Verizon: Reps were wrong to say Trafford is keeping FiOS out

Verizon officials pledge to get to the bottom of why their employees erroneously have been saying that uncooperative local governments are the reason why FiOS cable TV service isn't available in Trafford and other communities.

Though Verizon representatives showed interest last year in expanding FiOS into Trafford, the company now is focused only on completing its network in the city of Pittsburgh by September 2015, a spokesman said.

Despite that, some Trafford residents say Verizon employees have blamed Trafford Council and have said borough officials are holding out for too much money in a cable-franchise agreement. Residents in other communities — including Oakmont in Allegheny County and Cecil Township in Washington County — also repeat Verizon employees' statements that municipalities are blocking the telecommunications giant from offering FiOS.

That's not the case.

Verizon's management is reaching out to supervisors of call centers to review the proper way to respond to questions from customers, company spokesman Lee Gierczynski said.

“Our reps are not trained to characterize the lack of FiOS as the fault of a municipality,” Gierczynski said. “We're going to work with them to get to the bottom of this so misinformation is not communicated to Trafford residents.”

Trafford officials have been complaining about Verizon's mischaracterizations about stifling FiOS since at least late 2010. Council members have said they would welcome the competition of another TV service because the only options now are Comcast or satellite providers.

Brenda Houston, who lives on Seventh Street, said she switched from Comcast to Verizon for her phone and Internet services, but she's frustrated about the inability to sign up for FiOS cable TV. She said company employees twice told her Trafford officials were “holding out for big bucks.”

Being able to bundle all three services through Verizon could shave about $100 from her monthly expenses, Houston said.

“When you have competition in here, your reputation is at stake,” she said.

Council estimated the borough would collect about $42,000 in franchise fees from Comcast this year. Trafford does not receive any direct fees from residents who have a satellite service.

The FiOS cable TV service is available only in parts of Allegheny and Washington counties. In February 2013, Trafford council authorized its solicitor, Craig Alexander, to begin negotiating a cable-franchise agreement based on Verizon's interest in expanding here.

After Verizon pulled back on that plan, Alexander said this month that he wished the company “had never dangled the carrot in front of us.”

Bill Carnahan, Verizon's vice president of external affairs, wrote an email to Councilman John Daykon last week to “apologize for the inconvenience and for the inappropriateness of misinformation.”

Daykon said council is committed to having Verizon offer cable TV, but the borough can't force the company to offer service.

“Like I've told others this week, I'm sure that a lot of residents would love to have a Starbucks in the old police station, but we can't force them to set up shop,” Daykon said in an email.

Oakmont officials became so frustrated with Verizon that they sent the company a cease-and-desist letter in June. Nancy Ride, the Oakmont Council president, said borough officials have been heard people say that the borough has been keeping Verizon out for three or four years.

Residents say the same thing in Cecil Township, but nothing could be further from the truth, township manager Donald Gennuso said.

“Here's another way to put it: You're going to tell me that Verizon, a very large and very profitable company is going to let a small municipality stop it from making money? That sounds ridiculous.”

Chris Foreman is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-871-2363 or cforeman@tribweb.com.