Virginia Graziani

Redwood Times

Residents of Ettersburg and Wilder Ridge who have been experiencing severe problems with their phone service spoke their minds to four representatives of Verizon at the Vets’ Hall in Garberville on Thursday evening, Sept. 16. The telephone company officials, including Verizon’s director of engineering from Tampa, Florida, promised the residents that they would see significant improvement in service by the end of the year.

Humboldt County Supervisors Clif Clendenen and Jimmy Smith, whose districts include the affected areas, attended the meeting, along with approximately 50 frustrated Verizon customers.

”We’ve been listening,” declared Bob Denning, Verizon’s area manager for operations and construction in rural California. “We know this is a big issue and it’s reached the boiling point.” At the speakers’ table with Denning were Brian Proctor, Verizon’s local manager; Mike Elliott, director of Verizon’s northern California operations and self-described advocate for problem prevention, and Alan Reilly, Verizon’s national director of engineering, who “holds the purse strings” for the company’s projects.

Residents complained that for at least the last ten years they have been losing phone service occasionally for no apparent reason. This problem has worsened dramatically since June, often leaving people unable to receive or make calls for lengthy and unpredictable periods of time. This problem, referred to as “intermittent line drop,” is caused by aging, obsolete equipment. Replacement parts have become increasingly scarce, while demand on the phone system has increased.

The worst problems are occurring with two systems serving over 100 households in the Ettersburg and Wilder Ridge area connected to two “devices” in Whitethorn. These devices are connected to Garberville through a radio link. Since all residences in rural Humboldt are using the same type of equipment, however, similar problems can happen in other areas. Supervisor Smith has begun receiving complaints of critical phone outages from Honeydew.

Many speakers told about thwarted efforts to report problems, often resulting in line drop as they were making the service call. One woman said that when she calls Verizon’s local number she gets disconnected in “ten seconds.” She added that she paid $2,000 to install her system, in addition to her monthly bill, but her phone works only two times a week.

Additionally, even when repair calls go through, some glitch in Verizon’s automated system reports the problem fixed while the customer’s phone is still not working. Then the repair ticket disappears from Verizon’s queue, although no repairs have been made.

One man imitated the constant static-like sound on his phone line. A wave of empathetic laughter filled the room. He said that the only time his line is clear is when he’s talking to Brian Proctor in Verizon’s Garberville office.

Verizon offers a one-time credit of $25 to individuals and $100 to businesses for loss of phone service. When one of the representatives asked a disgruntled customer, “I assume you’ll want a credit?” someone in the audience shouted, “Assume everyone in the building will want credit!”

The Verizon representatives suggested using the online reporting system, but residents pointed out that most rural internet users have dial-up connections, which, of course, are useless when the phone line is out. Although cell phones operate independently from the faulty landline equipment, Verizon subscribers get reception only at the tops of hills.

One woman with a non-dial-up internet connection monitors her neighbors’ complaints as well as her own online. She stated that she often sees continuing problems shown as repaired in Verizon’s system.

Residents repeatedly spoke of the importance of reliable phone service in rural areas. “The telephone is our lifeline - literally,” one speaker explained, after several others expressed concerns about reaching emergency fire and medical services. A woman said she had to drive into town every day to call family for news of her dying father. Another woman was fearful that her father, who is disabled, would be unable to reach her for help.

Several self-employed people talked about the difficulty of conducting a home business without reliable phone service.

The Verizon representatives responded first with an explanation of their long-term plan for improvements. They expect that current equipment, which is 20-25 years old, will be removed and replaced with new up-to-date devices within the next few months. This will not only provide reliable service, but will include improved services like caller ID and call waiting.

Pressed for commitment by the customers, Reilly and Denning repeated, “This is our hope. We expect to get this done.” Reilly assured them that Verizon had already committed funds to the project, and equipment is now being manufactured. “This project has my number one focus ... out of thousands of jobs,” he declared.

People also wanted to know if they would see any improvement in service before the new equipment was installed. Again, the Verizon representatives said that was their intention, and that they believe customers will start getting better service soon.

Residents asked what would happen in the likelihood that winter rains will begin before the job is finished. “We can put up tents where we’re working,” the representatives replied. Other speakers expressed skepticism about the time frame for getting permits. Representatives said that most of the project entails replacing existing equipment with minimal cable work and no excavation. They expect to be able to streamline the permit process.

The rural customers also complained about extensive phone outages during weather-related PG&E power outages. Verizon’s equipment is designed with battery back-up for only eight hours, whereas rural electrical power outages may last for a week or more. One speaker suggested that Verizon “make deals” with local residents to borrow generators. The Verizon representatives cited liability issues that make that not feasible, but said they would put a technician in the field during power outages to recharge equipment batteries on a rotating basis.

Many people complained that the meeting had been scheduled on short notice, that the starting time was changed from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. the day before the meeting, and that information had not gotten out to the community, so that many more people would have attended if they had known about the meeting.

Promising better communication, the representatives pointed out that even though customers have billing addresses in Redway, they can identify and locate every household on the affected systems by phone number. They promised to contact everyone, including the customers who were not able to attend the meeting, by mail. Verizon will also use the local newspapers and KMUD to announce future meetings and other information.

Towards the end of the meeting, director Elliott apologized for “ten years of crappy service” and pledged to mail notices and information to every customer affected by the problems, whether they had attended the meeting or not.

The more formal part of the meeting lasted only an hour, leaving time for informal dialog between the customers and company representatives. Customers with more questions or comments can call the local office at 923-3216 - if their phones are working.