Verizon applied for Section 214 authority Friday to...
Verizon applied for Section 214 authority Friday to discontinue its interstate wireline telecom services in areas of New York and New Jersey where copper facilities were destroyed by Superstorm Sandy (http://bit.ly/19PXOjp). While it’s discontinuing its service over “copper infrastructure that…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
is no longer usable,” Verizon plans to make available its wireless Voice Link service “where the deployment of new wireline facilities is not practical,” it said in the filing. The filing comes a day after Public Knowledge cautioned against “potential confusion” it said could accompany the transition away from the public switched telephone network (CD June 7 p15): After a natural disaster, are TDM service providers required to file a 214(a) application if they plan to discontinue copper landline service? Verizon’s Friday filing “marks the first official act of the much heralded ‘end of the traditional phone network,'” said Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld. “As the FCC and state regulators consider Verizon’s request to eliminate its copper lines for good, it must carefully consider how to manage this transition,” Feld said. Feld warned that wireless services like Voice Link could face problems like congestion, incompatibility with older telecom equipment, and potential failure if power is lost. “Verizon should not be required to keep an increasingly antiquated copper system alive forever,” he said. “But the transition to the new networks must be done in a way that protects consumers.”