Verizon losing rights? by Claudia Sonea

There are some things in life that make you doubt of their authenticity. That is the case of the new issue that Verizon Communication Inc. has to face. Is the preoccupation of the New York regulators for the electrical grounding genuine or is it just a scheme of a powerful opponent? Verizon’s fiber-optic FiOS service is meant to compete with cable companies in delivering TV service and fast Internet, would that be the cause of its problems?
New York State Public Service Commission is the one taking care of telecommunication rules and since 2006 has constantly threatened Verizon about the electrical equipment, last week the staff investigating the case said 17 percent of new FiOS installations in the state are not according to the National Electrical Code. Although it is down from the 50 percent presented before, the commission considers that it is not enough and the goal should be 5 percent in all the state or they will suspend the right to further install FiOS.
Mainly the risk of electrical shocks or fires has been invoked by the investigators, but up to now there have been no reports of damages produced to people or property, furthermore fiber-optic cable itself isn't electrically conductive. The $23 billion spent on FiOS prove that the telephone company is taking very serious this matter and said that an independent company reported fewer than 5 percent of the new installations in New York state as being inappropriate and they have already launched an inspection to check everything again and fix the problem. In other 15 states the FiOS is being installed, but none has raised the same concerns and opposed that much.



related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080930/ap_on_hi_te/tec_verizon_fios;_ylt=AguvnW81J59z9FMLSdWnHQ6s0NUE

by Claudia Sonea for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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