New York City Sues Verizon, Claiming Broken Promises of Fios Coverage (original) (raw)

New York|New York City Sues Verizon, Claiming Broken Promises of Fios Coverage

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/13/nyregion/ny-sues-verizon-fios.html

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Verizon technicians installing cables in New York in 2008. The city says Verizon failed to honor an agreement to build a citywide Fios network.Credit...Jin Lee/Bloomberg, via Getty Images

March 13, 2017

Nine years after Verizon promised to make its high-speed Fios internet service available to every household in New York City, the city sued the company on Monday, saying it had failed to keep that pledge.

In a complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, the city contends that Verizon is in breach of a 2008 franchise agreement. That contract called for Verizon to build a citywide Fios network by the end of 2014. But, the city says, Verizon has failed to make its service available to at least “tens of thousands” of prospective customers and has refused to accept service requests from many others.

For two years, city officials have been pressing the company to satisfy its obligations, in the hope of avoiding litigation. But the two sides reached an impasse this winter, and on Monday the contentious tone of the standoff became public.

“Verizon must face the consequences for breaking the trust of 8.5 million New Yorkers,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. He added that, “It’s 2017 and we’re done waiting. No corporation — no matter how large or powerful — can break a promise to New Yorkers and get away with it.”

Verizon responded sharply. A company spokesman, Raymond McConville, said in an email that “on a day where the city is preparing for the biggest blizzard of the season, it’s sad that the mayor’s focus is on pursuing a frivolous lawsuit.” Verizon also hinted that it might choose not to renew its city franchise in three years.

Verizon said the de Blasio administration was interpreting the contract differently from the way the previous administration, that of Michael R. Bloomberg, had. “The de Blasio administration is disingenuously attempting to rewrite the terms of an agreement made with its predecessor and is acting in its own political self-interests that are completely at odds with what’s best for New Yorkers,” the company said in a statement. “We plan to vigorously fight the city’s allegations.”

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