PPH calls for delay in Verizon franchise vote

PPH will join City Council members and consumer advocates on the steps of City Hall today at 11:00am to call for a delay in the Franchise and Concession Review Committee vote on the proposed cable franchise for Verizon.

Participating in the press conference will be Councilmember Gale Brewer, chair of the Technology in Government Committee; Councilmember Tony Avella, chair of the Zoning and Franchise Committee; Susan Lerner from Common Cause/NY; Russ Haven from NYPIRG; Chuck Bell from Consumers Union; and myself.

At yesterday's public hearing, I raised several points of concern about the franchise in the areas of consumer protection, buildout requirements, and public and governmental access channels. You can read my testimony here.

The response from DoITT to these concerns were insufficient. For example, when Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer asked why the penalty for a missed appointment dropped from a month of free service to $25, the answer was that "competition" will ensure good customer service.

Even if that were true, the new, lesser consumer protections will soon be written into the new Time Warner and Cabelvision franchises and go into effect immediately citywide. Meanwhile, the "competition" from Verizon that is supposed to provide a new and improved protection will go into effect slowly and unevenly. Huge portions of the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens will have no competition and weaker protections for the next 4-9 years. That's just bad policy.

A deal of this magnitude deserves more than a passing glance from the public and our elected officials. It will largely determine how we watch TV, make phone calls, and use the Internet in New York City for the next 20 years. The fine print tells you that this franchise is not designed to serve all New Yorkers equally. Verizon wants it rubber stamped before enough of us notice.