It is time for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take a (long overdue) time out and review the current status of the [...]]]>

What do you do with voice and the legacy telephone network? Everyone is such a hurry to get to the future that they don’t want to deal with today and tomorrow.

It is time for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take a (long overdue) time out and review the current status of the PSTN, then provide a roadmap for all stakeholders on how it will be managed for the next 20 years and/or when it is finally turned off.

Traditional landline service is declining year-over-year, but is it dying?  Or will it bottom out and level off?

Verizon seems to be in a hurry to get FiOS installed, but at the expense of  copper in service for DSL and voice service.  Not everyone is going to get FiOS, so does this mean that “New” phone system will be built around wireless phones for the economically disadvantaged? If so, what does this translate to for additional/extended wireless coverage within buildings?

Turns out they only need a couple of shovels.

Around the corner, the lead Verizon tech of the day found damage that apparently had come from/around work done on the cable company box — a [...]]]>

At one point this morning, there were two Verizon trucks plus a contractor’s pickup with backhoe at the ready.

Turns out they only need a couple of shovels.

Around the corner, the lead Verizon tech of the day found damage that apparently had come from/around work done on the cable company box — a finding that will, no doubt, be something Verizon takes up with Cox and the VA SCC.

My copper has been spliced/fixed, the temp line has been restored, so all is happy in the world for now.

But still, why was I quoted up to seven days for someone to look at the initial problem? Why is Verizon having to haul techs up from Richmond to work through a backlog of repair tickets in Northern Virginia? Would I still be waiting for someone to look at my line today if I hadn’t dropped a dime (well, clicked a link) to the VA SCC?

Meanwhile,  there’s a Verizon truck parked [...]]]>

At 9:48 AM, I received a call from a Verizon call center in Virginia, telling me that my landline service was fixed and if I had any questions or other problems, please feel free to call. This message was read by a human being working through a script.

Meanwhile,  there’s a Verizon truck parked outside,  a backhoe across the street near the above ground distribution box, and a Verizon tech and two contractors plugging in wonderful boxes to locate where exactly the line break is (hopefully not under the asphalt, please). The tech has already worked up a heavy sweat and I don’t envy his labor today.

Note to Verizon: This is the second time where I’ve got a rote call center call TELLING ME THE CIRCUIT IS FIXED WHEN A TECH IS STANDING OUTSIDE TRYING TO REPAIR IT.

Honestly, once may be bad luck and/or human error, twice indicates that the processes and the procedures are broken and need to be fixed.

It would be to laugh, if it wasn’t costing you money and goodwill.

*sigh*

Now we await Miss Utility before the digging starts, I think…

Previous postings in this saga of repair, in chronological order–

Tuesday, July 8

Verizon wireline’s 7 day service window – I’m told that someone might not look at the dead phone line until Monday, July 7

Friday, July 10

Virginia PUC responds faster than Verizon landline repair -  File a complaint only with the Virginia SCC (PUC)

Virginia PUC motivates Verizon repair for landline and other mysteries – Tech comes out, declares line dead, need new copper

Saturday, July 11

Verizon Repair fiasco continues… – Verizon call center droid says service is restored, unplug my phones, plug back in, should have dialtone

Straight talk from a Verizon supervisor… – Tech working on my line calls me back, tells me call center is wrong, didn’t read trouble ticket

More repair activity from Verizon this Saturday – Tech comes out, jury-rig a NID-to-NID connection for dial tone.

Sunday, July 12

Verizon repair Sunday phone call – Richmond supervisor calls to discuss activities

I spent 10 minutes on the phone going over the repair status of my Verizon landline with a Verizon supervisor.  I currently have dial-tone through a temporary jury-rig (hmm, reminds me, must take pictures) between my NIC and my neighbor’s.

The sup was concerned that I didn’t [...]]]>

Verizon supervisors work on Sundays, it appears.

I spent 10 minutes on the phone going over the repair status of my Verizon landline with a Verizon supervisor.  I currently have dial-tone through a temporary jury-rig (hmm, reminds me, must take pictures) between my NIC and my neighbor’s.

The sup was concerned that I didn’t get phone calls from either one of the techs who came out on Friday and Saturday.  I told them I wasn’t as torked off about that so much as the call center person who told me that my line was fix on Saturday, go unplug-and-replug your phones in.  The supervisor noted that, well, the quality of call center people in the technical industry these days…

ANYway, after telling him for my great-great love when I did talk to the techs and how I didn’t understand how Verizon could tell me it could be up to 7 days for someone to even look at the problem, he said I should see a dig crew out on Monday, presuming Miss Utility can get out here and mark the other lines (cable, electrical).

Seven days for a tech to come [...]]]>

My Verizon landline went dead on Monday. I filed a trouble ticket on Monday evening. At that time I was told that “the latest someone would be out to look at my line would be Monday, July 13, but if there’s someone free earlier, we’ll call you…”

Seven days for a tech to come out seems excessive by any stretch of the imagination. I suppose I could call the President of Verizon Virginia to complain — that’s the secret ninja trick that all Verizon employees know — but I don’t have his number in my cards.

Instead, this morning I went to the Virgina PUC and emailed in a complaint this morning. By the time I returned from the gym today, I received a response which read in part…

“As to the current service quality regulations, 95% or more of all telephone company outages should be cleared within 48 hours.  The quoted ‘seven days’ interval is not acceptable to the Commission’s standards and should not be a company policy within Verizon.”

Qwest says it received “unsolicited indications of interest from potential purchasers” for its long distance network, so it went out and [...]]]>

After a “strategic review” (i.e. we were shopping around), Qwest has decided to hold onto its long-haul network.    Parsing through a press release closing the door on a sale makes for interesting reading.

Qwest says it received “unsolicited indications of interest from potential purchasers” for its long distance network, so it went out and set up a competitive bidding process.  Apparently, buyers were interested, but they weren’t interested enough to pay for what the network was worth.

In conclusion, “the company and its Board of Directors have determined that the long distance network asset holds far more value to Qwest shareholders and is more strategically important to Qwest and its customers than is the alternative of pursuing a transaction.”

Well, duh, and how much money did you spend on the bidding process?

Hopefully, now that Qwest has figured out that its long-distance network is worth something, it can get around to working out a deal to get rid of some of its losses in the landline arena.

My head hurts parsing through the implications.

Pending regulatory approval, Frontier will become the largest “pure rural” communications service provider and (more importantly) the nation’s fifth largest ILEC with more than 7 [...]]]>

Frontier Communication is buying 4.8 million access lines and the related business assets from Verizon in an all-stock deal worth $8.6 billion.

My head hurts parsing through the implications.

Pending regulatory approval, Frontier will become the largest “pure rural” communications service provider and (more importantly) the nation’s fifth largest ILEC with more than 7 million access lines, 8.6 million voice and broadband connections, and 16,000 employees in 27 states. Frontier will offer broadband, new bundled services and expanded technologies – whatever THAT means – to customers across its expanded geographic footprint.

Frontier will acquire Verizon access lines in Arizona, California, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia.  Assets in those regions include the aforementioned 4.8 million access lines, along with 1.0 million High-Speed Internet customers, 2.2 million long-distance customers, 164,000 DirecTV customers and 69,000 FiOS video customers.

Under the T&C’s of the agreement, Verizon will create “SpinCo” for the local exchanges and related business assets in the 14 states.  SpinCo will be spun-off to Verizon shareholders and simultaneously merged with and into Frontier.

Frontier says the combined entity will have a strong balance sheet and greater cash flow generation capability; a FY 2008 combined company would have had revenue in excess of $6.5 billion, EBITDA of approximately $3.1 billion, free cash flow of approximately $1.4 billion and would have had leverage of 2.6 times EBITDA at December 31, 2008.  Frontier expects to get cost synergies (i.e. savings/economies of scale) of around $500 million annual, representing 21 percent of SpinCo’s cash operating expenses, coming from leveraging Frontier’s existing network and IT infrastructure and its corporate admin.

Sweetening the pot for investors, Frontier will pay an annual dividend of $0.75 a share to its shareholders, representing an annual yield of around 9.9 percent based upon its stock closing price of $7.57 at COB on May 12.

SpinCo is coming with a debt of around $3.3 billion in a combination of newly issued debt as well as assumed debt from the entites that make it up.  Verizon shareholders will get shares of Frontier common stock in connection with the merger in an amount to be determined at closing, but with a value of around $5.25 billion and with a stock price not to be lower than $7.00 or higher than $8.50.  Depending on how the deal goes down, Verizon shareholders will end up owning between 66 to 71 percent of the new company and Frontier will end up with between 29 to 34 percent.

Frontier currently provides phone, video, Internet and broadband services to more than 2 million customers in 24 states, including 11 of the states that are part of the agreement announced today.

But but but, what does it MEAN?  It has different implications for the two companies. First, let me get Verizon’s side of the story posted…