Verizon Backing Off Plans for Wireless Home Phones

After facing numerous complaints from residents of Fire Island, Verizon has backed away from its plan to use a wireless device to replace traditional phone service in areas where it would rather not repair its old copper wires.

After Hurricane Sandy, Verizon asked state regulators in New York for permission to substitute Voice Link, a home phone service that carries calls on a cellular network, for what it refers to as “plain old telephone service.” The first place in the state it tried broad use of Voice Link was on the west end of Fire Island, a resort community on the Atlantic Ocean that incurred heavy damage in the late October storm. Verizon had hoped to use Fire Island as an example of how Voice Link could be installed in other areas of the state where its network of copper wires was damaged by storms or deemed too costly to repair or maintain. The regulators said they would monitor the results and decide later this year. But Verizon did not wait for the final results. It conceded defeat this week and said it would start laying fiber-optic cable that would restore home phone service and Internet access. The company also withdrew its request to the state Public Service Commission for permission to use Voice Link as a permanent substitute for traditional home phone service elsewhere in the state.