West Virginia residents are assured of an indefinite future with 1-3Mbps usage-capped “broadband” as Frontier won conditional approval of its plan to assume control of the majority of the state’s landlines.

Frontier Communications, the phone company with the 5 gigabyte monthly acceptable usage allowance, won approval from West Virginia’s Public Service Commission after nearly a year of opposition from several unions and consumer advocacy groups.  The opposition, led by the Communications Workers of America, charged that Frontier’s balance sheet made it impossible for the company to fulfill promises to deliver quality phone and broadband service to the majority of the state’s residents.  Consumer groups, including Stop the Cap!, argued Frontier’s DSL broadband service is inadequate for the state’s needs, because it typically only provides 1-3Mbps speed and is usage-limited for residential customers.

Verizon’s history of bad service in the state helped drive some to believe Frontier can do better

Verizon’s West Virginia division has frequently achieved a poor rating among many West Virginians upset with the company’s service record and broadband deployment.  Last Monday, the PSC announced that Verizon’s service in the state was so poor, it ordered the company to place $72.4 million in an irrevocable escrow account to be used to improve the quality of service.  The PSC found Verizon’s disinterest in delivering service in West Virginia had resulted in the deterioration of Verizon’s essential infrastructure.

The PSC-ordered escrow account will be used to maintain and improve everything from restoring copper wiring to vegetation control and pole replacement.

With a history of complaints like that, it comes as no surprise West Virginians are ready to wave goodbye to Verizon, hoping for better times with Frontier Communications.

Bray Cary

Bray Cary, a TV station owner in West Virginia, has hosted editorials on his network of local stations across the state promoting the transaction, believing it will bring a better future for the state’s telecommunications needs.  Just two weeks ago, he demanded the PSC make a decision on the proposed merger, claiming the state needs a “modern, cutting edge communication system that will bring high-speed Internet to every corner of this state.”  Unfortunately for Cary, there is nothing from Frontier that comes close to “cutting edge,” with the exception of the company’s brazen Internet Overcharging scheme now being tested in Minnesota that threatens to bring $250 monthly broadband bills to some residents.

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WOWK Charleston State Must Act on Verizon-Frontier Deal 5-4-10.flv[/flv]

WOWK-TV’s Bray Cary criticized the West Virginia Public Service Commission for stalling on a decision to move forward the Verizon-Frontier landline transfer in the state.  Just about ten days later, the PSC conditionally approved the deal.  [Video problems were a part of the original clip] (Aired: May 4, 2010 — 1 minute)

Frontier specializes in delivering slow-speed DSL service to most of its rural service areas, usually less than 3Mbps in speed.  Even in its largest service area, Rochester, N.Y., the company’s broadband options are an also-ran against the far faster and more reliable cable modem service from Time Warner Cable, which also beats Frontier’s out-the-door price.

Unfortunately, West Virginian media has never given important details to residents about the specific services Frontier is willing and able to offer residential customers.  It also never informed customers about the important limitations the company attaches to its “high speed Internet” Cary hopes to see available in every corner of the state.

Sometimes change for change’s sake is not an improvement.

The PSC attaches conditions to its approval

The Commission did not grant blanket approval to the transaction.  The PSC is requiring that Frontier:

• Honors all existing obligations of Verizon following the close of the sale, including the currently effective Retail Quality Service Plan approved by the Commission to continue through at least July 2, 2011.
• Makes capital investments in Verizon of $30 million during the second half of 2010, $75 million in 2011 (including $12 million targeted at service quality), $63 million in 2012 and $63 million in 2013.
• Makes additional capital investments of at least $48 million to increase broadband deployment and subscription in the Verizon service territory.
• Expands broadband availability in Verizon service areas so that by no later than the end of the fourth year following the close of the sale, access to broadband service will be available to no less than 85 percent of the households within Verizon service areas.
• Locates its Southeast regional headquarters in Charleston, WV, after closing the sale. Charleston will be Frontier’s Southeastern regional headquarters, and will be a major employment center for Frontier in the region. It will be the hub for engineering, technical, operation and executive personnel for Frontier’s operations in West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.
• Adopts all of Verizon’s tariffs, price lists and contracts, including long distance, under the same terms and conditions at closing.
• Caps all regulated rates subject to jurisdiction of the Commission for one year after close of the transaction.
• Provides E-911 functionality provided by Verizon prior to close.
• Waives early termination fees for current Verizon customers participating in a Verizon bundled service package for the first 90 days after closing.

Reactions from all over

“We’re pleased the commission has approved the transaction. The record developed in this case provides comprehensive evidence and assurances that the transaction with Frontier Communications is in the public interest and will provide many benefits to West Virginia residents, including increased investment and broadband availability in the state, while protecting jobs and promoting employment.”

— Verizon-West Virginia President B. Keith Fulton

“We’re in the process of evaluating the order. After full review we’ll look at what we can do that will best serve West Virginia consumers and CWA members. Of course, we’re disappointed but we’re heartened by the fact that at least one person on the three-member commission agreed with us and more than 80 legislators, several county commissions and a broad coalition of consumer, union and first responder organizations that this deal is too risky and not in the public’s interest. The split decision shows our arguments about the deal had validity.”

— Communications Workers of America, District 2 Vice President Ron Collins

Byron L. Harris heads the Consumer Advocate Division of the West Virginia Public Service Commission

“There are many areas of West Virginia that will always be dependent on landlines, absent some sea of change in technology. Those are the people I’m most concerned about. They’re the truly captive customers of now Verizon and, in the future, Frontier.”

— West Virginia Public Service Commission’s consumer advocate Byron Harris

“We’ve seen how Wall Street’s investments can backfire. Like Frontier today, Wall Street once put its confidence in Global Crossing and that led to a disastrous bankruptcy. We’re concerned that the Rochester-area and other existing Frontier properties may be starved to fund this expansion.”

— John Pusloskie, President of CWA Local 1170 in Rochester, N.Y.

“Today’s approval is a welcome and important step. Our goal is to gain the approval of the FCC so that we can close the transaction and begin bringing its benefits to consumers and businesses.”

— Maggie Wilderotter, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Frontier

West Virginian media covers the conditional approval

A handful of television stations covered the conditional approval, most without much depth.  West Virginian newspapers covered the fight between Verizon and Frontier and the unions and consumer groups, but no paper really provided in-depth coverage into the challenges of West Virginia broadband and what precisely Frontier is capable of providing to solve it.  Consumers will discover soon enough that West Virginia has yet again gotten the short end of the online stick.  Only this time, they better not wave it around too much — it might exceed your monthly stick-waving allowance.

[flv width=”500″ height=”395″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WOWK Charleston Union – Verizon-Frontier Deal Bad for W.Va., Verizon Responds 5-14-10.flv[/flv]

WOWK-TV in Charleston delivered the most substantial report on the sale, including this brief interview with PSC spokeswoman Sarah Robertson.  (2 minutes)

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WTAP Parkersburg Verizon-Frontier Deal Approved 5-14-10.flv[/flv]

WTAP-TV in Parkersburg ran this brief in-studio report about the Verizon-Frontier approval.  (1 minute)

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WDTV Bridgeport Verizon Sells Land Lines to Frontier 5-14-10.mp4[/flv]

WDTV-TV in Bridgeport explained the requirements of the conditional approval.  This was the only report on the approval that included the opposition’s perspective.  (1 minute)

One out of every four American families has now cut the cord on their landline phone service.

With cellular bills increasing, many people are deciding the traditional phone line that has been them for decades is no longer worth the expense, especially if you spend most of your time reaching for your cell phone to make or receive calls.

But is dropping landline service such a great idea?

Here are some things to consider:

PRO

• Reduced expense for the family budget
• If you don’t use it much, why pay for it?
• Many cable companies offer less expensive “digital phone” products that can be bundled with your cable and broadband service
• Skype, Google Voice, and Voice Over IP services can often knock phone service costs down to just a few dollars a month
• Portability

CON

• 911 emergency services have a harder time identifying your location
• Call sound quality is usually lower than traditional landlines
• Your telephone directory listing will become unavailable unless you make special provisions to keep it
• The costs for cell phone service are often higher than basic landline service
• Monitored alarms and certain other services require either a landline or added-cost wireless technology
• During periods of unrest or bad weather, call volumes can increase exponentially causing disruptions to cell phone service

Telephone companies are increasingly desperate to hold on to their customers, and many remind departing customers the chance to retain their landline service at dramatically lower pricing.  Many companies offer budget, non-flat rate calling plans for less than $10 a month, but you’ll pay between 8-11 cents for every local call.  Others offer calling allowances of 250 or fewer local calls per month.  A few larger cities have calling plans that charge by the minute.

If you are considering dropping your landline, be sure to consider all of the options and alternatives before disconnecting service.

[flv width=”480″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WCPO Cincinnati Pros cons of dropping your landline phone 5-12-10.flv[/flv]

WCPO-TV in Cincinnati provides additional insight into landline disconnections and your alternatives.  (2 minutes)

Telekom Malaysia

A scheme to impose usage limits and speed throttles on Telekom Malaysia’s broadband customers was beaten back just a day after the plan was announced.

Malaysia’s largest telecommunications company announced the limitations at the same time in introduced new speed tiers and new pricing for them.

Customers were not pleased when they discovered TM’s UniFi broadband service came with high prices and usage caps:

TM UniFi Broadband Packages

• 5/5Mbps Service RM149/$46.73 now capped at 60GB per month.
• 10/10Mbps Service RM199/$62.41 now capped at 90GB per month.
• 20/20Mbps Service RM249/$78.09 now capped at 120GB per month.

In comparison, residents in nearby Singapore can buy 100Mbps service, with no limit, for RM200/$62.73 per month.

Those who exceed the limits would find their speeds throttled to about 10 percent of the speed they purchased, for the rest of the month.

Telekom Malaysia CEO Datuk Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa said the measures were part of its Fair Usage Policy.

Dato’ Zamzamzairani

“This policy is a standard industry practice to ensure that all subscribers get to enjoy the same web surfing quality,” he said.

Only it’s not standard industry practice, despite that often-heard excuse.  In countries where usage limits are common, those limits are being eased or discontinued as broadband expansion and competition drives the unpopular usage limits out of the market.

Malaysians weren’t willing to wait.

The social media firestorm of protest that followed the announcement forced the company to back down just one day after announcing the Internet Overcharging scheme.

An announcement on Twitter, noting customer feedback, stated “no volume cap 4 all #unifi packages 4 now.”  The company did say it would continue to “reserve the right to enforce a download limit to ensure all UniFi subscribers receive equal service quality,” but that type of language has been standard in service provider agreements for years.

Company officials told The Malaysian Insider customers “may abuse” the service, which is why they wanted the cap.

But customers feel they deserve value for money — the price being charged can be considered high for many countries in Asia even without the cap.

The Star newspaper notes:

With the latest announcement by Telekom Malaysia, many people are rejoicing. Among them is communications consultant Justin Then, who said he’s happy to note that Telekom Malaysia listens to consumers.

“Capping our high speed Internet access doesn’t make sense, if the Government wants Malaysians to seek out knowledge and be innovative,” he said.

A Twitter user, who asked to be identified only as Flo, said she’s glad Telekom Malaysia has decided not to employ the cap for now.

“We are paying a premium for technology that offers super high bandwidth, so a daily cap shouldn’t be applied. There’s no value in that; we would be better off with regular broadband,” she said.

One caveat.  As has been the case with a handful of U.S. providers seeking to monetize your broadband usage, rescinding usage caps today doesn’t guarantee they won’t be back tomorrow.  Indeed, TM has yet to remove them from their website, instead inserting in the fine print, “The monthly download volume policy will not be implemented until further notice.”

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Malaysia Telekom UniFi Promotional Video.flv[/flv]

TM’s slick promotional video unveiling the faster UniFi broadband packages asks y0u to “imagine.”  We did… imagining how in the world we can accomplish all of the things they show in the video with the company’s proposed arbitrary usage limits and speed throttles.  Imagine actually getting the service you paid to receive without a provider imagining how much use = “abuse.”  (6 minutes)

[Editor’s Note: While not a traditional story we’d normally cover, this one has implications for every satellite and cable customer, and was unusual enough to bring to your attention.]

Intelsat's Galaxy 15, pictured above, has gone rogue

A satellite now drifting out of control threatens to interfere with dozens of American cable networks as it intrudes into a neighboring satellite’s assigned slot.  Intelsat’s Galaxy 15 positioned at 132ºW is on the move, less than one degree away from its next door neighbor,  SES World Skies-owned AMC 11 (131ºW).  Intelsat technicians lost control of the satellite on April 5th, and although the satellite continues to operate at full power, capable of delivering a hundred of more digital television signals to viewers on Earth, Intelsat can no longer keep the satellite in its assigned position.

Communications satellite failures are not as rare as their owners wish.  Solar storms have the power to wipe out a $250 million dollar investment required to build, launch, and operate a satellite in mere minutes.  Intelsat speculates a solar storm may be responsible for Galaxy 15 going rogue.

The majority of communications satellites are locked into a geostationary orbit, which means a satellite dish can be fixed to point to a particular satellite and never require repositioning.  Satellites are equipped with small jets that can be fired to maintain a satellite’s position.  Without them, orbiting satellites would begin to drift, and in a neighborhood where only a degree or two separates satellites, it doesn’t have to drift far to create major problems.

The result of Galaxy 15’s unplanned adventure is imminent interference to its next door neighbor, AMC 11. Since both satellites share the same frequencies, that guarantees as long as Galaxy 15 is powered up, a mix of the two satellite’s signals is guaranteed.

“That fact means that there is likely to be some kind of interference,” Yves Feltes, a spokesman for AMC 11 owner SES World Skies, told The Associated Press. “Our aim is to bring any interference down to zero.”

Nearly every signal on AMC 11 is a digitally compressed, encrypted cable network intended for the United States.  By May 23rd, if the companies do nothing, the interference will increase the digital signal error rate high enough to blank out the channels for the duration.

Intelsat engineers intend to continue efforts to re-establish contact with the satellite.  If they don’t succeed, the satellite will next intrude on Ciel 2 and EchoStar 14 (129ºW) which deliver programming for DISH Satellite Network customers, Galaxy 13/Horizons 1 (127ºW) which delivers international channels and several feeds of HBO, Starz, and other cable networks, and AMC 21 (125ºW), used mostly by PBS.

Current occupants of AMC 11 can potentially be relocated to other satellites for the duration, although that could create nightmares for cable systems nationwide forced to adjust reception equipment for dozens of popular cable channels.

[flv width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/ABC News Satellite Puts Cable TV in Jeopardy 5-11-10.flv[/flv]

ABC News’ Good Morning America ran this story on the zombie satellite and its potential impact on cable viewers nationwide.  (2 minutes)

The list of potentially impacted channels on AMC 11 is enormous:

Cable Networks

(East and West refers to individual feeds intended for the east coast and west coast of the United States, the latter delayed three hours)

• Hot Choice (Adult movies/Pay-Per-View)
• In Demand 1-7 (Pay-Per-View)
• Lifetime East & West
• Lifetime Movie Network
• Lifetime Real Women
• Hallmark Channel US East & West
• Hallmark Movie Channel East & West
• C-SPAN & C-SPAN Radio
• E! East
• The Style Network East
• G4 TV East
• Food Network East & West
• DIY Network USA
• Fine Living Network USA
• HGTV East
• Great American Country
• QVC HD & QVC USA
• A&E East & West
• History Channel – East, West & en Español
• The Military Channel
• Crime & Investigation Network USA
• The Weather Channel
• NESN (New England Sports) NE, Maine, Alternate, Boston & Providence
• Catholic TV
• MTV West, MTV 2 East, MTV Jams, MTV Hits, & MTV Tr3s East
• VH1 East & West, VH1 Classic East & VH1 Soul
• CMT East, West & Pure Country
• Nickelodeon East & West, Nick Jr USA, TeenNick, NickToons USA, & Nick Too
• Logo East
• The Learning Channel (TLC) East & Canada
• Discovery Familia, Discovery en Español, Discovery Health Channel East & West, Investigation Discovery USA & Discovery Kids USA
• HD Theater
• TV Land East & West
• Spike TV East & West
• Comedy Central East & West
• Showtime East, Showtime 2 East, Showtime Showcase East, Showtime Beyond East, Showtime Extreme East, Showtime Next East, Showtime Family East, & Showtime Women East
• The Movie Channel East & The Movie Channel Xtra East
• Flix East
• The Science Channel
• Planet Green
• Fit TV
• BBC America
• CNBC World
• Bravo East
• Chiller
• Mun 2 East
• TeleFutura East & West

Broadcast Networks & Stations

• The CW
• Telemundo East & West
• Univisión East & West
• WNBC-TV New York

(Channel List Courtesy: LyngSat)

[flv width=”641″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/The Galaxy 15 Zombie Satellite – 2010.05.flv[/flv]

Spacevidcast Daily got a bit more technical about the satellite mishap, and how it might get resolved.  (3 minutes)

WIVB-TV in Buffalo covered the latest Digital Phone outage in its newscast

Last Friday, Time Warner Cable customers across the country found their Time Warner Cable Digital Phone service wasn’t working.

Although the company claimed the outage began at around 8:30am, some Buffalo residents noticed service was out when they got up at 5:30 that morning.  Service was not fully restored for all customers until lunchtime.

According to WGRZ-TV, Time Warner Cable refused to make a spokesperson available to appear on camera, but the company later did issue a written statement which made news across the state.

“Several thousand Time Warner Cable Digital Home Phone customers in the Northeast may have experienced an intermittent service outage early Friday morning. Engineers have now deployed a fix and customers who were experiencing this issue have had service fully restored,” wrote Time Warner Cable spokesman Jeff Unaitis.

Unaitis also claimed the outage did not impact the majority of their “Digital Phone” customers, although newsrooms heard otherwise from upset customers.  In fact, the outage impacted customers across the country.

This is the second time in three months the company suffered a major phone service outage in its Northeast division.

Last Friday’s disruption caused more than 60,000 Time Warner Cable phone customers in the Carolinas to be without service.  Southern Californian Time Warner Cable customers were also unable to make or receive calls.

When asked whether customers would be given credit for the outage, Unaitis hedged:

“This morning’s outage was intermittent, did not impact the majority of Digital Home Phone customers, and was resolved before noon. Therefore, we will work with customers on a case-by-case basis if they believe they were affected by the disruption in service.”

In other words, customers experiencing outages have to specifically request credit from the company or they won’t get it.  You can request credit online by visiting the Time Warner Cable website, selecting your area, and then using the link to Customer Support to access the Contact Us section of the website.  You can also call your local Time Warner Cable office.

[flv width=”480″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WIVB Buffalo Time Warner phone service has glitch 5-7-10.flv[/flv]

WIVB-TV in Buffalo ran this brief report on their noon newscast to alert area residents about the widespread phone outage impacting Time Warner Cable.  (1 minute)