Broadband Wars: The Fight to Jersey has Begun

Posted on by

NEW JERSEY RESIDENTS, BUSINESSES, MUNICIPALITIES:

100% of You are owed a fiber optic service, capable of 45 Mpbs in both directions — You paid for it already.

CLICK HERE: Tell the State BPU and Endorse our “COMMENTS”

***NOTE: SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS BEFORE SENDING COMMENTS.

Harvard Nieman Story:Broadband Wars

STORY:

  1. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) issued a show cause Order to Verizon, New Jersey, claiming that it for its failed to provide 100% of the state with 45 Mbps bi-directional services by 2010. Almost 20 years ago, Verizon closed a deal with the State known as Opportunity New Jersey” (ONJ). which raised rates and gave Verizon tax breaks. These excess phone charges (and tax write offs) were to be used to do the upgrades, replacing the old copper wiring with fiber optic services.
  2. The show cause action was started based on complaints by two small towns, Greenwich and Stow Creek of Cumberland County, who are not being served and who also have continuous service quality issues.
  3. Verizon responded (Response 1, Response 2)claiming that it has completed every obligation and that there are 45 Mbps capabilities in every central office in New Jersey. Verizon also claims it has suffered because of changes in the market and they have lost 50% of access lines. and had major financial losses since 2007.

Truth is:

  • Verizon has overcharged customers over $13 billion dollars from 1993-2009 — thousands of dollars per customer.
  • Verizon has caused about $225 billion dollars in potential economic growth, as well as economic harms by pulling a ‘bait and switch’ rolling out DSL instead of upgrading the utility to fiber.
  • Verizon’s FiOS is only in ’60%’ of 70 municipalities, out of 524 and 155 Munis will never get wired.
  • We believe Verizon has been manipulating the books to show these losses and the companies’ affiliates, such as Verizon Wireless are dumping their expenses into the local utility, not paying their fair share and are getting other advantages at the expense of New Jersey’s customers and municipalities.

Worse, it is clear that there are ‘behind the scenes’ manipulations of the public going on — Verizon’s end result — Shut down any wireline obligations, push customers onto expensive wireless products and services, (which don’t have the same customer obligations) and cut deals with the cable companies, thus not competing.Verizon recently cut 336 NJ wireline employees who do repairs, has stopped expanding FiOS and has announced it is abandoning DSL.

This is not a New Jersey problem alone. It is a Verizon and AT&T problem as this is happening throughout America in almost every state.

SENDING COMMENTS: Send Comments to board.secretary@bpu.state.nj.us. These written comments must be received by May 16, 2012. Comments should be identified with the heading I/M/O the Board’s Order to Show Cause Verizon Opportunity NJ Committments Docket No. TO12020155

READ THIS AND SAY: I Agree with New Networks Institute’s Comments — and anything else you want to add.

Articles:


Stop the Phone Company Petition to Stop Supplying Data at the FCC — and Erase Your Rights.

Posted on by

Stop the Phone Company Petition to Stop Supplying Data at the FCC — and Erase Your Rights.

Go here: http://teletruth.org/FCCpetition.htm

And please file comments at the FCC or sign onto our petition at change.org  

Story:

The United States Telephone Association (USTA), the phone companies’ trade association, has petitioned the FCC (WC Docket No. 12-61) to essentially remove all requirements to supply information about AT&T, Verizon and the other phone companies’ business activities. This is known as “forbearance,” where the FCC has the authority to enforce the law but chooses not to do so.

This is the latest effort in an ongoing campaign to allow AT&T and Verizon to hide what they are doing by no longer disclosing basic financial information between and among the companies’ subsidiaries.

This means that your right to know what the companies are doing will be limited. You won’t know what the telcos are doing behind your back. Worse, this stops advocates or the government from knowing what these companies are doing. And if you haven’t read our latest report, showing massive manipulation of revenues and expenses to save billions on taxes, while not building out high-speed broadband/cable to ½ of the US  and to raise your rates — because they can — we won’t be able to continue to out their wrong-doing without more data.

  • ·       First, we requested the FCC stop the USTA Petition.  
  • ·       Second, we requested the FCC restore all previous requirements that have already been removed.
  • ·       Finally, we demanded an investigation into the current business practices of AT&T and Verizon.—If you haven’t read our latest article on Huffington Post, Please Sir May I have Another, check it out at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-kushnick/please-sir-may-i-have-ano_b_1434583.html

So please take a few moments and tell the FCC to Oppose the Phone Companies’ plan to erase the data and erase your rights.

Go here for the details.  http://teletruth.org/FCCpetition.htm