A Legal Settlement between the New York City and Verizon will bring Broadband Internet to 500,000 Households, Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) said Tuesday Nov. 24th.
The Telecommunications Company will Prioritize the Least-Connected parts of the City, including All New York City Housing Authority Residential Buildings.
The de Blasio Administration Sued Verizon in 2017, Charging the Company had Failed to live up to a 2008 Deal with Mayor Michael Bloomberg to bring its High-Speed Fios Service to every Household in the Five Boroughs by 2014. A Report last year from Comptroller Scott Stringer (D) found that 917,239 Households, about 29% of the City, still lacked Broadband Access.
“We have had a huge disparities in who gets access to the internet and who doesn’t,” de Blasio said. “More and more we understand that we have to create a society in which everyone has equal access.”
Early in his First Term, de Blasio put Verizon on Notice, requiring All City Contracts involving the Company be Reviewed by his Counsel, Maya Wiley, who is now Running for Mayor in 2021.
Verizon Spokesman, Rich Young, said via email Tuesday that the Company is “grateful for the opportunity” to Expand on the Services it provides 2.5 Million Businesses and Families in the City. “This agreement builds upon Verizon’s base and will make this premier broadband service available to even more consumers,” Young said.
Verizon argued in a 2017 Court Filing that it spent nearly $4 Billion building a Broadband Network in the City and Fulfilled its Obligations under the 2008 Deal. The Company said it had reached its Goal for laying Broadband Wire in the City but struggled to get Connected to All Buildings, blaming Uncooperative Landlords for Slowing Progress. “Rather than acknowledge that reality and work with Verizon to overcome the obstacles, the city has chosen to file this litigation,” Verizon wrote in its Legal Response.
The Company even Criticized the Mayor’s timing for the Lawsuit, filed Days before a Major Snowstorm hit the City in March.
The Legal Settlement requires Verizon to Report Quarterly on its Progress in connection with the Half-Million Households, according to James Johnson, Corporation Counsel for the City. Adding Verizon Coverage also will provide a Second Option for many Homes in the City that currently have only One Internet Provider, typically Optimum or Spectrum.
Under the Settlement, the Expansion Timeline will be added to Verizon’s Franchise Agreement with the City. Verizon must reach the 500,000 Households with Fios by 2023, starting with a Minimum of 225,000 Households in the First Half of 2021.
The Settlement requires an Appraisal by the City’s Franchise and Review Commission and the State Public Service Commission.
The Settlement could Help close part of a Digital Divide between New York’s Richest and Poorest. Wealthier Neighborhoods now are more likely to have Strong Internet Access. The Divide also can be seen along Racial Lines: Only 58% of Black New Yorkers have Access to High-Speed Broadband, compared with 82% of White New Yorkers, according to a Report released Monday by the New York Urban League.
The Deal with Verizon still won’t Provide the City with Universal Broadband Access, however. That is the Goal of a Master Plan the Mayor’s Office released in January. The Plan calls for Opening-Up Wide swaths of the City’s Public Infrastructure: Roofs and Telephone Poles, for Bidding to Install Broadband Equipment.
The Mayor’s Office Plans to Release a Request-for-Proposals on that Project by the End of this year.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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