Home About Archives RSS Feed

Is Verizon Making Good on Its Word?

Nichole Dupont

One of three Verizon service trucks spotted in South County on Monday morning.

SHEFFIELD, Mass. — While making the drive from Sheffield to Lee to cover a story, I noticed three Verizon trucks, one in Great Barrington, one in Stockbridge and one in Lee.

Each truck was cordoned off by bright orange cones and, of course, a police officer stood by to direct traffic around the trucks. Hard hat-wearing maintenance workers were situated in buckets, high above the traffic, working on the lines (for hours in the cold).

That's when it dawned on me — Verizon doesn't have a choice, not anymore. Back in December in a settlement agreement signed by Attorney General Martha Coakley, Verizon, IBEW Local 2324 and Hancock, Egremont and Leverett, Verizon was required to assess and address the poor condition of its phone lines which are strung over 99 communities in Western Mass. The company had until Dec. 31 to survey and repair 33 wire centers (reaching 65 municipalities) and 15 months to improve the condition of its telephone network at 34 other centers.

It appears that they might actually be doing something now that the agreement is in place and all of Massachusetts is watching very closely. I will have to check in with those of you who still have a Verizon landline. I ditched mine once and for all a year ago, when the crackling on the line became a daily nuisance not worth the 40 bucks.

Who knows, maybe once the lines are fixed it will pave the way for high-speed Internet for the still-deprived hilltowns. Hey, anything's possible.

Tags: Verizon, service      

Support Local News

We show up at hurricanes, budget meetings, high school games, accidents, fires and community events. We show up at celebrations and tragedies and everything in between. We show up so our readers can learn about pivotal events that affect their communities and their lives.

How important is local news to you? You can support independent, unbiased journalism and help iBerkshires grow for as a little as the cost of a cup of coffee a week.

News Headlines
Scoil Rince Bréifne Ó Ruairc Participated in North American Open Championships
Pittsfield Police Participating in US 20 Speed Enforcement Project
MassDOT Project Will Affect Traffic Near BMC
Dalton ADA Committee Explores Expanding
Milne Public Library Trustees Announce New Library Director
Clark Art Presents Free Thematic Tour on Music in Art
BCC, Mill Town Partner to Support Philanthropy Through 40 Under Forty
SVMC' Wellness Connection: March 15
Pittsfield Community Meeting On Rest of the River Project
Slavic Easter Egg Decorating At Ventfort Hall


Categories:
Culture (10)
History (3)
Museums (1)
Nature (5)
Real Estate (4)
Shopping (6)
Archives:
Tags:
Salt Lee Karen Bakery Other Pctv Pittsfield Vacation Great Barrington Consignment Lenox Brother Year's Town Clerk Closing Fire Station Bird Count Survey Archives Richmond Birds Projectnorman Barrington Buildings Berkshire Darryl's New School Celebrities Mountain Ideas Great Clothing Art Show Contest
Popular Entries:
Town Accepting Bids for Old Fire Station
Could New Neighbors Be Wall Street Journal Heirs?
The Last of the Insects
African-American Festival Coming to the Berkshires
Christmas Bird Count Bright and Early
Norman Rockwell Archive Goes Live Online
Late-Night Host Fallon Skis Butternut
Back to the Basics: Holiday Toy Shopping Done Right
Owls for Turkeys
A Place for Us: Re-Wear Brings Style to Sheffield
Recent Entries:
Schooled in Passion: Packer's "Women of Will" at Shake & Co.
A Place for Us: Re-Wear Brings Style to Sheffield
Richmond Still Looking For Town Clerk
The Last of the Insects
Is Verizon Making Good on Its Word?
Building Collapses in Great Barrington
Could New Neighbors Be Wall Street Journal Heirs?
Mother Nature is No Match for Cheese
Construct Running Out of Emergency Funds
Winter Breakdown at Ben's in Lee