Officials Slam Verizon Over High Speed Internet

The New York State Public Service Commission is holding two public hearings today at SUNY Poly in Marcy.

The hearings will focus on the status of the telecommunications industry in New York State.

Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi and other officials say the PSC needs to step in and find out why Verizon refuses to build its high-speed fiber network here.  Brindisi says the lack of high-speed internet in hurting central New York.

“At our last forum on this issue, we heard from dozens of people about how their phone service was unreliable and how they desperately wanted a choice in high-speed internet,” said Brindisi.  “But Verizon just turns a deaf ear to us.  The Public Service Commission needs to step in and do something.”

The first hearing is being held this afternoon with the second hearing scheduled for 7:00.

The hearings are the third in a series of nine to be held across the state.

UPDATE: 07/28/2015 6:11pm  John Bonomo, Director of Communications for Verizon, has responded with the following statement:

“We will file a detailed and thorough reply during the designated comment period. Technology advances have re-shaped the communications landscape over the past two decades, to the point where smartphones are an integral part of people’s lives today. Simple, traditional and highly regulated telephone service no longer is the sole means of communications, with wireless, VOIP, broadband, social media, and several other technologies from several other lightly regulated providers challenging the long-ago monopoly model.”

Bonomo will be a guest on WIBX First News with Keeler in the Morning on Thursday, July 30, 2015 to discuss the issue.  Audio from the interview will be posted at wibx950.com in the Keeler Show Notes following the broadcast.