Verizon Maryland tries image repair at PSC hearing

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Aug 9, 2007 by Andy Rosen

Verizon Maryland Inc. told the Public Service Commission Wednesday that it has a solid maintenance record despite a spike in complaints this year that led the panel to open an inquiry of the company's phone service.

The company has missed regulatory goals for dealing with customer service issues and repairs on time for nearly the entire year through June, taking longer than expected at least 20 percent of the time in all but one month.

Commissioners took notice of a roughly 50 percent spike in complaints about the company this year, and asked Verizon to turn over documents relating to how it deals with customer repairs.

"The commission is particularly concerned from a public safety perspective on the repair service records of Verizon," Chairman Steven B. Larsen said at a hearing Wednesday. "We know that not everyone has a cell phone.

People rely on their phone service for alarm systems, for access to medical care, for emergencies."

Verizon's counsel, Leigh A. Hyer, said the 300 complaints to the PSC about repair service were relatively small compared to the overall amount of repair visits the company made, and problems have been declining. She estimated that there has been about one complaint per 3,000 service requests.

Hyer also pointed out that "missed" appointments include instances where a technician arrived on time but did not complete a repair within a time period originally identified by Verizon. Still, she said the company will comply with regulatory requirements.

But Hyer noted that some state requirements give the company flexibility with the amount of time a repair could take, depending on other factors that include other repair efforts by the company.

The PSC hearing came at a time when Verizon is spending around $1 million every day to upgrade its network to include fiber optic technology as well as copper wire. Fiber optic lines can carry phone service, high-speed Internet and video service.

"That investment is good for Maryland, it's good for Maryland consumers, and overall it is going to improve network reliability substantially," Hyer said, estimating that fiber optic lines are 80 percent more reliable than copper. "Does it create some challenges from a manpower perspective? Sometimes it does, but this is exactly the type of thing that the commission's rules take into account."

But Commissioner Susanne Brogan said some might not buy that argument, because Verizon could potentially use those fiber optic lines to expand "bundled" service that includes phone, Internet and television.

"It's very easy to make these broad, glowing declarations of how much money is being put out there," she said. "A cynical person would think, 'Well, yes, but the money is all going towards building out the network so you can do these triple-service packages.'"

Brogan said that is not the PSC's position, but suggested that Verizon should try to give the PSC data about how the investment it is making in Maryland benefits the phone system.

Hyer took issue with the fact that Verizon's main competitors for phone service are not regulated in the same way. For example, Comcast offers "bundled service" that can include a telephone connection. Internet companies can offer phone service over the Web, called Voice Over Internet Protocol or VOIP. Also Hyer said Verizon figures there to be about 1 million more cellular phones than land lines in Maryland.

She suggested that data released about the company's repair service should be kept confidential, to keep competitors from using the figures against Verizon. The commission expects to collect more data on the matter over the next several weeks.