Verizon Divestiture Sparks Complaints

VERIZON DIVESTITURE SPARKS COMPLAINTS
[SOURCE: Technology Daily 1/17, AUTHOR: David Hatch]
Communications Workers of America President Larry Cohen on Wednesday harshly criticized Verizon Communications for spinning off its wireline operations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont and selling them to FairPoint Communications. "They're really relegating those states to the basement in terms of the Internet," he told reporters during a teleconference. CWA is worried that FairPoint, which mostly serves rural areas, does not have the capital for large-scale investment in high-speed bandwidth. Verizon announced the deal with FairPoint on Tuesday. Cohen complained that there is no public policy to prevent Verizon and other large players from essentially abandoning high-cost telecom lines in rural areas that are expensive to upgrade. As a result, Verizon is sending the message that it's "only about markets," he said, adding that the carrier is exploiting the opportunity to "dump the lines, dump the customers" and rid itself of rural obligations. CWA's members include employees at Verizon, which Cohen acknowledged is "probably not going to be delighted by our position." He made his remarks as Democratic lawmakers prepare to boost FCC oversight with hearings next month in both chambers. Congress also plans to take a fresh stab at overhauling the nation's telecommunications laws later this year.
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-WSWA1169154894146.html

* See "CWA Has Hard Questions about Verizon New England Deal"
http://www.cwa-union.org/news/cwa-netnewscast/page.jsp?itemID=28211246