Suffolk Closeup: Copper Cuts, Phone Fears

The letter from Verizon which I—and many others—recently received was concerning.

“As part of our ongoing network improvements, we are planning to discontinue copper-based home phone service for certain customers in your area. If your service will be discontinued, you will have the opportunity to switch to using fiber, cable, or modern wireless technology,” it said.

“On or after November 30, 2026, subject to Federal Communications Commission approval, Verizon will have authority to discontinue traditional copper-based home phone service.”

Now, I understand one big problem with copper wires in telephone systems. On occasion, when it rains hard, our telephone service goes out. Verizon’s repair service has advised that the problem probably involves rainwater getting into one of its boxes on poles out in the street and affecting the copper wires in the box.

A repair person then arrives and deals with the wet wire, and in the last several years repair persons have mentioned that Verizon was preparing to substitute fiber optic lines for copper wires.

In the wake of receiving the Verizon letter, I called the Verizon business office asking whether, in light of it, I could switch to fiber optic. I was told that it was not available in my area. Might there be other options with copper-based lines being discontinued, I asked. The representative said one option was a “voice connect digital box” which would be installed by a Verizon service person—but this, too, was not available where I live.

What should I do then, I asked, if no Verizon option was available. I could, it was said, use “another provider” of telephone service.

Indeed, for years, because of the Verizon outages when it poured heavy rain, I arranged for a second backup digital phone line from Optimum.

So, I called Optimum and spoke to a representative who said Optimum could switch my phone number on Verizon to this phone.

That sounded OK, I thought, until I saw the headline last week in Newsday, “Optimum to Shut Down News 12+.” The article below said Optimum “is shutting down its dedicated traffic and weather channel as its parent company faces mounting pressure from creditors.” It reported that Optimum “has over $26 billion in debt obligations.”

Then, in an internet search, I found on a website, www.cabletv.com, a piece headlined “Optimum Prepares to File for Bankruptcy—What It Means for Customers.” It said, “Optimum is expected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy…by the end of 2016.”

Then last week, I got a second letter from Verizon saying: “We have assessed your location and determine that your landline service will not be impacted at this time...You will stay connected to Verizon’s network today just as you always have. If any change occurs in the future, you will receive ample notice and clear direction on next steps.”