'We're Done Waiting:' NYC Sues Verizon Over Fiber-Optic Coverage
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New York City is suing Verizon, saying the phone giant broke its 2008 promise to make its FiOS cable service available to all city residents.
The city says Verizon missed a 2014 deadline to extend wire by every home or apartment building in the city -- in technical parlance, "passing'' the home. The city also argues that Verizon hasn't installed service for thousands who requested it.
"Verizon must face the consequences for breaking the trust of 8.5 million New Yorkers,"
Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. "Verizon promised that every household in the city would have access to its fiber-optic FiOS service by 2014. It's 2017 and we're done waiting. No corporation – no matter how large or powerful – can break a promise to New Yorkers and get away with it."
Verizon disagrees with the city's definition of "passing'' a home and says its cable and high-speed internet network does "pass'' all households. In a letter Friday, Verizon says 2.2 million households have access. Verizon said Monday that it is "committed'' to expanding Fios availability to another 1 million households.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in a New York state court.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)