Verizon got more time to file testimony in the New York Public Service Commission investigation of the telco’s copper service quality. In a letter to Verizon dated Thursday, PSC Secretary Kathleen Burgess said the commission granted Verizon’s request to extend the deadline to 45 days after the end of the strike (see 1605100042). “This extension has been granted in order to promote the fair, orderly and efficient conduct of this proceeding,” she wrote. The telco also has requested more time to respond to a similar probe by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (see 1605090045).
New York City signed off on the Altice buy of Cablevision, leaving New York state's Public Service Commission as the last regulatory approval needed to close the deal. The city’s Franchise and Concession Review Committee voted Wednesday to approve the draft resolution with conditions proposed by Mayor Bill de Blasio's office (see 1605060038). The Democratic mayor had proposed requirements that Altice give the Bronx and Brooklyn priority for infrastructure upgrades, and that it reach an agreement with the state PSC -- acceptable to the city's Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications -- that maintains “levels of customer-facing employees for an appropriate time period.” The mayor’s office applauded Wednesday’s vote. “We are pleased that the FCRC has voted to allow this transaction to proceed with conditional approval,” mayor’s counsel Maya Wiley said in a statement. “The City worked hard to make sure Altice’s acquisition of Cablevision would ensure fairness for all New Yorkers -- particularly residents of Brooklyn and the Bronx -- so we applaud a deal that accomplishes that goal.” The need for a New York City review had been debated. The city said its franchise agreement with Cablevision includes authority to review transfers of control, but Altice and Cablevision contested that right (see 1604050059). The last remaining regulatory hurdle is the New York PSC, which is expected to decide Friday next week. The FCC OK'd Altice/Cablevision without conditions other than for national security (see 1605040010). Altice didn’t comment.
The New York State Department of Public Service said it's investigating the cause of a fiber outage that wiped out telephone service for 750,000 customers in the New York City area Monday afternoon. Internet backbone provider Level 3 suffered the outage, affecting Verizon and other customers, DPS CEO and Public Service Commission Chair Audrey Zibelman said in a statement. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) directed DPS and the state's Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services to investigate the outage to ensure there was no impact on 911 calls, Zibelman said. "Service is being restored, and DPS will continue to investigate the incident to determine the cause.” Level 3 said in a statement the outage was "due to a fiber cut caused by third-party construction" and it has restored service.
Dozens of Verizon union workers plan to protest Wednesday outside a quarterly meeting of the New York State Procurement Council, the Communications Workers of America said Tuesday. As the strike enters its fourth week (see 1605050047), union protesters will urge council members not to grant any new contracts to Verizon during the strike, CWA said. The council issues guidelines and recommendations on public contracts; members include the state comptroller and the director of budget. New York has $311 million in existing contracts with Verizon, CWA said. “Taxpayers should not fund Verizon contracts during the strike since the company cannot deliver proper service,” CWA said. “Its experienced workforce has been replaced with inexperienced, poorly-trained replacement workers and managers who cannot properly service and maintain Verizon’s networks.” A Verizon spokesman responded: “Union leaders like [CWA President] Chris Shelton are too shortsighted to realize that when revenues decline because of adverse union involvement or activities, these actions potentially lead to reduced revenues and a smaller workforce.” New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli voiced concerns about the strike in an April 21 letter to Verizon Chairman Lowell McAdam. “I am concerned that this impasse, coupled with the negative media attention that resulted in 2011 from tense contract negotiations between CWA and Verizon, may create a risk that Verizon will be perceived as ‘anti-labor,’” he wrote. “A protracted workforce strike of this magnitude would undoubtedly affect the morale and productivity of Verizon’s employees. I am concerned that a disenfranchised workforce and the associated negative publicity may ultimately impact Verizon’s profitability.” The Wednesday protest is scheduled for 11 a.m. outside Empire State Plaza, Meeting Room 6, in Albany.
Verizon asked New York regulators to hit pause on their copper service quality investigation until the company can resolve its East Coast strike. In a letter Tuesday to the New York Public Service Commission, Verizon sought an extension of time to respond to the commission’s order initiating the proceeding. The current due date is May 20, but Verizon asked the PSC to move the due date until 45 days after the strike ends because it said the necessary staff are occupied filling in for striking union workers. Verizon made a similar request Monday to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, which has also opened a copper probe (see 1605090045).
A Latino media company entered a late plea at the New York Public Service Commission to stop the Altice buy of Cablevision. The state commission is expected to issue a decision on the deal in less than two weeks. Entravision, a media company with TV, radio and digital channels targeting Latinos, submitted a motion Tuesday to file late comments after noticing that the concerns of minority and independent programmers hadn’t been raised. “This acquisition will affect one of the already small number of significant buyers of video programming, create a larger buyer of such programming, and result in the very consolidation of the buying side of the video programming market that has to be of concern to this Commission,” Entravision said. “The resulting increased bargaining power of the merged entity can be expected to reduce the price, quantity, and quality of video programming the merged entity purchases, harming not only programming providers but also advertisers and video consumers, including the many Latino video consumers that are served by Cablevision in the New York City metropolitan area.” The New York City Franchise and Concession Review Committee plans to vote on the deal Wednesday, followed by New York state May 20 (see 1605060038). Altice and Cablevision received an FCC green light last week (see 1605040010). Altice has said the deal will enhance competition, promote network improvements and bridge the digital divide for low-income households.
The New York Public Service Commission plans a June 7 procedural conference for its probe of Verizon copper service quality. “The principal purposes of the conference are to identify the parties participating in the proceeding, discuss any scheduling and process proposals, and address any other matters appropriately raised at the conference,” the state commission said in a notice Friday. The meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. in the PSC’s Albany offices. The state is examining the quality of Verizon’s legacy copper services and Verizon’s willingness to make upgrades to copper in areas where it hasn’t rolled out fiber (see 1604250046).
Verizon asked Pennsylvania regulators to hit pause on their copper service quality investigation until the company resolves its East Coast strike. In a motion filed Friday at the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Verizon requested “that this case be held in abeyance for the duration of the strike” and to delay current due dates for prehearing memorandum (May 20) and the prehearing conference (May 26) until 30 days and 45 days, respectively, after union workers return to work. Verizon asked for the delay because it said the employees who would attend the prehearing conference are engaged in emergency work assignments filling in for the striking union workers. The purpose of the prehearing conference is to establish a litigation schedule. While not specifically rejecting Verizon’s motion, a spokeswoman for the Communications Workers of America said the probe must go on. “Verizon earlier tried to stop this investigation, but in April, the PUC rejected that move,” she said. “The PUC decided in February that a hearing into Verizon's neglect of the network was needed. The documentation of Verizon's failure to keep up the network and give customers the service they pay for dates to last fall and even earlier. One of the reasons workers are on strike is to push Verizon to provide customers with the service they deserve. Regulators are taking a serious look at this company, as they should.”
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) recommended conditional OK of Altice's buying Cablevision. The city’s Franchise and Concession Review Committee plans a hearing to review the transaction Monday and will vote Wednesday. Next up will be state approval, with the New York Public Service Commission expected to decide May 20 (see 1604050059). "After several in-depth discussions and multiple requests for supporting information to ensure an equitable buildout of infrastructure and fulfillment of customer service contracts, the City is recommending conditional approval of this transaction,” mayor’s counsel Maya Wiley said in an emailed statement. “We are conditioning approval on satisfactory staffing levels to ensure compliance with franchise agreement commitments. The condition will help the City ensure a fair and equitable deal for our Brooklyn and Bronx residents." Under the draft resolution, Altice must give the Bronx and Brooklyn priority for infrastructure upgrades, and it must reach an agreement with the New York PSC -- acceptable to the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications -- that maintains “levels of customer facing employees for an appropriate time period.” The FCC OK'd Altice/Cablevision without conditions other than for national security (see 1605040010).
Frontier Communications apologized for ongoing service issues in California after last month’s acquisition of more than 1 million Verizon wireline customers in California, Florida and Texas. The California Public Utilities Commission received 584 customer complaints from April 1 to April 29 about the Verizon/Frontier transition, a CPUC spokeswoman said. A California State Assembly chairman said Thursday his committee may hold hearings on the transition woes if problems continue (see 1605050062). Frontier is “continuing to resolve customer issues as they come to us,” a company spokesman said in an emailed statement Thursday evening. “With a transition of this size and geographic scale, there will be issues that need to be addressed and that’s what we’re focused on. Our operational command center for the transition process is monitoring the network 24/7, tracking every customer escalation, and we have nearly 1,000 highly trained and experienced technicians working extended hours and weekends in the field responding as quickly as possible to resolve every customer request as we receive them. At the same time, we’re operating and maintaining the network, taking care of the business-as-usual issues that occur, while working hard to address all customer questions and concerns as they are brought to our attention. We apologize for any inconvenience our customers are experiencing and we thank them for their patience.”