Verizon Decides To Not Force Sub-Par Service On New Yorkers Left Without Phones By Hurricane [telecom]

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Last fall, Hurricane Sandy tore through the Mid-Atlantic, leaving entire coastal towns in New York and New Jersey without landline service. Verizon only made it worse for some residents, choosing to test replacing the ruined copper-wire network with its craptastic Voice Link service. After months of complaints from residents businesses and concerns about public safety, Verizon has decided to abandon that test and replace the copper lines in Fire Island, NY, with fiber optic cable.

Among the complaints about Voice Link, which uses wireless technology to simulate a landline network, was that it is not as dependable as a fixed-line system. Furthermore, it does not work with certain oft-used items like fax machines and credit card readers. For operators of businesses in the towns where Verizon tested Voice Link, this was a huge headache.

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