NJ officials unite to insist Verizon maintain landline service

A group of 16 municipalities from four counties in South Jersey has filed a petition with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities in a final effort to ensure Verizon New Jersey does not abandon its basic landline telephone service. South Jersey officials and Verizon New Jersey have sparred over the issue of broadband service improvements for about two years, often reaching levels of contention.

The matter reached a pinnacle in May when the BPU approved an accord allowing Verizon to be exempt from certain state regulations for basic landline telephone services. Officials in South Jersey -- particularly Cumberland County -- have called on the BPU numerous times to provide oversight ensuring Verizon maintains the copper landline infrastructure in their municipalities. South Jersey officials argued that the wireless telephone service Verizon has continued to push for is not sufficient and that unless the telecommunications company vowed to implement its superior fiber-optic network (FiOS), officials prefer to keep their copper systems -- which is considered more reliable than wireless broadband.