Verizon threatens to stop the continued rollout of new technologies in western Massachusetts…

Verizon reaches a new low, using Mafia-style tactics to muscle Governor Patrick and the Massachusetts state government, so that they don’t have to pay taxes.

According to an article on E*Trade Financial entitled Mass. Gov. Accuses Verizon Of Making Threats In Tax Dispute,  telephone companies have not had to pay Massachusetts state property taxes since 1915, due to an old exemption that was originally used to promote phone company competition in Massachusetts. However, utility and electric companies have had to pay these taxes all along. So essentially, Verizon and previous phone companies in the state have basically been getting a free ride where property taxes are concerned. Verizon has threatened that if this 1915 exemption is changed and it has to pay taxes, that it may not continue to roll out broadband services in western Massachusetts, and that it may also increase telephone costs for all residents.

In this article, Verizon claims that it “covers much of the western part of the state with its broadband product already, and said there are no plans to halt this rollout.” But this is a flat-out lie. Verizon does not provide broadband internet to most of the small town rural communities throughout western Massachusetts. This includes the town of Alford, where I am a member of the Alford Broadband Committee, and our group has been working hard for several months to get affordable, reliable broadband solutions into Alford.

The Alford Broadband Committee attempted to set up a meeting with a representative from Verizon DSL Public Affairs, and it fell through. The rep was invited to attend a special meeting to address our "consortium" of the towns of Alford, Egremont, W. Stockbridge, and New Marlborough to address the lack of DSL availability in these towns. The issue was not whether they could provide the service, but whether they would, and on what time scale. Eventually the Verizon rep responded by saying that they had no plans of making DSL available to the town of Alford in the near future. In turn, Alford’s Broadband Committee has been working diligently with WiSpring, a local wireless internet provider, to get a couple of towers erected in Alford which will provide high speed wireless access to its residents, as well as to some of its rural neighbors.

Local residents are very upset with Verizon, for many reasons. Despite the fact that they refuse to roll out DSL service throughout local rural towns, their telephone service is horrible. Most residents have never-ending issues with their phones, everything from line noise and poor connections to extended down-times and no dial-tones. So if Verizon is so lazy about maintaining our phone lines, we cannot expect them to be a reliable DSL service provider.

All in all, Verizon is well known for their Mafia-style tactics, they spend millions at the state and federal level to avoid competition. Plus, all of the federal taxes that we pay in our monthly phone bills go right into Verizon’s bank accounts, for their own growth. It’s very upsetting that Verizon threatens to hold western Massachusetts hostage for $50+ million.

In my opinion, Verizon is long past due in receiving what’s rightfully coming to them. They have been over-charging all of us for unreliable telephone services for too many years now. They don’t deserve a tax break, just because some antiquated law from 1915 allows them to get one. After all, the utility and electric companies have had to pay these taxes, so in all fairness Verizon should not be granted an exception any longer. If Verizon continues to implement its underhanded tactics, then maybe they should consider leaving the state, so we can get services from one of their more reliable and honest competitors.