In the financially difficult world of landline service, there has been one bright spot for Verizon — its state-of-the-art fiber optic service FiOS.  The cost of replacing obsolete copper phone with 21st century fiber optics has proved to be an expensive, but successful endeavor, at least in the eyes of customers.  Hated by Wall Street for its costs but loved by those who enjoy the service, FiOS has successfully proven traditional phone companies can earn money by providing the kinds of services consumers want, just so long as investors are willing to hang in there while the investment pays off over time.  But many investors aren’t.

Some of Verizon’s critics in the investment community complain the company is n0t earning enough from FiOS — in fact, for some critics who didn’t want Verizon spending money on a fiber-to-the-home network in the first place, financial returns provide the evidence used to claim they were right all along.

Despite the naysayers, revenue for Verizon FiOS is up by almost one-third each year, with average revenue per user now reaching $145 a month.  That’s well above the money Verizon earns on its legacy copper network phone customers keep leaving, especially outside of major cities where DSL service is spotty.  There is plenty of room for Verizon FiOS to grow in the limited communities it reaches.  Unfortunately, Verizon has stopped expanding its FiOS network to new communities, in part from pressure from investors who want to see cost cutting from the telecommunications giant.

Despite the positive reviews (subscription required) FiOS earns from consumer publications like Consumer Reports, Verizon slashed marketing and promotion expenses, resulting in second-quarter net additions for FiOS TV coming in at 174,000, compared with 300,000 a year earlier.

With Verizon now deploying service to communities on a reduced schedule, the results have been underwhelming according to the Wall Street Journal:

Verizon Communications may want to tweak the ad slogan for its TV and ultrafast Internet service to “This is FIOS. This is pretty small.”

Not catchy, but it would be more accurate than the current “This is Big” line.

[…]It eventually became clear that Verizon had slowed the time frame of the buildup, originally scheduled to be mostly done this year. Instead, it now expects to meet its target of passing 18 million homes with the network by 2012.

The slower timetable allows Verizon to trim capital spending this year. The problem is that FiOS’s expansion could stall with a less aggressive approach to growth. Already, Verizon has retreated from its target of adding one million subscribers a year, in favor of boosting penetration to 40% of homes passed. At June 30, its 3.2 million TV subscribers was about 20% of homes passed.

[…]And that can only reinforce questions about long-term returns on the $23 billion FIOS investment.

Evidence that Verizon is looking for more customers in its existing FiOS markets can be found in the news the company dropped its contract commitment for new customers.  The term contracts may have held some potential customers back out of fear of a lengthy term commitment with a $360 early cancellation fee.

[flv width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Verizon FiOS goes contract free ad.flv[/flv]

Verizon started running this ad several weeks ago touting its new “no contract” FiOS service.  (15 seconds)

But a change in strategy isn’t enough for investors who demand immediate results through further cost cutting measures.

In Verizon’s second quarter earnings reports, company executives speak to this perception, proudly noting they have slashed costs through job-cutting and reduced spending on infrastructure and services.  Some of those services include DSL expansion for rural Verizon customers, many who are now left on hold waiting for broadband from Verizon indefinitely.

In many states, Verizon’s DSL expansion was incremental at best, with the company issuing press releases touting new service for literally hundreds of potential customers.

Verizon’s traditional landline business continues to lose customers year after year, and is abandoning millions of others through sell-off deals with companies like Frontier Communications.  Light Reading notes Verizon eliminated 11,000 jobs in its Mid-Atlantic and Eastern regions through early retirement incentive programs, an idea soon to spread to other regions, particularly California and Texas in the coming months.  This kind of cost cutting saves cash and allows companies to report positive financial results in quarterly reports.

According to John Killian, executive vice president and CFO of Verizon, the job cuts are just getting started.  As Verizon further alienates its non-FiOS landline customers who can find better service and lower prices elsewhere, the company expects “further force reductions” in the coming months.  Verizon is also slashing costs by selling off real estate, consolidating operations and vacating buildings.

The impact can become a vicious circle of deteriorating service, customer defections, and additional cost cutting, which starts the circle all over again.  In West Virginia, deteriorating Verizon phone lines reached the point of serious service outages whenever major storms hit the state.  Then Verizon simply sold off its network in West Virginia.  Those customers are now served by Frontier Communications.

Verizon previously declared the era of the landline dead, and is now seeking to prove its point, even as it demonstrates it can make money by spending money on FiOS, if only investors would give them the chance.

[flv width=”576″ height=”344″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/CNN Behind the scenes at Verizon Fios 3-15-10.flv[/flv]

CNN took a behind the scenes tour of Verizon’s FiOS network in New York City, from the central offices to individual apartments.  (4 minutes)

Frontier Communications rented a conference room at the Charleston Embassy Suites, calling it a "command center" for the transition. (Courtesy: Charleston Gazette/Lawrence Pierce)

No state faces a larger impact from Verizon’s exit than West Virginia.  The epitome of the kind of market Verizon doesn’t want to serve any longer, West Virginia suffered through several years of Verizon not keeping up with required investments in the aging landline network, and service had markedly deteriorated as a result.  West Virginia is mountainous — expensive to maintain infrastructure, often rural — reducing potential revenues, and economically-challenged — killing the chances of making “triple-play” sales (and profits) in communities where customers have to watch every penny.

West Virginia was also the epicenter of the loudest controversy over the sale, as unions and consumer groups opposed the transaction because of its enormous threat to an entire state’s landline network.  A failure by Frontier would result in the kind of drama experienced by northern New England customers of FairPoint Communications, who suffered with more than a year of horrible service and inaccurate billing.

So news that Frontier has run into problems in the state just one week in, despite sending 250 extra employees into the area for the conversion, has raised concerns with the Public Service Commission, as well as those impacted by problems and outages.  Frontier has tried to put its best face forward, with employees holed up in a self-described “command center” in a conference room at the local Embassy Suites in Charleston.  On the day before the handover, press photographers were able to snap pictures of Frontier employees seated at long conference tables facing one another, with laptops open.  A digital projector showed PowerPoint slides that promoted the “new Frontier” while a temporary company banner tacked to a corner wall rippled over a stand.  A high tech glitz and glamor presentation this was not.

David Armentrout, president and chief operating officer of FiberNet was underwhelmed by all of it.  His company requires connections with West Virginia’s landline provider to deliver full service to his clients.  Prior to the handover, Armentrout said FiberNet had 43 outstanding trouble tickets on file with Verizon.  But Verizon apparently never handed over those support tickets to Frontier, effectively losing them after the transition.  Now that Frontier has taken over, Armentrout’s company has had to open 113 trouble tickets for problems old and new.

Armentrout complained about the lack of results from Frontier in the pages of the Charleston Daily Mail:

Armentrout said that after consistently being put on hold for more than an hour when trying to reach Frontier to talk about outstanding trouble tickets, “we had a meeting with their senior team on Saturday. We said this was not acceptable. Since then they’ve given us a work-around with two dedicated Frontier employees. When we get an hour hold time, we contact these dedicated employees.

“Another issue we’ve had is, we’ve had to contact our customers directly to verify the status of their trouble tickets because the (Frontier) system doesn’t tell us the status,” he said. “As a result of having to contact our customers directly and working with Frontier on all of these issues since July 1, our dedicated team has spent over 200 man-hours working on these issues.

“When you look at the results: six of 43 completed and three of 113 completed, we’re doing a lot of work and spending a lot of man hours but not really seeing a lot of service issues being resolved.

“Unfortunately on Friday the Public Service Commission was closed,” Armentrout said. “We made attempts to get in touch with them because we recognized we would have the problems we’re continuing to have today. I want our customers to know we’re doing everything we can to get these issues resolved.

“Several individuals within Frontier have exhibited good-faith efforts to resolve these issues,” he said. “We commend them for their efforts. But what we’re looking for is results. We need to get these issues fixed. They’ve made efforts but at the end of the day we’re still not getting where we need to be.

“Come Tuesday when business gets back to normal we can expect these numbers to increase unless we get these issues resolved,” Armentrout said. “Our intention is to go to the Public Service Commission on Tuesday and get them involved to make sure these issues are getting resolved as quickly as possible. It has been a long weekend.”

Ken Arndt, president of Frontier’s Southeast Region, issued a statement Sunday that unconvincingly blamed some of the delayed fixes on the recent death of West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd:

“We are doing the necessary work needed to correct old and current issues. It’s Day 4 and overall this has been a very successful conversion. That is especially true when you remember that Day 2 was marked by the presence of the President and Vice President of the United States and many members of Congress at the memorial for Sen. Robert Byrd. We made sure Frontier’s system performed flawlessly.”

The newspaper notes Verizon’s landline network in the state is notorious for having problems when there are storms, and since the July 1st transition there have not been any.  Armentrout agrees, hoping that Frontier’s outstanding issues get resolved before the first major storm hits the state, which could come as early as Friday.  Armentrout calls the first severe weather challenge Frontier faces “the mid-term exam.”

Taking the longer view, Frontier promises it will spend millions in West Virginia to update the state’s landline infrastructure and expand broadband availability.  Frontier announced the hiring of nine regional managers to oversee operations across the state, including Mitch Carmichael, a delegate in the West Virginian legislature representing Jackson.  Carmichael is a former computer salesman who will now manage Frontier’s Parkersburg office.

Customers are less impressed.  Many have experienced lengthy outages with their DSL service since the transition — a bad omen for many Charleston residents who immediately called Suddenlink, the area’s cable company, to switch service providers.  Another Charleston customer called Frontier’s continued reliance on a Yahoo!-provided “front end” “really low class.”  In nearby Huntington, a few customers couldn’t say much about what changed after Frontier took over because their phone service went out on the 1st and was still out a week later.

“I hope they don’t raise the bill since we have not had any phone service at all since 11:00am on July 1st when Frontier took over,” wrote one customer. “With my phone service out since Saturday and a new promise of repairs to be made by Tuesday July 6th, I am waiting to see where Frontier improves service in rural West Virginia. The Verizon employees would just as soon as to tell you anything — same people, just a different company. Frontier needs to have a major house cleaning, as their tales haven’t changed along with the service,” writes another.

A handful also complained that their Frontier phone service cost plenty more than what Verizon charged:

“My parents have Frontier and their bill is twice as high as my Verizon. We have the DSL and the freedom package (unlimited long distance, call waiting, voicemail and caller ID) and my bill is $78 a month.  My parents only have local calling, call waiting, voicemail, caller ID, and DSL and their bill is over $120 with no long distance,” he writes.  “How is this take over going to help anyone other than Frontier? I’m going to cable for Internet and phone.”

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WSAZ Charleston Frontier Carriers Experience Minor Problems 7-6-10.flv[/flv]

WSAZ-TV in Charleston says some companies are experiencing minor problems in the West Virginian conversion from Verizon to Frontier.  (2 minutes)

For more than a year, Stop the Cap! has been covering the issue of broadband mapping, warning against allowing incumbent telecommunications companies from being able to control or influence statewide maps that show who has broadband, and who does not.  A perfect example of why we repeatedly call out telecom-connected groups like Connected Nation being granted a piece of the mapping action can be found this weekend in a guest editorial published in the Fort Worth Star–Telegram written by Todd Baxter, vice president of government affairs and general counsel for the Austin-based Texas Cable Association — the Texas cable lobby:

Newly released maps show that broadband — high-speed Internet — is widely available in Texas. They also underscore that the broadband stimulus program has been ill-conceived and poorly executed by the federal government.

That’s because the federal government put the cart before the horse.

It gave out more than $270 million of your money to a dozen projects in Texas before actually determining where current broadband operators provide service. Common sense would say to find out where broadband is, or isn’t, available before spending the money.

The feds also should better define “underserved,” since the money is intended to help both unserved and underserved areas. It sounds like a riddle — how many broadband providers have to serve a household before it isn’t considered “underserved”? So far that riddle has no answer, and it is costing you, the taxpayer, a lot of money.

Without the data or the definition, how can the federal government make sure it is spending taxpayer money wisely and where it is really needed?

Now that we have the maps, we can see that more than 99 percent of all Texans can access some form of broadband, whether wired, wireless or mobile, from more than 123 providers. Yet — without this information — the federal government awarded hundreds of millions in grants and loans to the Texas projects, with possibly more to come before the broadband stimulus program wraps up in September.

The Texas Cable Association formally objected to seven of the dozen Texas projects when in the application stage, because the areas addressed are already covered by existing broadband providers. We don’t believe the areas are unserved or underserved.

Just a few weeks ago, the Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, with great fanfare, unveiled the current state of broadband in Texas.  Connected Texas, a subsidiary of Connected Nation joined forces with the state government to perform a broadband census across the state, based on voluntary information provided confidentially by existing service providers.  The result was the stunning “achievement” that 97 percent of Texas already had broadband access, quite a revelation to the scores of consumers who aren’t served by cable companies and cannot get DSL service from the phone company, even if the Broadband Map of Texas says they can.

Texas Broadband Map (click to enlarge)

Kelly from Childress, located in the Texas panhandle, is a perfect example.  She writes Stop the Cap! to tell us how thrilled she was to see the phone company had finally brought DSL service to her street just on the outskirts of town.  She had nagged everyone she could for more than three years about her lack of broadband.  The cable company offered service, if she paid $9,300 for installation of an extended cable line to reach her.  The phone company, despite serving her neighbors less than 1/2 mile away, said she was not “qualified” to receive DSL service.  Today, her husband and two kids do access broadband service, albeit from the equivalent of the broadband black market.  Her nearest neighbor has rigged a souped up Wi-Fi system that allows her family to share the neighbor’s DSL account.  A directional antenna mounted on the roof of each home provides line-of-sight access.  They split the cost of the account and Kelly, an accomplished baker, keeps her neighbors well-supplied with some great pies in gratitude.

Connected Texas collected the information about where broadband service was supposedly available in Texas

Texas has a well-deserved reputation for neighbors helping neighbors to solve problems they’ve long since decided the government can’t, won’t, or shouldn’t solve for them.  Now that neighborly spirit has taken a high-tech approach to share broadband.

With the release of the new broadband map, Kelly thought the days of sharing accounts was over, and she called the phone company to sign up for service.  But, in no surprise to us, broadband availability to her home changed only on paper, not in reality.  No, she was told, she could not sign up for DSL service today or tomorrow for that matter — the company had no plans to extend service her way… indefinitely.

For others, the map is inaccurate because it shows service from dominant cable and phone companies, but ignores the competition.  Regular Stop the Cap! reader Michael Chaney noted, “I know for a fact this map is inaccurate. They show no fiber to the home coverage in Cedar Park, Williamson County, even though I’ve had residential fiber service for almost two years.”

In 2009, Public Knowledge released a report highly critical of Connected Nation, the group responsible for broadband mapping across many states.  Among the findings:

In order to be effective, a national broadband data-collection and mapping exercise should be conducted by a government agency, on behalf of the public, with as granular a degree of information as possible and be totally transparent so that underlying information can be evaluated.

Connected Nation is none of those and represents none of those characteristics. It is an organization sponsored by the telephone and cable companies and represents their interests in deciding what data to collect and how information should be displayed. They are quite up front about their company sponsorship and, in fact, believe it is an asset, if in a way counter to solid public policy.

It would be a setback for our broadband policy if Connected Nation were to take a prominent role in broadband mapping and data collection if it continues on its present policy course because the organization does not represent wise public policy and because it distorts its results.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) was correct in April, 2008, when he vetoed a $2.4 million appropriation for Connect Kentucky, which until then had received almost $7 million from the commonwealth. Beshear said that the program was being rejected for state financing because it had asked for funds “without specifically identifying any services to be rendered to the state or providing for any oversight, control or performance measures relative to the services being rendered.”

The group’s close association to incumbent cable and telephone company interests were easily apparent just from the national organization’s board which has 12 outside directors, eight of whom are well known cable and phone company lobbyists or those with direct interests in the industry:

• James W. Cicconi – AT&T senior executive vice president-external and legislative affairs
• Steve Largent – CTIA – The Wireless Association president and CEO
• Joseph W. Waz – Comcast senior vice president, external affairs and public policy counsel
• Larry Cohen – Communications Workers of America president. CWA is in frequent agreement with telecom companies on policy issues.
• Thomas J. Tauke – Verizon executive vice president for public affairs, policy and communication
• Walter B. McCormick – United States Telecom Association president
• Kyle E. McSlarrow – National Cable and Telecommunications Association president
• Grant Seiffert – Telecommunications Industry Association president. (The members are the equipment makers who sell their gear to the telecom industry.)

These individuals, and others, are listed as “national advisors” on the Connected Nation Web site. They are listed as “directors” in their filing with the Kentucky Secretary of State.

The implications of allowing incumbent service providers to influence broadband mapping can be seen in Baxter’s editorial.  If Texas cable and phone companies can declare broadband service available even in areas where it is not, they can then argue against broadband stimulus projects to expand availability as an unnecessary waste of taxpayer money.  The answer to Baxter’s riddle is, unfortunately, too often “none.”  Areas that declare access to wireless broadband, cable and DSL often have access to none of these options.  The cable company doesn’t wire that Texas ranch located too far away from the phone company for DSL and is in an area that just can’t get a good wireless signal.

In smaller communities in rural Texas, efforts by local entrepreneurs to launch needed local broadband services often meet fierce opposition from incumbent interests who declare communities already served, backed up with a map that shows coverage, and therefore should not be allowed to receive stimulus funding.  Often, objections from existing providers effectively disqualifies stimulus applicants and the result is a continued blockade for rural broadband.

The dividend Connected Nation hands to the Texas Cable Association is the political argument that there is no broadband problem in Texas — nearly 100 percent of homes can already access it.  That means broadband stimulus is, in the eyes of the cable lobby, just another federal government giveaway — wasteful spending of tax dollars.  Just look at the Texas Broadband Map and see for yourself.

The Texas Department of Agriculture failed the people of Texas by relying on a group with a vested interest in not finding a broadband availability problem.  And even worse — taxpayers nationwide effectively picked up the $3 million dollars in grant money given to Connected Nation for its map.  That’s a waste of tax dollars that Baxter didn’t bother to bring up.  Somehow I knew he wouldn’t.

The License Fee pays for the BBC's television, radio, and online operations, but now the British government wants a portion of it to be directed towards broadband as well.

Britain’s new coalition government announced Wednesday it was scrapping a proposed £6 a year phone tax to help expand rural broadband in the country.

“We need investment in our digital infrastructure,” said George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. “But the previous government’s landline duty is an archaic way of achieving this, hitting 30 million households who happen to have a fixed telephone line. I am happy to be able to abolish this new duty before it is even introduced.”

“Instead, we will support private broadband investment, including to rural areas, in part with funding from the digital switchover under-spend within the TV licence fee.”

Osborne is referring to the average £11.63 monthly fee British citizens pay to help fund the operations of the BBC’s radio, television and online operations.  A surplus of up to up to £300 million is anticipated to remain after the UK completes its transition to digital television in the next two years.  That money would be diverted to expanding rural broadband under the government plan.

But campaigners for better rural broadband service complain that will not raise nearly enough to provide broadband across the countryside.  The 50p monthly telephone tax proposed by the former Labour government would have raised nearly £1 billion per year.

Charles Trotman, of the Country Land and Business Association, told The Telegraph it will not be enough money to connect all rural areas. He said remote communities risk being left behind in ‘broadband deserts’ unless more is done to help villages set up connections themselves.

Other critics contend the surplus from the digital TV transition may not exist two years from now.  Thus far, mostly rural regions in England have made the transition to digital, costing the government publicity campaign less than expected.

Rather than the tax, Osborne claims the government can spur investment from the private sector by “making regulatory changes to reduce the cost of roll-out.”  He did not specify what those changes might be.

The government claims it is committed to providing up to 2Mbps broadband service across the entire country, but the lack of action in many areas have forced small towns and villages to launch their own municipal broadband services, sometimes funded by residents themselves.

[flv width=”512″ height=”308″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/BBC Municipal Broadband 4-2010.flv[/flv]

The BBC covers two British communities doing it themselves — providing enhanced broadband because private providers wouldn’t.  One in Highworth offers free Wi-Fi for up to two hours daily, while in Lyddington residents raised £37,000 to obtain enhanced DSL service.  (5 minutes)

[flv width=”480″ height=”292″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Signal – Connectivity on the move 6-10.mp4[/flv]

Highworth (Swindon) relies on Signal, a high speed WISP/Wi-Fi network that offers up to 20/2 Mbps unlimited access with no Internet Overcharging schemes like usage caps or overage fees for £5.99 per month, or up to two hours daily access for free.  (4 minutes)

Gilbert

Only in Texas.

Less than a day after the Texas Department of Agriculture unveiled its statewide broadband map, an opposition candidate running for the office of Agriculture Commissioner dismissed it as a re-election scheme that will never benefit rural Texas.

Hank Gilbert, the Democratic agriculture commissioner candidate, criticized the incumbent commissioner’s efforts as a cheap stunt that took four years to deliver and wasted taxpayer money.

“This is yet another stupid, sleazy, ‘look-at-me’ political trick designed to cover up the fact that he’s one of the best at wasting tax money in the history of the state,” Gilbert said. “That map will do nothing for people without broadband access.  I’m sure people on landline modems will be grateful to Todd—after the 45 minutes it takes them to actually view the map to determine, sure enough, that their area isn’t served by broadband,” Gilbert continued.

Gilbert is referring to a joint broadband mapping project by the Texas Department of Agriculture and telecom industry front group Connected Nation, which is stacked to the rafters with telecom industry executives with a vested interest in making sure those maps reflect the industry’s interests.

Current commissioner Todd Staples released the map with great fanfare, claiming 97 percent of Texas already had access to broadband service, with just three percent, representing 250,000 Texans without.  Those numbers were debatable, considering Connected Nation was involved.  In earlier mapping efforts, the group claimed ubiquitous broadband was already available over large sections of several communities, even though it turned out many of those homes could not qualify to receive the DSL service the group said was available.

Gilbert put a less fine point on it:

Texas Broadband Map (click to enlarge)

“Aside from the fact that he considers the federal stimulus dollars for broadband an excuse to gain further name recognition, what has Todd Staples really done to increase broadband connectivity in Texas,” Gilbert asked. He also questioned why TDA officials have said publicly, in the weeks prior to the map’s unveiling, that they didn’t know what areas of Texas were not served by broadband or high-speed internet access.

“It is a sad day when the agency and commissioner in charge of making sure rural areas get broadband don’t know which areas are underserved. It’s even more sad that the TDA had to depend on a public-private partnership with a non-profit agency to figure it out. I don’t think it will come as a surprise to anyone that telecom companies have far more granular information on existing service areas,” Gilbert said.

“Based on the information available on the website Staples is touting, anyone with a pulse, vocal chords, and the ability to dial the keys on a telephone could have collected this information from providers. I don’t see why it has taken Todd Staples nearly four years to do this,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert is apparently new to the broadband availability debate.  Telecom companies treat specifics about their broadband service areas and speeds as proprietary business information and will not disclose it to the government or any other third party, claiming it needs to protect the information for competitive reasons.  Earlier efforts to collect this information in other states met with stonewalling from providers.  Even the federal government has been unable to gather street-level statistics on broadband service from some providers.

But Gilbert has a point that a map project, especially with an industry front group in the mix, does not actually bring broadband to anyone.  Too often, such maps are used to block would-be competitors from getting federal broadband grant money, with nearby providers claiming the maps show the funding would help a community already served by broadband, even if it was not.  They also help paint a helpful picture for an industry seeking funding for middle-mile projects that divert broadband stimulus funding to help incumbent providers enhance their networks at the public expense.  In short, Texas cable and phone companies get to argue the stimulus program is a waste of money (unless they are recipients) because Texas doesn’t have a broadband problem.

Cue the Texas Cable Association:

“The map shows that less than 1 percent of all Texans cannot access some form of broadband, whether, wired, wireless or mobile. Yet – without this information – the federal government awarded more than $200 million in grants and loans to projects in Texas. Some of these projects propose to duplicate service in an area already served by multiple broadband providers.

“In addition, the federal government set a deadline for second-round funding applications that forced the Texas Department of Agriculture to again make recommendations without the benefit of the mapping data.

“As the federal government considers these new applications, the Texas Cable Association urges it to make its decisions based on the new Texas broadband availability map.

“Taxpayer dollars – in the form of government grants – should not be used to duplicate services or to provide free capital that allows grant winners to gain market advantage over private companies that have invested millions of dollars of their own money to make broadband available.”

The state cable lobby even has a 30 second ad running, thanks to the help of the mother-of-all-astroturf groups, Broadband for America — a front group for big cable and phone companies.

[flv]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Texas Cable Association Broadband Ad.flv[/flv]

The Texas Cable Association has this not-too-subtle ad promoting private investment in broadband, suggesting Texas telecoms are helping, not hurting consumers and businesses.  (30 seconds)

The Staples campaign responded to Gilbert’s accusations Texas-style — by accusing their opponent of being a crook.

Staples’ campaign manager Cody McGregor said:

“Our opponent has a criminal conviction for theft, unpaid taxes, current tax liens, and allegedly accepted a bribe for $150,000. I hope all Texans will gain access to the Internet and have the ability to view www.guiltyguiltygilbert.com and get the facts about our opponent and his campaign’s trouble with telling the truth.”

Staples’ website is way over the top, accusing Gilbert of being a “villainous Obama Democrat” who is guilty of not wearing his seatbelt and being stupid.

Todd Staples owns stock in at least two telecom companies, AT&T and Fairpoint Communications, the latter of which is probably not helping his portfolio too much considering it declared bankruptcy.

Read Gilbert’s “fact sheet” on Todd Staples’ broadband mapping project below the jump.

[flv width=”640″ height=”500″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/Repeat Offender Hank Gilbert.flv[/flv]

And you thought your state’s campaign ads were too negative.  The Staples campaign goes back to the old west to drive home a message about their opponent.  (1 minute)

… Continue Reading