Verizon promised to bring fiber optic Internet connections to a number of communities in the northeast, but the results are slow to show.
Mayors of 13 prominent cities from the United States (and a candidate at Philadelphia's mayor chair) sent a letter to Lowell McAdam, CEO at Verizon, complaining about the companies' approach towards high-speed networking. The telecom is chastised for having a half-hearted attitude towards offering Fiber Optic Service (FiOS) in cities such as Pittsburgh and Newark or simply offering no support for fiber Internet in others, such as Syracuse and Albany. City Hall officials are worried over two aspects: Verizon is generating frustration among the townsfolk and is also cutting down competition in the process.
Even if franchise contracts obliged Verizon to connect all households in certain areas to FiOS, the company did not stand up to its word. According to an audit from 2013, 51 percent of New York City households had no access to the FiOS network. One reason for this is that Verizon targets high-class properties first and shows little interest in connecting the everyday citizen to its high-speed network, voices from the administration say.
The company responds by minimizing the dimension of the complaints and points out that all its FiOS contracts were honored. This unconvincing argument stirs the spirits, as Big Red is known for the habit of ignoring its copper phone lines. To make matters worse, the maintenance issues of copper lines often happen in locations where inhabitants have no alternative for wired or phone services. Long repair times and poor technical implementation make people question Verizon's prestige and dedication to its clients.
"In all areas where Verizon has franchises and agreed to deploy FiOS, we have met or surpassed our deployment obligations," says spokesperson Rich Young, from Verizon.
The situation is strained, and for good reason. Verizon halted the extension of FiOS to new cities as long as five year ago. Moreover, the rhythm in which it is extending its fiber network in existing areas is discouraging. It appears that the financial short term interest primes in comparison with the opportunity to bring quality services.
However, the solidarity of citizens and heads on local administrations might form a voice powerful enough to bring the network giant to its senses.
