Verizon fined $250K for Ohio outages

For the second year in a row, Verizon Communications has been fined $250,000 by the Ohio Public Utilities Commission for what the PUC described as slow repairs following service disruptions caused by severe weather in at least two Ohio communities last year. The size of the fine, and even the combined fine from the last two years, might not make much of a dent in Verizon's wallet, but the two-year trend is a little disconcerting.

After the outage-related fine in 2006, Verizon invested $1 million in its Ohio infrastructure. Still, in the 2007 disruptions now being highlighted by the Ohio PUC, service was not restored within a 24-hour time frame. Verizon says the bad weather kept it from restoring service sooner. Is that a good enough excuse? And, are we dreaming, or are service disruptions on the rise?

For more:
- read this story at The Columbus Dispatch

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