 Contact info at the end of the release. Verizon Bilked Customers $5-$6 Billion for Fiber Optic Broadband Cover-Up: Get $2000 Per Household In Refunds Before Accepting Franchise Application. DENY Verizon's Franchise Application. It Is in Direct Conflict with Prior Opportunity New Jersey's Fiber Optic Broadband Commitments. Case Study: http://www.teletruth.org/docs/casestudyNJVerizon.pdf Verizon has applied for a system-wide franchise to offer cable services under the name "FiOS". The data we present today clearly shows that Verizon has committed potential fraud pertaining to the prior fiber optic commitments made under the state Opportunity New Jersey regulations. Therefore, the BPU needs to get refunds before it accepts the submitted franchise proposal. America is 16th in the world in broadband because Verizon failed to deliver. Today, Asian countries, from Japan to Korea, offer 100 Mbps speeds in both directions for $40. Today, America's DSL is 100 times slower, and the new products will never be able to compete globally. 1) Opportunity New Jersey Facts: The Deal and the Costs. Starting in 1991 Verizon New Jersey convinced regulators that it would rewire the entire state with fiber optic services by 2010. This was to be capable of 384 channels in cable competition and at least 45 mbps in speed in both directions for residential and business customers. The BPU granted Verizon rate relief in exchange for this commitment. Teletruth estimates that Verizon received $5-$6 billion dollars in excess phone fees and tax perks, about $2000 per household. And it cost the New Jersey economy over $150 billion dollars in new economic growth. Case Study for New Jersey: http://www.teletruth.org/docs/casestudyNJVerizon.pdf By 2006, approximately 80% of the state should already be done. --- that's about 2.4 million households with 45mbps in both directions and 386 channels, at "reasonable rates". These networks never existed, were never built, even though customers paid extra fees... 2) Speed: 45 Mbps was promised, starting in 1996 and completed in 2010. Timeline from Order. http://www.newnetworks.com/OpportunityNewJerseyFiber.htm "Switching capabilities matched with transmission capabilities supporting data rates up to 45,000,000 bits per second (45 Mbps) and higher, which enables services, that will allow residential and business customers, for example, to receive high definition video and to send and receive interactive (i.e., two way) video signals." 3) Direct conflict with Franchise Proposals and Verizon's FiOS; FiOS is NOT the Fulfillment of These Obligations. Verizon will argue that they are only a decade late, finally getting to deploying fiber networks. But, this is pure hogwash. FiOS is closed, crippled network. It is NOT open to competition, it is not being deployed ubiquitously, it can't handle the speed or the number of programs, and obviously won't have fulfilled the requirements of deployments, and worse, it is inferior to anything offered in other countries. More on FiOS vs obligations http://www.newnetworks.com/FIOSNJsummary.htm 4) Who's Paying for FiOS? It Should Not Be Built Into Local Rates -- Harms to Seniors, Low Income, Low Volume Users Are Only Part of the Issues. FiOS is an "Interstate Information Service" and all payments and use of local facilities should not be part of local phone rates. It is clear from the state Orders that this cross-subsidization is a violation of every state statute on 'fair and reasonable' issues. 5) This Broadband Scam Happened Throughout Verizon's States. Read our summary in our series for Harvard's Nieman Foundation for Journalism Watchdog Project. http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Ask_this.view&askthisid=186 See our discussion on Bill Moyers In America's PBS program "Net At Risk" http://www.pbs.org/moyers/moyersonamerica/net/index.html Read $200 Billion Broadband Scandal: Teletruth is a nationwide, independent customer alliance. Teletruth was a member of the FCC Consumer Advisory Committee. (2003-2004) Board member Tom Allibone, Director of Audits, is a resident of New Jersey. Bruce Kushnick's family resides in New Jersey. Learn more about 2 class action suits settlements against Verizon New Jersey pertaining to phone bill overcharging. http://www.teletruth.org/circuits.htm For more about Teletruth: http://www.teletruth.org 1-800-FYI-AUDIT Bruce Kushnick, [email protected] Tom Allibone, [email protected]
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