Verizon field technicians in Pennsylvania have been ordered to try and replace broken copper land lines with a device that connects to the company’s wireless cell phone network. They can be fired if they don’t obey, reports Ars Technica.
The Communications Workers of America asked the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to put a stop to the mandatory copper-to-wireless conversions. The union also made the document public. It reads: “Failure to follow this directive may result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.” When technicians visit the homes of voice-only customers with copper phone line problems, they must first determine whether the customer can be connected to the VoiceLink wireless service. If VoiceLink is available and there is “trouble… in the Verizon copper network,” the technician must install the wireless service.
“If the customer does qualify, follow the VoiceLink Migration installation/migration procedure and complete the migration,” the memo states. The union says VoiceLink isn’t a good replacement for copper phone lines because it won’t work with security alarms and medical devices like pacemakers that need telephone monitoring, according to Ars Technica. Field technicians can’t fix broken copper lines if the customer doesn’t qualify for wireless service or if they can verify VoiceLink wouldn’t work.
CWA local President James Gardler told the state Utility Commission the policy allows the copper network to deteriorate, leading to customers without phone service when it rains or no dial tone at all. “We know the reasons why—the cable is bad and needs to be replaced; air pressure systems are not working property; and backup batteries are not replaced when they wear out. But we are powerless to make the changes that would provide good service to customers because Verizon is not willing to spend the money, or hire the people needed, to repair the service.”
Replacing copper lines is part of a nationwide transition from POTS to IP-based voice services. The FCC wants carriers to make the replacements and requires them to seek authorization before doing so.
Verizon told Ars Technica, “Our first responsibility to a customer out of service is to restore service as quickly as possible.” The company, unions and regulators all agree on that, according to the Verizon representative.
Here’s how Verizon decides whether to repair copper: “If the serving wire from the pole to the house is cut or has a tree interfering with it, we’ll tell our technicians to address the situation,” the company said. “But in cases where the trouble proves to be in the copper cable requiring another truck roll (which will extend the out-of-service condition), it makes sense to restore service to the customer immediately. The tech can do this with VoiceLink.”
Verizon says it doesn’t use VoiceLink when a customer has alarms or other systems that depend on a wired phone connection. But VoiceLink has been used as “both a temporary and permanent” replacement for copper by thousands of customers, according to Verizon. The spokesman told Ars Technica he was not aware of similar memos going out in other states.
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