Verizon (NYSE: VZ) on Wednesday said that it making progress to reconnect communications services for its consumer, business and government customers in New Jersey, Long Island, New York City and other parts of the New York metropolitan area.
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A technician repairs downed lines near Frederick City, Md. last week. (Image source: Verizon) |
Verizon said that as of today, "repair crews have completed 364,000 post-storm repairs across the company's Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions, while over 1.4 million customers impacted by power outages have had their FiOS services restored."
Following the hurricane, the telco has purchased 8,500 telephone poles, exceeding the 2,000 poles it typically purchases on a monthly basis.
Likewise, Verizon has bought 50,000 aerial fiber optical drop lines to reconnect FiOS customers. During the six months before Sandy, the telco used 68,000 aerial fiber drops. Technicians have used over 14 million feet of wire to restore services, compared with just over 2 million feet in an average month before Sandy hit.
In addition to stocking up on equipment, Verizon will provide credits to any wireline customer that reports an out-of-service condition related to the hurricane, while those customers that can't live in their homes or operate their small business can temporarily suspend their services free of charge.
They will also repair or replace any consumer or small-business Verizon equipment, including FiOS set-top boxes, FiOS broadband routers, optical network terminals and DSL broadband routers, damaged by Sandy, without charge.
While power restoration has been a challenge in this process, the telco said that even in areas where power has been restored, it may need to still replace or repair damaged equipment due to flooded electronics in switching offices and broken poles and downed lines in neighborhoods.
For more:
- see the release
Special Coverage: Hurricane Sandy's aftermath
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