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Md. Panel Grills Verizon Over Delays in Repairs
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Childs suggested that a better allocation of staff might improve service.
Hyer addressed commissioners' concerns about customers without backup cellphone service, saying those with medical problems could go to the top of the list. But she said most customers had cellphones, an assessment disputed by the commissioners, who said many elderly people do not.
The commission scheduled a full hearing for Aug. 22, Verizon's deadline to produce internal documents that should provide information about why complaints have jumped 50 percent this year compared with the same period last year. The data will include procedures Verizon uses to address service problems, the number of workers assigned to respond to repairs and how widespread delays have become.
The utility and its regulators clashed, however, over the company's right to keep its data private and the public's right to know the extent of service problems.
Hyer was adamant that the commission keep much of the information secret, calling it proprietary data that Verizon's competitors in the phone and cable industries could use to their advantage.
"We want the commission to be cognizant of how this information can be misused in the marketplace," she said, nothing that although the commission regulates Maryland's phone companies, it cannot bring in representatives of Comcast or another cable provider that also offers phone service because the state does not regulate them.
Larsen responded: "People are going to have a right to know whether the laws of the state are being followed at the end of the day." The commission agreed to keep some information private.
The two sides also clashed over how long a customer should wait for a phone repair. Although state regulations say eight hours is appropriate for a standard repair, Hyer disputed this, calling the window of one business day an "ideal" rather than a norm.
Unusual repairs or service outages could delay technicians, she said, and if the company were held to eight hours, customers could pay higher rates.
"I'm still struggling with the concept that eight hours doesn't really mean eight hours," Larsen said.
