Verizon Meets Most Performance Standards

ALBANY, NY (02/11/2010)(readMedia)-- The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) today received a report from Staff of the Department of Public Service (Staff) indicating Verizon New York Inc.'s service quality performance, as measured under the Commission's service standards, generally met most of the thresholds for performance during the fourth quarter of 2009. However, the company's timeliness of repair service and call center performance continue to demonstrate a need for improvement.

"We recognize the fact that Verizon faces difficult competitive challenges, but the company owes it to its customers to continue to improve its timeliness of repairs performance," said Commission Chairman Garry Brown. "We expect that the company's renewed emphasis on preventative maintenance and the availability of additional repair work crews and technicians will improve timeliness of repair service. Nonetheless, Staff should continue to closely monitor the company's service quality efforts and report back to the Commission on the company's improvement plan and performance in the first quarter of 2010."

Under the Commission's telephone service standards, local exchange carriers are required to report customer trouble report rates (CTRR). Because Verizon serves more than 500,000 access lines, it must also report on eight other metrics of the telephone service standards, including timeliness of repairs and installations, responsiveness of customer call centers, and network call completion performance.

Detailed results by metric and entity are measured as required by the service standards and tracked by Staff. The service standards contain four groups of metrics measuring maintenance, installation, network, and answer time performance, and other regulatory requirements related to service quality.

Overall, Verizon met Commission-established thresholds of performance 95.1 percent of the time during this quarter on those metrics it is required to report. This performance is slightly better from the fourth quarter 2009 performance of 94.4 percent. Additionally, the company's 539 central offices met or exceeded the monthly CTRR performance thresholds almost 98 percent of the time.

Turning to performance regarding timeliness of repairs, the company experienced the worst quarter in at least the last seven years. Staff was concerned about the overall declining trend and the level to which timeliness of repairs had fallen last fall, and requested that Verizon provide a repair service improvement plan. In response, the company submitted its "2010 Service Quality Improvement Plan" (SQIP). The SQIP outlines several significant actions by Verizon that the company believes will reduce trouble calls and remediate the timeliness of repair performance, including, but not limited to: 1) increased emphasis on preventative maintenance; 2) increased capital funding for proactive cable maintenance in 10 upstate repair service bureaus; and 3) increased cable maintenance training.

The company contends that these actions, coupled with augmentation of repair work crews through transfer of technicians performing construction work and reallocation of technicians from downstate to upstate repair service bureaus during the summer months, a time when performance has historically declined, will address Staff's concerns and improve repair performance. Staff continues to closely monitor the company's service quality.

Verizon serves approximately 5.6 million access lines from 539 central offices. It is the largest incumbent local exchange carrier in New York State serving about 75 percent of the traditional access lines in the state.

Staff's report concerning the quality of telephone service provided by Verizon during the fourth quarter of 2009, when available, may be obtained by going to the Documents section of the Commission's Web site at www.dps.state.ny.us and entering Case Number 09-C-0361 in the input box labeled "Search for Case/Matter Number." Many libraries offer free Internet access. Staff's report may also be obtained from the Commission's Files Office, 14th floor, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223 (518-474-2500).

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