Confirmation about Verizon Removing Copper When Installing FIOS

I’m a little late on this news item, but Om Malik confirms what I have talked about in the past about Verizon removing copper lines when installing FiOS lines.

It seems there’s confirmation that Verizon is removing copper lines when installing fiber. This is a doubly bad thing for us consumers: It removes any competitors from providing service over Verizon’s cables, since DSL is no longer available if phone lines aren’t available, and it prevents the customer from switching back to DSL from fiber, thereby locking in the customer to using Verizon service. This is highly anti-competitive behavior, and should be stopped by the FCC and local governments.

Part of what makes this so apalling is that in many cases the copper lines that Verizon is ripping out have been subsidized and essentially paid for by our tax dollars, in the form of enormous subsidies and tax breaks. Over the past 20 years, Verizon and SBC have promised to install high speed fiber lines across much of America in return for money subsidies and tax credits. In almost all cases, these telcos have failed to deliver on their promises (they lied to us) but keep the money. Now they are removing all of the wiring that we paid to install!

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