Hopewell Township Committee.jpeg

Hopewell Township Committee

HOPEWELL TWP. — Months after losing its fight to obtain fiber-optic broadband Internet (FiOS), Hopewell Township is once again taking on Verizon, saying that the company is turning its back and neglecting its copper wire telephone service and allowing it to deteriorate.

The township is calling on its residents and business owners to submit their complaints about issues they have had with their landline service.

“Right now the issue is; Verizon is walking away from their landline commitment,” said Committeeman Greg Facemyer. “Our copper wire infrastructure is continuing to deteriorate and people are disgusted with this failure.”

His fear, Facemyer said, is that “numerous Hopewell Township residents will be without any service at all — which will risk public safety, injure its businesses and hurt its students.”

The township is in the final stages of compiling “numerous service-quality complaints” from township resident regarding Verizon’s copper wire landline service. Facemyer said the township intends to submit the complaints to the state Board of Public Utilities on Thursday.

Multiple calls to BPU officials were not returned.

However, Lee Gierczynski, spokesman for Verizon, said Facemyer’s claim is erroneous.

“The trouble reports over the last two years for Hopewell Township are below average compared to the rest of the state,” Gierczynski said.

He added: “The data doesn’t support their claim of chronic service issues.”

But Facemyer said “People have become tired of calling, waiting for days and the same thing continues to happen.”

“That is where the frustration comes out,” Facemyer said. “People have lost faith in Verizon’s ability to correct the problems — problems that they have come to accept.”

Gierczynski believes the issue Hopewell Township is raising is a mere diversion — and really has to do with the township losing out on fiber-optic broadband.

“I think the issue that Greg Facemyer has is, he wants it to be fiber,” Gierczynski said. “ … I think that is the crux of it here. They want a fiber network, but they don’t want to consider any alternative.”

The township originally sought Verizon’s superior fiber-optic broadband service (FiOS) — which is known as the fastest and most reliable broadband service on the market.

In April, the BPU struck a deal that basically shut the door on the township from ever being able to receive FiOS. The BPU approved a settlement that allows Verizon to only supply certain areas with fiber and substitute some areas in the state — mostly less-dense and rural areas like Hopewell — wireless broadband Internet, known as 4G Wireless, according to previous reports.

Wireless broadband is known to be much slower and far less reliable than fiber, with speeds comparable to DSL. It is also subject to being knocked out from a storm.

In 2013, bordering townships — Greenwich and Stow Creek — were able to strike a deal to obtain fiber-optic network. Which Facemyer sees as grossly unfair.

The township's feeling is, if Verizon isn't going to supply fiber, at least properly maintain its copper wire telephone network that Facemyer said is in decline.

“What is Verizon’s plan to repair copper landlines in the future as they continue to deteriorate,” Facemyer said. “Is it going to be different for urban areas versus rural areas?”

He noted that a significant portion of residents and business owners have a number of complaints with the current copper landline service.

“Issues like static, weather-related service issues when it rains and after it rains, as well as other interference," he said.

The township will ask the BPU to hold Verizon accountable for its obligation to provide quality, reliable copper landline service to the township’s underserved areas.

“Our students, senior citizens, farmers and business community deserve a reliable and cost effective solution,” Facemyer said. “We will demonstrate to the BPU that Verizon is turning its corporate back on the underserved rural residents of Hopewell Township.”

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Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@southjerseymedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.