AT&T Wants FCC Approval to Leave Vandalized Copper Networks Unrepaired
In a 600-page filing filled with theft and damage maps, the company said it was a waste of money to repair copper networks when 'comparable substitute service is available to all impacted customers'
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AT&T: AT&T wants the right not to repair. In a massive copycat filing, AT&T says in a 606-page document that it is going to stop repairing copper networks that have been damaged or vandalized or both. AT&T pointed to hundreds of locations across at least a dozen states, ranging from April 30 to June 20 this year, where it will not revive voice services. “The public interest is better served by allowing AT&T to redeploy its limited resources toward the next-generation networks necessary to compete in today’s communications marketplace, especially when replacement services are available,” AT&T lawyer Brett Farley said in the July 6 filing that related to voice services only. Farley used the same words in a June 18 filing that ran some 596 pages and included maps providing location names and states where the company is refusing to restore service “because comparable substitute service is available to all impacted customers.” In the new filing, Farley said the company was seeking “emergency authorization … to suspend AT&T’s voice services in various locations impacted by damage to AT&T’s legacy copper network.” (More after paywall)
