As CZ just posted, an AP article  on the wire over the weekend complained about Verizon removing copper drops at customer homes.  The story is just plain wrong.   

·        We don't remove the copper network as is suggested, only the few dozen yards of copper wire from the street to the home.   

·        Customers benefit because they don't need the copper cable and it looks better.  They don't need it since all services are provided on fiber.

·        We only remove copper if it is in the air, but if buried, we leave the copper in place.  Indeed in some places (Long Island) the policy now is to leave the copper drop from a pole too.  If a customer asks, we'll leave the copper in place, and if a new resident wants or needs a copper service, we'll provide it without charge.

·        Customers are informed of what we are doing at a number of steps between ordering FiOS and the final installation.   

·         Of course, we'll also argue that the fiber is superior and is the service we recommend -- it's more reliable over all and it has room for new and better services in the future if customers want it.  

All this was explained and ignored by the AP writer.

(Beside, the bigger complaint we hear is that customers want fiber to their homes and want it now – not striped out!)