Verizon Wireless & Affiliates are Harming Verizon Wireline Customers

Verizon Wireless & Affiliates are Harming Verizon Wireline Customers

UPDATE: New York Supreme Court: Verizon Takes State to Court over FOIL Request

Comments and Report

• COMMENTS: : Common Cause–NY, Consumer Union, Communications Workers of America and the Fire Island Association Call for an Investigation of Verizon Wireline and Wireless Companies Business Relations by the New York State Commission — Data from New Networks research reports.
• NEW REPORT: Verizon Wireless and the Other Verizon Affiliate Companies Are Harming Verizon New York’s (The State-based Utility) Customers & the State.

In 2009, Verizon New York got the NY State Public Service Commission to grant a rate increase on residential customers, claiming that Verizon needed the extra money for “massive investments in fiber optics” and major financial losses. And it would appear that most of the losses are not from business issues, but from Verizon Wireless being able to short change the wired company, Verizon New York.

These losses appear to be from major cross-subsidization and other transactions between and among the Verizon affiliates and VNY including: a) The affiliates are not paying competitive prices or their fair share for use of the networks, b) The affiliates are dumping expenses into the wireline business, and c) The companies may be getting free services from VNY including advertising on phone bill inserts and access to customers’ account information.

Executive Summary Fact Sheets

• Verizon Wireless “Profit Pumping” — Dumping Expenses into the Wireline Business to be More “Profitable”?
• Wireline Customers are being Charged for Wireless Construction Budgets
• Verizon New York’s Systemic Failure to Properly Upgrade and Maintain Quality Service Standards is being Driven by Verizon Wireless and the Other Affiliates
• Access Line Accounting is Rigged — ‘Special Access’ and Other Data Lines are NOT Part of the Statistics Presented to the Public.
• Why is AT&T and Sprint Paying 2-4 Times more than Verizon Wireless for “Special Access Fees” and Use of Verizon New York’s Wires?
• “Wireless-Only” Statistics Don’t Count the Wires.
• Did Verizon POTS Customers Pay for FiOS Cable Deployments and Upgrades?

 Other Materials:

• Data Used: Verizon New York 4th Quarter SEC filing, 2010
• Verizon’s State-Based Financial Issues & Tax Losses: The Destruction of America’s Telecommunications Utilities
• Originally published in 2012, this report covers 5 Verizon states including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts & Rhode Island