Verizon Voice Link

The New York State Public Service Commission has announced it will hold public hearings in Ocean Beach in Suffolk County, N.Y. to hear from angry Fire Island residents and others about their evaluation of Verizon’s controversial wireless landline replacement Voice Link, which Verizon hopes to eventually install in rural areas across its operating territories.

“Verizon needs to stop lying,” said Fire Island resident Debi May who lost phone service last fall after Hurricane Sandy damaged the local network. “Don’t tell me you can’t fix my landline service. Tell me you won’t.”

She is one of hundreds of Fire Island residents spending the summer without landline service, relying on spotty cellular service, or using Verizon’s wireless landline alternative Voice Link, which many say simply does not work as advertised. In July, the CWA asserted Verizon is trying to introduce Voice Link in upstate New York, including in the Catskills and in and around Watertown and Buffalo.

“I’ve been on the phone with Verizon all day,” Jason Little, owner of the popular Fire Island haunt Bocce Beach tells The Village Voice. The restaurant’s phone line and DSL service is down again. Just like last week. And three weeks before that. Like always, Verizon’s customer service representatives engage in the futility of scheduling a service call that will never actually happen. Verizon doesn’t bother to show up in this section of Fire Island anymore, reports Little.

“They never come,” he says. So he sits and waits for the service to work its way back on its own — the result of damaged infrastructure Verizon refuses to repair any longer. Until it does, accepting credit cards is a big problem for Little.

It’s the same story down the street at the beachwear boutique A Summer Place. Instead of showing customers the latest summer fashions, owner Roberta Smith struggles her away around Verizon’s abandonment of landline service. She even purchased the recommended wireless credit card machine to process transactions, but that only works as well as Verizon Wireless’ service on the island, which can vary depending on location and traffic demands.

Smith tells the newspaper at least half the time, Verizon’s wireless network is so slow the machine stops working. If she can’t reach the credit card authorization center over a crackly, zero bar Verizon Wireless cell phone, the customer might walk, abandoning the sale.

National Public Radio reports Verizon’s efforts to abandon landline service on Fire Island and in certain New Jersey communities is just the first step towards retiring rural landline service in high cost areas. But does Verizon Voice Link actually work? Local residents say it doesn’t work well enough. NPR allows listeners to hear the sound quality of Voice Link for themselves. (5 minutes)
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Verizon’s decision is making life hard for Fire Island’s small businesses.

The Village Voice notes Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam didn’t make the decision to scrap rural copper wire landline service to improve things for customers. He did it for the company.

“The decision wasn’t motivated by customer demand so much as McAdam’s interest in increasing Verizon’s profit margins,” the Voice writes.

Tom Maguire, Verizon’s point man for Voice Link, has not endeared himself with local residents by suggesting Fire Island shoppers should get around the credit card problem by bringing cash.

“Remember what happened to Marie Antoinette when she said ‘let them eat cake’,” suggested one.

For some customers who appreciate the phone company’s cost arguments, Verizon’s wireless alternative wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t work so bad.

“It has all the problems of a cellphone system, but none of the advantages,” Pat Briody, a homeowner on Fire Island for 40 years told NPR News.

“I don’t think there’s anyone who will tell you Voice Link is better than the copper wire,” says Steve Kunreuther, treasurer of the Saltaire Yacht Club.

Jean Ufer says her husbands’ pacemaker depends on landline service to report in on his medical condition.

“Voice Link doesn’t work here,” reports resident Jean Ufer, whose husband depends on a pacemaker that must “check in” with medical staff over a landline the Ufer family no longer has. “It constantly breaks down. Everybody who has it hates it. You can’t do faxes. You can’t do the medical stuff you need. We need what we had back.”

Residents who depended on unlimited broadband access from Verizon’s DSL service are being bill-shocked by Verizon’s only broadband replacement option – expensive 4G wireless hotspot service from Verizon Wireless.

Small business owner Alessandro Anderes-Bologna used to have DSL service from Verizon until Hurricane Sandy obliterated Verizon’s infrastructure across parts of the western half of Fire Island. Today he relies on what he calls poor service from Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network, which he claims is hopelessly overloaded because of tourist traffic and insufficient capacity. But more impressive are Anderes-Bologna’s estimates of what Verizon Wireless wants to charge him for substandard wireless broadband.

“My bill with Verizon Wireless would probably be in the range of $700-800 a month,” Anderes-Bologna said. That is considerably higher than the $29.99 a month Verizon typically charges for its fastest unlimited DSL option on Fire Island.

Despite the enormous difference in price, Verizon’s Maguire has no problems with Verizon Wireless’ prices for its virtual broadband monopoly on the landline-less sections of the island.

“It’s a closed community,” he says. “It’s the quintessential marketplace where you get to charge what the market will bear, so all the shops get to charge whatever they want.” And that’s exactly what Verizon is doing.

WCBS Radio reports Verizon is introducing Voice Link in certain barrier island communities in New Jersey. But the service lacks important features landline users have been long accustomed to having. (1 minute)
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In nearby New Jersey, Verizon’s efforts to introduce Voice Link has met with resistance from consumer groups, the state’s utility regulator, and the Rate Counsel. Over 1,400 customers on barrier island communities like Bay Head, Brick, and Mantoloking cannot get Verizon DSL or landline service any longer because Verizon refuses to repair damaged landlines.

Tom Maguire

“The New Jersey coast has been battered enough,” said Douglas Johnston, AARP New Jersey’s manager of advocacy. “The last thing we need is second-class phone service at the Shore. We are concerned that approval of Verizon’s plans could further the gap between the telecommunications ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ and could create an incentive for Verizon to neglect the maintenance and repair of its landline phone network in New Jersey.”

In some cases, Verizon has told customers they can get landline phone service from Comcast, a competitor, instead.

State consumer advocates note that other utilities including cable operators have undertaken repair, replacement, and restoration of facilities in both New York and New Jersey without the challenges Verizon claims it has.

“Only Verizon, without evidentiary support, is seeking to jettison its obligations to provide safe, proper and adequate service to the public,” wrote the New Jersey Rate Counsel in a filing with the Federal Communications Commission.

New York Senator Phil Boyle, who represents Fire Island residents, is hosting a town hall meeting tonight to discuss the move by Verizon to replace copper-wire phone lines on Fire Island with Voice Link. The meeting will be held at the Ocean Beach Community House in Ocean Beach from 5-7pm.

The New York State Public Service Commission will be at the same location Saturday, Aug. 24 starting at noon for a public statement hearing to hear from customers about how Verizon Voice Link is working for them.

It is not necessary to make an appointment in advance or to present written material to speak at the public statement hearing. Anyone with a view about Voice Link, whether they live on the island or not are welcome to attend. Speakers will be called after completing a card requesting time to speak. Disabled persons requiring special accommodations may place a collect call to the Department of Public Service’s Human Resources Management Office at (518) 474-2520 as soon as possible. TDD users may request a sign language interpreter by placing a call through the New York Relay Service at 711 to reach the Department of Public Service’s Human Resource Office at the previously mentioned number.

Fire Island

Those who cannot attend in person at the Community House, 157-164 Bay Walk, Ocean Beach can send comments about Voice Link to the PSC online, by phone, or through the mail.

• E:Mail: [email protected]
• U.S. Mail: Secretary, Public Service Commission, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350
• 24 Hour Toll-Free Opinion Line (N.Y. residents only): 1-800-335-2120

Your comments should refer to “Case 13-C-0197 – Voice Link on Fire Island.” All comments are requested by Sept. 13, 2013. Comments will become part of the record considered by the Commission and will be published online and accessible by clicking on the “Public Comments” tab.

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Al Jazeera reports Fire Island residents are fighting to keep their landlines, especially after having bad experiences with Verizon Voice Link. (3 minutes)

The average owner of a large home that wants an alarm system, the ability to observe everything indoors and out, and remotely control doors, thermostats and electric outlets will pay AT&T $1,740 in installation fees and a recurring monthly charge of $69.95 a month for deluxe peace of mind.

AT&T’s “Digital Life” service, available in U-verse equipped areas, is just the latest revenue-booster for the telephone company. The new service will compete directly against similar offerings from cable operators and traditional home security vendors including ADT.

AT&T can claim some superiority for its offering, because it offers water damage sensors most others don’t. That add-on can detect a basement water heater on the way out or give an early warning of a sewer backup.

AT&T’s deluxe offer — headlined above — includes the water control add-on, three indoor pan-and-scan cameras, one outdoor security camera, sensors for six windows and a variety of home automation features. For the middle class, AT&T offers less tony packages, letting customers customize features most valuable to them.

Home security and automation is a growth industry, particularly since the cable and phone companies have gotten into the act. The Boston Herald reports 90 million homes worldwide will have some form of home automation system in place by 2017.

Although home security systems have been available for years, they require separate contracts, installation, and monitoring from alarm providers most Americans are barely familiar with. The cable and phone companies hope their packages, offered as “add-ons,” will attract more customers that would not normally consider a home security system. Maintaining broadband service is also often a prerequisite for the cable/telephone company systems. As customers are already accustomed to seeing the cable or phone guy and a large, multi-product monthly telecommunications bill, adding another service like home automation and monitoring is not a big stretch.

“Offering security services in the past was basically a separate offering,” said Mitchell Christopher, vice president of technical operations at  Time Warner Cable. “Security wasn’t tied to the existing products or network. With the new products we have now, it is fully integrated into our existing network. It is just an extension of what we are doing versus a departure.”

Unlike traditional intrusion alarms, services like AT&T’s “Digital Life” promote home automation and monitoring features above basic home security.

The Herald:

A few real life-examples: Turn on the lights and unlock your front door when you see your cleaning crew arrive. Lock it behind them when they leave — no need to give them a key. Set programs that make life easier, such as one that triggers your back door to open and your kitchen lights to turn on when your garage door opens each night as you arrive home. View a log of each time your front door has opened or closed to know whether your child has kept his or her word about staying in to do homework. Simply press a button on your smartphone or tablet for “police” or “fire” in the event of an emergency. Be alerted if the service detects a water leak, smoke or carbon monoxide. And if a leak is detected, have the water supply cut automatically.

[flv width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/ATT Digital Life 8-2013.flv[/flv]

AT&T produced this introductory video for its Digital Life home security and automation suite. The most basic home security packages start at $150 for equipment and $30 a month with a 2-year contract. (1 minute)

If Time Warner Cable is concerned about the rising cost of cable television, it sure didn’t show it after sources revealed the cable company quickly accepted CBS’ demands for more compensation but is refusing to budge until it wins rights to show CBS programming on mobile platforms.

Sources tell the Daily News Time Warner quickly agreed to a major increase from 50 cents a month per subscriber to $2 a month for CBS content, but is keeping CBS-owned stations and cable networks off the dial until the network agrees to let the cable company distribute on-demand and live programming on cell phones, tablets, and personal computers.

Earlier this week, Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt made an offer CBS couldn’t wait to refuse: the cable company would put CBS programming back on the lineup if it could be sold to customers a-la-carte instead of bundling it with other channels.

That would “allow customers to decide for themselves how much value they ascribe to CBS programming,” Britt said in a letter to CBS CEO Leslie Moonves that was promptly posted online.

CBS called the idea a sham, noting a-la-carte runs contrary to the economic model the cable industry itself regularly and loudly defends. Try telling ESPN, which costs every cable subscriber more than $5 a month, it will now be offered only to customers that want to pay for it.

Phillip “Capitulation Corner” Dampier

In fact, for most cable operators, the concept of selling customers only the channels they want is the nightmare scenario. Average revenue per subscriber would tumble as consumers rid themselves of networks with three digit channel numbers they didn’t even know they had. Goodbye ‘Yarn Creations’ on Generic Home Shopping Channel 694, Bosnian music videos, reruns of Simon and Simon, mysterious networks showing episodes of Law & Order that USA Network already burned into your permanent memory, and that “fine arts” network that shows endless hours of Antiques Roadshow dating back to 1998.

Digital rights is an important issue for both cable companies and programmers. Although both sides deny “cord cutting” is real, the intensity of the fight allowing online viewing says otherwise. If CBS gives away rights to Time Warner Cable to show live and on-demand programming to subscribers, CBS can’t make as much money offering shows on its own website (with its own ads), much less sell programming to customers. Time Warner fears if CBS only offers online programming through its own website, customers might decide they don’t need the cable company to watch those shows any longer.

“At the moment the cable operators have the leverage because the more that CBS is off the cable, the more that they realize the viewers don’t need it,” said media expert Michael Wolf, former Yahoo! board member and president of Viacom-owned MTV Networks.

For now, many viewers are turning to pirate video sites to catch the CBS shows they are missing. TorrentFreak reports huge spikes in illicit download traffic of CBS content over the weekend. Under the Dome was the source of much of the spike, although customers are also downloading pirated copies of Showtime programming. The evidence is clear: take away popular programming and customers will simply download it illegally from third-party websites.

As summer wanes and the fall football season approaches, just about everyone expects the war will quickly end, because football fans are more than willing to drop a provider if they can’t spend several hours in front of the television Sunday afternoon. Considering Time Warner has reportedly already caved in on CBS’ money demands, it is likely CBS will be able to eventually extract even more money from the cable company to secure digital distribution rights. Subscribers will pick up the tab for both during the next round of rate increases beginning this fall in the south and by January in the northeast.

Time Warner Cable’s latest regulatory notice admits current deals with more than 50 networks are due to expire soon, and the company may cease the carriage of one or more of the networks. They include: Lifetime, E!, Style, Turner Classic Movies, and the NHL Network. So just like Law & Order reruns, we will see this episode again in the near future.

The PGA is offering a way for golf fans to watch some of the PGA Championship online, bypassing the CBS-TWC dispute.

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Perhaps the biggest loss viewers without CBS will experience this weekend is the PGA Championship. CNBC talks with tournament officials in Rochester, N.Y., about the possibility of viewing alternatives. But golf fans can watch parts of the tournament for free from the PGA’s website. (3 minutes)

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Bloomberg News reports that while many cable viewers could care less about the loss of CBS and Showtime, broadband customers may care very much when cable operators start charging extra for Netflix or add punitive usage caps to make sure customers don’t cut cable TV’s cord. (3 minutes)

Sen. Schumer

That new Internet-enabled television in your living room may be allowing virtual Peeping Toms to watch and listen to you because manufacturers never bothered with adequate security measures to keep unwanted guests out.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is calling on major television manufacturers to create a uniform security standard to stop the hacking before it becomes widespread.

A security research group recently highlighted security flaws in so-called “smart” TVs that make it simple for anyone to hack the television’s internal microphone and embedded camera originally designed for video chatting. The security group warned that almost anyone could begin eavesdropping within minutes of identifying a vulnerable television — most lacking any significant security measures to prevent unauthorized video spying.

“You expect to watch TV, but you don’t want the TV watching you,” said Schumer. “Many of these smart televisions are vulnerable to hackers who can spy on you while you’re watching television in your living room. Our computers have access to firewalls and other security blocks but these televisions do not and that’s why manufacturers should do everything possible to create a standard of security in their internet-connected products.”

The security vulnerability exists because many modern “smart” TVs are now connected to the Internet. To enhance the social experience, many of these televisions are equipped with microphones and unobtrusive video cameras similar to those found in a laptop. But many consumers do not realize these devices could allow anyone on the outside to activate the camera and microphone unbeknownst to the owner and quietly watch and listen in on what is happening inside a home.

Particularly vulnerable

Samsung televisions starting with the 2012 model year were called particularly vulnerable to hacking. Researchers found they could not only access cameras and microphones, they could also tap into the television’s web browser, steal user accounts and passwords, and redirect consumers to hacked websites designed to capture personal information including credit card numbers and bank account information.

Some manufacturers have not taken responsibility for the security flaws, suggesting worried consumers put black electrical tape over the camera or unplug the TV when not in use. Samsung has issued patches for many of the affected devices and promises more changes in future models.

Schumer called current measures inadequate and too often leave the burden solely on consumers. He wants an industry security standard implemented that includes a firewall and other security measures that keep unwanted visitors out without forcing consumers to disable features they paid to have on their television.

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Your Internet enabled television set may be vulnerable to hacking. WTEN in Albany reports Sen. Schumer wants manufacturers to create a uniform security standard to keep unwelcome visitors out of your living room. (2 minutes)

Frontier is enticing Rochester-area customers to “say goodbye to Time Warner Cable.”

Time Warner Cable’s relentless rate increases, particularly on its broadband service, are leading to calls for more competition in the upstate New York cities of Buffalo and Rochester, now dominated by Time Warner, Verizon Communications (Buffalo), and Frontier Communications (Rochester).

“Bloodsuckers,” came the terse reply of Cathy Slocum.

Frontier Communications is making the most out of the cable company rate increases with a new “Goodbye Time Warner” ad campaign (that incidentally includes a link to Stop the Cap!’s coverage of TWC’s modem fee). It is pitching $19.99 broadband price-locked for two years — an improvement over its earlier offers thanks to a major reduction in sneaky fine print.

Customers can get up to 6Mbps service (up to 12Mbps available in limited areas) at the special offer price as long as they keep a Frontier landline active with a qualifying calling package. There are no contracts with this promotion, but Frontier’s pesky $9.99 “Broadband Processing Fee” applies if customers ever choose to disconnect Internet service. A free Wi-Fi Internet router is included and the company claims it offers “free Internet activation.” But an installation fee still applies, discounted if customers choose the self-install option. Taxes, governmental and other Frontier-imposed surcharges also apply and new Frontier customers are subject to credit approval, which will show up as an inquiry on your credit report.

In the past, we have taken Frontier to task for its expensive early termination and modem rental fees, as well as its bundling requirements, but the company has since ditched most of these as part of its new self-proclaimed reputation as “BS free.”

Unfortunately, Frontier’s DSL speeds can wildly vary, so if you take advantage of their offer, be sure to verify the speed actually get at your home or office. If the service proves too slow to your liking after installation, you can negotiate canceling within the first two weeks without any termination fees.

Where FiOS is available in Buffalo, Verizon is offering promotional pricing on its bundled services, including an $84.99 offer including 50/25Mbps Internet with a Verizon landline offering unlimited calling. This is cheaper than Time Warner’s offer with considerably faster upload speeds and no modem fees. In parts of Buffalo, Verizon is authorized to offer broadband and phone service only, although several suburbs have franchise agreements that allow the phone company to also sell television service. A large part of the city and other suburbs are still stuck with Verizon’s copper network, however, which means DSL is the best they can offer.

Time Warner Cable’s new customer promotions, useful when negotiating a customer retention deal, have resumed bundling Standard tier (15/1Mbps service) Internet speeds into most offers. Previously, the company bundled 3Mbps service in many of its promotions. Broadband-only customers can pay as little as $34.99 a month for a year of Internet service at 15/1Mbps speeds, assuming one buys their own cable modem. A double play offer of broadband basic television (around 20 channels, mostly local over-the-air) with 30/5Mbps Internet service is now priced at $94.97 a month after a $5.99 mandatory modem rental fee is included (not optional with this package).

Time Warner Cable executives have repeatedly told investors its higher priced promotions are intentional to increase revenue and profits even if the company loses customers by charging higher prices.

Verizon FiOS offers in the Buffalo area.

“I moved here from the New York City area a year ago where we had two cable companies — Cablevision and Verizon FiOS,” noted Stephen O’Brien. “Competition changes everything. Not only were the rates much lower than here, the companies would offer you all kinds of incentives to switch from one to the other. One time we switched and got a free iPod Touch. The argument that the rate increase is needed to cover investment is the biggest red herring of all — Cablevision and FiOS spent many times more on infrastructure, yet their rates were much lower.”

Stop the Cap! recommends Time Warner Cable customers check out our guide to getting the best deal possible from TWC.

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WGRZ in Buffalo reports upstate New York residents are upset about two recently announced broadband rate hikes. Time Warner Cable says it needs the money to keep up its broadband service’s reliability. What alternatives do customers have?  (2 minutes)