SCR85

A Concurrent Resolution providing that the Senate and General Assembly will join the petition filed with the Board of Public Utilities by the county of Cumberland challenging the discontinuance of maintenance of copper wire landline infrastructure by Verizon New Jersey in certain communities.

Whereas, The Board of Public Utilities (board) has jurisdiction over any association, corporation, or company that owns, operates, manages, or controls any telephone system for public use, pursuant to R.S.48:2-13, as a telephone utility; and

Whereas, Pursuant to R.S.48:2-23, the board, after public hearing and notice, may require any telephone utility to furnish safe, adequate, and proper service to its customers; and

Whereas, The board has promulgated regulations, N.J.A.C.14:10-1A.6 and N.J.A.C.14:10-1A.7, requiring each telephone utility provide and maintain equipment and facilities as necessary to ensure the provision of safe, adequate, and proper service; and

Whereas, Numerous communities throughout southern New Jersey have reported widespread deficiencies impacting the safe and adequate service of voice and data transmission over copper wire landline infrastructure, including the interruption and complete loss of telephone service, telephone service interruptions in adverse weather conditions, and lack of audible voice service; and

Whereas, These deficiencies in telephone service over copper wire landline infrastructure impact the health and safety of the residents of these communities by potentially interrupting service between medical monitoring devices, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and alarm systems that are directly linked to physicians, hospitals, and fire and police stations, and impeding 9-1-1 communications; and

Whereas, Certain communities affected by the interruption or loss of copper wire landline telephone service are located within close proximity to the State’s nuclear power plants and these communities would be especially vulnerable during a nuclear emergency if communications between emergency responders and residents were hindered by poorly maintained copper wire landline infrastructure; and

Whereas, Despite numerous complaints concerning telephone service interruptions and outages from residents and businesses of the affected communities, the area’s telephone utility, Verizon New Jersey (Verizon) has failed to repair and maintain its copper wire landline infrastructure; and

Whereas, Communities in southern New Jersey do not have adequate access to telephone service providers that provide telephone service through Voice Over Internet Protocol or cable telephony technologies and there is no widely available and reliable cellular telephone service, effectively making telephone service over copper wire landline infrastructure the only means of receiving telephone service in these communities; and

Whereas, On May 6, 1993, the board issued an order approving a plan of alternative regulation, called Opportunity New Jersey (ONJ), with Verizon’s predecessor, which provided that Verizon deploy broadband infrastructure and service throughout the State by the year 2010; and

Whereas, In several matters before the board concerning ONJ, the board has held that Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service over copper wire landline infrastructure is technologically sufficient to meet the broadband requirements set forth in ONJ; and

Whereas, Verizon’s failure to maintain its copper wire landline infrastructure causes interruptions in DSL service to homes and businesses that use DSL service to access the Internet on a daily basis and thus prevents Verizon from meeting its broadband deployment obligations under ONJ; and

Whereas, The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has held that the neglect of copper wire landline infrastructure is harmful to competition and constitutes a de facto retirement or loss of service, which may not be undertaken by Verizon unless Verizon obtains from the FCC, pursuant to 47 U.S.C. s.214, “a certificate that neither the present nor future public convenience and necessity” will be impaired; and

Whereas, The county of Cumberland, on behalf of several communities across southern New Jersey, filed a petition, In the Matter of Verizon New Jersey’s Discontinuance of Land Line Telecommunications Maintenance, Facilities, and Infrastructure, Docket No. T015121325, with the board to request that the board investigate Verizon’s discontinuance of maintenance of its copper wire landline infrastructure and to compel Verizon to continue maintenance, as required by law, in order to provide safe, adequate, and proper telephone service; and

Whereas, It is appropriate for the Senate and General Assembly to join in the petition filed with the board by the county of Cumberland; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey (the General Assembly concurring):

1. The Senate and General Assembly express approval of, and their intent to join in, the petition filed with the Board of Public Utilities by the county of Cumberland, challenging the discontinuance of maintenance of copper wire landline infrastructure by Verizon New Jersey and to compel Verizon New Jersey to maintain copper wire landline infrastructure as prescribed by State and federal law.

2. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly shall take action as may be necessary for their respective Houses to join in the petition, or to take other legal measures, and shall pay, as those presiding officers may deem appropriate, attorneys’ fees and other fees or costs incurred in connection therewith.

STATEMENT

This concurrent resolution provides that the Senate and General Assembly express approval of, and their intent to join in, the petition filed with the Board of Public Utilities by the county of Cumberland, challenging the discontinuance of maintenance of copper wire landline infrastructure by Verizon New Jersey (Verizon) and to compel Verizon to maintain copper wire landline infrastructure as prescribed by State and federal law. This concurrent resolution also provides that the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly are to take action as may be necessary for their respective Houses to join in the petition, or to take other legal measures, and are to pay, as those presiding officers may deem appropriate, attorneys’ fees and other fees or costs incurred in connection with the petition.