| Page 2 of 2 < |
Fiber-Optic Web Lines, High-Tech Headaches
Amanda and Richard Di Donna, with son William, show the burned wires from a surge that was caused when workers hit a power line in their yard.
(By James A. Parcell -- The Washington Post)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
"Our goal and objective is to give advance notice before we dig, to do it right, to do it safely and to restore it afterward," he said. "By and large, we're doing a very good job of it."
So far, he said, the company has installed 25 million feet of lines in the area and has been averaging 19 instances of damage per 100,000 feet, or about one every mile. "That's pretty good for a project this size."
Jamal Masumi, UtiliQuest's president, would not discuss the Di Donnas' case or how the company attempts to avoid mistakes when marking critical gas and power lines.
"We don't do any interviews with the media," he said.
Several companies praised Verizon for being receptive to their concerns. An official with Pepco said the two companies started meeting regularly late last year to discuss upcoming work, and since then damage to the company's power lines has decreased "measurably."
"We feel they understand the obligation, and they're working with us," said Le-Ha Anderson, a spokeswoman for Dominion Virginia. She would not comment on the power surge that affected the Di Donna family.
There has been a chorus of complaints from others, however. In Fairfax, residents have lodged 176 formal complaints with the county's consumer protection office since last September. An official there said most involved damage to yards, shrubs, sprinklers or driveways.
Oakton resident Mary Schaeffer said workers caused an enormous hump in her newly paved driveway after digging under it to install Verizon fiber-optic lines last spring, offering to patch the damage but never to repave it.
"If I wanted a patch, why would I have saved two years to have a new driveway put in?" she said. "Somebody ultimately came to my house, tore up my yard and my driveway. I don't care whose fault it is. Why is this my problem?"
Other complaints have come from cable companies, including Cox Communications and Comcast, which have complained that Verizon's contractors have cut their lines hundreds of times in the past year, disrupting television service to thousands of subscribers. In informal complaints lodged with state agencies in Maryland and Virginia, the companies have accused Verizon of ignoring safety during hasty work. Mitchell responded that Verizon's new lines will eventually carry digital cable, which puts the company in direct competition with the two cable operators.
The Di Donnas' turmoil began in March with the power surge that was so severe that smoke poured from their windows and from under their the roof. Amanda Di Donna, returning from the park with her son, found the house surrounded by fire trucks and filled with the odor of charred plastic.
The family returned home Aug. 5, but Amanda Di Donna said they have wiped out their savings and have scrapped a plan to replace their car.
"It's hard to sleep at night knowing that much is missing," she said.
Days after returning to their home, the Di Donnas received a package at their door from Verizon. They tore open the envelope, hoping it would contain a letter of apology from the company and a check for the expenses they feel UtiliQuest owes them.
Instead, it was an advertisement -- for Verizon high-speed Internet service.
