Pennsylvania utility officials will hold hearings to examine the state of Verizon's copper network in response to complaints from a workers' union that Verizon has let older portions of its network fall into disrepair.

The Communications Workers of America (CWA) in October petitioned the state for an investigation, saying that Verizon has done little to maintain copper wires in areas where it hasn't upgraded its telephone and DSL Internet service to fiber. Customers have suffered service outages and other problems as a result, with more than 6,000 Verizon customers submitting quality and reliability complaints to the state since 2012, the CWA says.

"For many years, VZPA [Verizon Pennsylvania] has intentionally failed to maintain its physical plant in non-FiOS areas of the Commonwealth," the CWA wrote. "The state of deterioration is now so advanced that poles are literally falling over, cables are sagging to the ground, animals and insects are infesting broken wiring cabinets, and the safety of VZPA's employees and the public is being jeopardized every day."

Verizon today told Ars that the complaint is just a “fishing expedition in search of headlines and publicity to be exploited in labor contract discussions.”

But the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission issued an order last week scheduling an Initial Prehearing Conference for March 18. An administrative law judge "will preside over hearings examining Verizon's maintenance practices and quality of service," the CWA said in a press release today.

The CWA's petition included many photographs of Verizon infrastructure, such as those above showing cross-connect cabinets and a remote terminal.

"Damaged cross-connect boxes and RTs [remote terminals] have a direct impact on the reliability of service to customers as wires get damaged, rained on, chewed by animals, or disconnected," the CWA wrote. "Damaged cabinets (even seemingly small openings) also are subject to infestation by insects and animals creating a significant safety hazard to utility workers who must access the cabinet, as well as a potential public health problem."

The CWA asked for an in-depth investigation and audit of Verizon's records and physical plant along with an order directing Verizon to fix any problems. The union pointed out that Pennsylvania can fine Verizon $1,000 per day for each violation of the state's Public Utility Code.

Pennsylvania isn't the only state where Verizon faces complaints about copper maintenance. "In South Jersey, officials in 16 towns in Cumberland, Atlantic, Salem, and Gloucester Counties have complained in a filing to New Jersey regulators about the condition of Verizon's copper lines, saying that the company has concentrated FiOS in wealthier and more densely populated areas of the state," The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote today. "The biggest complaint by South Jersey residents is lost phone service during rainstorms and on damp days."

New Jersey officials are still reviewing the towns' complaint and Verizon's contention that its service quality is better than state standards, the Inquirer report said.