/14 10:51 PM, Bill Bogstad wrote:
> On Thu, Jul 24, 2014 at 5:12 PM, Tom Metro <tmetro+blu at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Bill Bogstad wrote:
>>> VZ for land lines (and even FIOS) is at least somewhat a regulated
>>> monopoly. ...you could get the appropriate state regulatory agency
>>> involved on your side.
>> My understanding is that once you get rid of your copper phone lines,
>> the state regulatory agency is out of the picture, and you are under the
>> jurisdiction of your town's cable franchise agreement, which likely
>> gives you far fewer options for recourse.
>>
>> This is part of why Verizon yanks out the copper lines when they install
>> FIOS. They don't want you going back, or for a third party to come along
>> and re-activate those lines, which under state telco regulations, they'd
>> be obligated to accommodate.
> Your and Dan's note make an interesting pair.   Sounds like copper is
> the way to go if you
> want to remain a "regulated" customer.
>
> Bill
Copper is definitely the way to go if you want regulated service. BUT 
you'll never get Verizon to install a new copper line, AND if you 
already have copper like I do, good luck hanging onto it! Verizon is 
doing everything they possibly can to coerce their copper customers into 
giving up their copper connection.

Last summer I needed Verizon to repair one of my copper landlines 
because there was some static in the background.  Verizon repeatedly 
lied to me, and did everything in their power to try to coerce me into 
allowing them to rip out my landlines and replace them with FIOS.  It 
was only because I contacted every governmental entity I could think of 
who might have some power over them, that after about 2 weeks they 
acquiesced and finally repaired my copper line.

It's worth noting that in the midst of the battle, one of their managers 
told me that if I wasn't willing to allow them to switch me to FIOS, he 
was going to schedule my lines to be disconnected within 7 days!

Also, although I spoke to someone at the Mass. Department of 
Telecommunications who tried to help me, she told me that the law 
doesn't give them the authority to require that Verizon do the repair.  
The best she could do was to contact Verizon and beg them to repair my 
copper line.

In the end, it appears that my persistence in reporting their egregious 
behavior to governmental authorities, and my mentioning that I was 
considering going to the press, scared them enough that I got a call 
from what Verizon calls their "President's Office", which is not 
actually the office of Verizon's CEO.  It's really nothing more than an 
ombudsman's office.  They offered me a few months free phone service, 
presumably in the hope that I'd be placated and stop publicly complaining.

Apparently I'm not Verizon's only victim.  Verizon's coercing customers 
all over the country to give up their regulated copper line service and 
replace it with unregulated FIOS.  Here are just a few of the many 
articles about this on the web:

  *

    http://bgr.com/2014/03/24/verizon-fios-migration-accusations/

  *

    http://www.extremetech.com/internet/179022-verizon-accused-of-tearing-out-copper-telephone-lines-to-force-fios-and-wireless-on-customers

  *

    http://forums.verizon.com/t5/High-Speed-Internet-DSL-and-Dial/Attempting-to-force-DSL-users-to-change-to-FIOS/td-p/479121

  *

    http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/03/verizon-accused-of-refusing-to-fix-broken-landline-phone-service/

I've learned from TURN (The Utility Reform Network - turn.org 
<http://turn.org>) that the FCC is dealing with this issue by making 
light of or ignoring the problem.

            Mark Rosenthal