Verizon Crews Continue Reconnecting New Jersey, New York City, Long
Island Customers This Weekend
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Nov.17,
2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Working through this weekend, Verizon
employees continue to make solid progress restoring voice, data,
Internet and TV services for consumers, businesses and government
clients in New Jersey,
Long Island, New York City and other parts of the
New York metropolitan area.
(Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121117/NY15631 )
To date, the repair crews have completed 433,000 post-Sandy
repairs across the company's Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions,
and more than 1.6 million customers affected by power outages have
had their FiOS services restored.
(NOTE: To view or embed videos of Verizon's restoral and
community outreach efforts after Hurricane Sandy, visit the video
catalog at http://vz.to/sandyvideos.)
Restoration and Redeployment:
- Verizon employees continue to work round-the-clock to restore
voice, data, Internet and TV service to thousands of customers
daily.
- The company continues to bolster its work force in New Jersey, Long
Island and the New York
City area. Early Saturday morning (Nov. 17), a contingent of Verizon technicians
from the Tampa, Fla. area left to
work for the next several weeks on Long Island. They're
joining employees from Virginia to
Massachusetts in the massive
restoral effort in the most-affected areas, replacing poles and
restringing cables, and bringing back service for customers.
- The company has extended call-center hours and employee work
shifts to better meet customers' service needs.
- Verizon continues to coordinate with commercial power companies
and local authorities in New York
and New Jersey to resolve restoral
challenges caused by downed power lines, trees and other debris.
For example, Verizon repair managers established a process to
proactively communicate with local officials in dozens of the
hardest-hit communities in the two states to identify issues and to
ensure efficient and effective coordination of service restoral
with power companies.
- Even in areas where power has been restored to key facilities
and customers' homes or businesses, Verizon may need to repair or
replace damaged equipment – such as flooded electronics in
switching offices, and broken poles and downed lines in
neighborhoods – to bring back service for customers.
- At its communications hubs at 140 West St. and 104 Broad St. in
lower Manhattan, Verizon is using
the latest technologies, such as infrared cameras, to detect damage
and to repair and restore the cable vaults in those locations.
(NOTE: Click here to view The Verge's in-depth
video and photo report on our restoral efforts in lower
Manhattan. [Video courtesy of The Verge /
Vox Media])
Customer Care, Repairs and Replacements:
- Verizon is providing credits for landline customers who have
reported an out-of-service condition related to Hurricane
Sandy.
- Customers may suspend their Verizon landline services free of
charge if they're currently unable to live in their home or operate
their small business as a result of Sandy.
- Verizon technical support will help customers determine if
their equipment such as set-top boxes or home broadband routers is
operable or needs replacement. Troubleshooting tips are also
available for customers at www.verizon.com/outage.
- The company will repair or replace any consumer or
small-business Verizon equipment damaged by Sandy, without
charge. This includes FiOS set-top boxes, FiOS broadband
routers, optical network terminals and High Speed Internet (DSL)
broadband routers.
Supporting Emergency Responders and Communities:
- Many Verizon FiOS and Verizon Wireless stores in the region are
offering people without power the ability to charge their wireless
devices. To find a nearby store, visit
http://vz.to/charge. People should bring their own
device chargers and call a store first to ensure it's open.
- Verizon's emergency fleet of vehicles and self-contained
emergency inflatable-air shelters continues to assist public-safety
and disaster-recovery organizations in parts of New York and New
Jersey. These mobile stations provide organizations with
communications, Internet and video capabilities in particularly
hard-hit areas where such services may not currently be
available. In addition, the Verizon vehicle at 92-24
Rockaway Beach in Queens is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for free calls, device charging
and Internet access. Also, Verizon customers can
speak with company representatives about their Verizon
communications services at a mobile office trailer located in
Nickerson Park (880 Lido Blvd.) in Lido
Beach, Nassau County.
- Verizon employees, Verizon Wireless customers and the Verizon
Foundation have pledged nearly $6
million to date to support Hurricane Sandy relief and
rebuilding efforts. Customers can still make a $10 donation by texting REDCROSS to 90999, and
those who would like to give more can donate up to $50 via text. In addition, more than
7,200 Verizon employees have donated to the American Red Cross and
Salvation Army through the Verizon Foundation's matching gifts
program; the foundation has matched those donations
two-for-one. For more on the Verizon Foundation's Sandy
support, click here.
Customers can contact Verizon online at
www.verizon.com/outage to report any wireline
service-related issues; or call 1-800-VERIZON
(1-800-837-4966). Please note that hold times will be longer
than normal due to higher calling volumes. For prior
Hurricane Sandy updates, click here.
For more information on Verizon Wireless efforts related to
Hurricane Sandy, visit the Emergency Information Center.
Verizon Enterprise Solutions updates are available at
www.verizonbusiness.com/info/hurricane.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in
New York, is a global leader in
delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications
services to consumer, business, government and wholesale
customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable
wireless network, with nearly 96 million retail customers
nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications,
information and entertainment services over America's most advanced
fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to
customers in more than 150 countries, including all of the Fortune
500. A Dow 30 company with $111
billion in 2011 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse
workforce of 184,500. For more information, visit
www.verizon.com.
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SOURCE Verizon