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Bright House Calls Verizon Installers A Safety Hazard

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By RICHARD MULLINS

rmullins@tampatrib.com

Published: December 12, 2008

TAMPA - Bright House Networks officials say Verizon technicians are leaving wires loose in cable TV boxes at customer homes, posing an electrocution and fire hazard. And they're asking state officials to step into the dispute.

The dustup between the cable TV, phone and Internet rivals comes as customers switch back and forth between Bright House and Verizon in response to the companies' aggressive marketing in a competitive environment.

Verizon officials say the issue is blown out of proportion.

In a survey of 1,963 homes where customers switched back to Bright House, 19 percent had wires left ungrounded, Bright House claimed in a filing with the state this week. Bright House officials say they've complained to Verizon about the issue, with little response.

"The net effect is to create a serious fire and electrocution hazard at potentially thousands of customers' premises throughout Tampa Bay," the company wrote in state filings.

Bright House asked officials with the Public Service Commission to halt any Verizon installations of cable TV and conduct an investigation of Verizon practices.

Verizon technicians are trained to work only with wiring that goes into the customer homes and to properly cap off any remaining Bright House wires, said Verizon spokesman Bob Elek. In only six or seven instances in the last year did Verizon find a mix-up with that procedure, Elek said.

"We are not doing anything wrong intentionally," Elek said. He said Verizon regularly audits its work on boxes and fixes any problems that crop up. "And if people need to be coached, we coach them, and we make sure to address any problems right away." In each case where Bright House brought a problem to Verizon, Elek said, Verizon sent technicians to fix the problem.
State officials say this is the first case of its kind, and they're studying how to proceed.

Reporter Richard Mullins can be reached at (813) 259-7919.

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