It seems Verizon Wireless, the U.S. carrier, and the authorities of New York City are in the middle of a dispute which has led to the city officials filing a lawsuit against the company.
The lawsuit states that Verizon was unable to meet the terms of a contract, which the carrier had signed with the city officials in 2008.
New York City's Grievances Against Verizon
City officials claim that the telecom company failed to fulfill its promise of delivering FiOS connectivity to all residences in New York City by 2014.
"Verizon promised that every household in the city would have access to its fiber-optic FiOS service by 2014. It's 2017 and we're done waiting. No corporation — no matter how large or powerful — can break a promise to New Yorkers and get away with it," stated Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York City.
It is important to note that the agreement was regarding cable TV connectivity, but the same wire used for the FiOS connection can also be used for high-speed internet connection.
According to New York City officials, the company was supposed to install underground fiber optic connections, as well as pass the lines through each of the residences via above-ground utility poles.
The officials further state in the lawsuit that Verizon has not only failed to follow through with the FiOS installation, but has also not been able to provide its connections to many houses where the residents have requested for the same.
Verizon Defends Itself
The telecom company strongly disagrees with what the lawsuit claims. It says that the city officials have misinterpreted the word "pass" in the original agreement signed nine years ago.
Verizon claims that it never agreed to essentially connect each individual residence to the FiOS network but only to run its line along the old telephone network route.
Company officials also claim that providing connections to many residences have been challenging, especially due to the landlords who refuse to grant company workers access to set up the network in many houses.
"We have lived up to our obligation 100 percent. We'd appreciate his support in getting access to buildings where landlords resist allowing us to build fiber to people's homes," said a spokesperson for the company in a statement to Ars Technica.
The company also confirmed that it would invest an additional $1 billion into New York City within the next four years to improve connectivity, as well as ensure that it can reach the remaining 1 million residences where Verizon connections are not available currently.
As of now, it is unclear which of the two parties involved are justified in their stance, but New Yorkers would surely like to get their network issues sorted one way or another.
Photo: Eric Hauser | Flickr
