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Council ignored misleading story

Fredericksburg City Council made the right decision in approving Verizon FiOS TV and Internet service franchise in spite of misleading media coverage

Date published: 7/14/2007

By Michael Zitz

IGNORING a tempest in a copper teapot, Fredericksburg City Council voted unanimously this week to grant franchise rights to Verizon to provide high-speed FiOS fiber-optic Internet, TV and phone service to the city.

The move happened in the blink of an eye--no debate, fast as a fiber-optic download.

Verizon will compete in the city with Cox for TV and Internet customers. And the two companies also will go head to head on telephone landline service at the end of this month when Cox introduces its new phone service here.

Competition is good.

The council made the right decision in tuning in fiber optics and tuning out a misleading Associated Press story published the day before the vote falsely suggesting that a consumer revolt is brewing against Verizon over FiOS.

The story, which is all over the Internet, contended that Verizon cuts copper connectivity to homes when installing FiOS, and that "traps customers" and "hampers rivals."

Not true.

The story also makes it seem that Long Island, N.Y. resident Henry Powderly II was angry that he wasn't given the option to keep his copper.

Also not true.

The story fails to note that Powderly is no average Joe consumer. He's a tech blogger for the Long Island Business News who writes about FiOS and had just given it a glowing review.

And he's angrily saying in his blog that the AP seriously misrepresented his views and "used" him to make a contrived point with which he disagrees.

The AP released the following a clarification this week saying, "The story should have noted that Powderly didn't mind being disconnected and that he likes the new service."

Verizon only removes copper wiring when it's suspended in the air from a pole to a home. It won't remove hanging wires if the customer wants them to remain in place. It doesn't even touch underground copper leading to homes that don't have hanging wires.

And it's not difficult to switch back to copper, as the AP story contends. A company spokesman said that if a customer wants the copper line back, Verizon will replace it, free of charge.

"This is a nonissue," said Harry J. Mitchell, Verizon's director of media relations for the Mid-Atlantic region

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Date published: 7/14/2007