AT&T Claims Sabotage by Cabler
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 12/17/2006 7:00:00 PM
In this story:
'INTO THE MILLIONS’
COSTLY RECONNECTIONS
A simmering spat in the Lone Star State over snipped phone wires has escalated into a legal fight, with AT&T claiming Time Warner Cable technicians deliberately caused “millions” in damage to its network.
AT&T filed a lawsuit Dec. 8 in a district court in Bexar County, Texas, against Time Warner Cable’s San Antonio division, alleging that the cable operator engaged in “a methodical invasion of facilities owned, operated and controlled by AT&T Texas” while installing voice service at apartments and other multiple-dwelling units in and around the city.
| Wrench in the Works? |
|---|
| In its lawsuit against Time Warner Cable in San Antonio, AT&T alleges that: |
| SOURCE: AT&T |
| Cable technicians trespassed on AT&T facilities and cut or disconnected wires in network interface devices. |
| These procedures were part of Time Warner Cable’s approved installation process for the Digital Phone service. |
| Time Warner Cable “acknowledged” the practice and “assured” AT&T it would take steps to discontinue the wire cuts. |
Time Warner Cable “caused damage to physical plant” owned by AT&T, according to the lawsuit, “solely to gain competitive advantage and commercial benefit.” The telco estimates that Time Warner provides services to 120,000 or more residences in MDUs in the area.
Time Warner Cable declined to comment on the lawsuit.
San Antonio is AT&T’s home base, hosting its corporate headquarters and serving as the test bed for the launch of the telco’s U-verse TV service in June.
AT&T alleges that Time Warner field technicians have cut or disconnected wires and jumpers inside the telco’s building terminals. The damage has “degraded the quality and integrity” of the phone company’s network, which has caused “general confusion and dissatisfaction with AT&T Texas’ service,” AT&T claimed.
'INTO THE MILLIONS’
AT&T is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. The company is still assessing the extent of the damage it claims Time Warner Cable caused, but AT&T trade media representative Brad Mays said “we believe the total amount of damage is likely to run into the millions.”
Similar disputes are playing out across the U.S. As the cable industry siphons off more voice customers from incumbent phone companies, telcos say that their equipment is frequently being manhandled in the switchover.
In January, Qwest Communications filed a complaint with the Arizona state commission that regulates telecommunications, claiming Cox Communications had cut Qwest phone lines, disconnected ground wires and drilled holes into its network interface devices. A ruling from the Arizona commission about how to audit the Qwest sites that were allegedly damaged is pending.
COSTLY RECONNECTIONS
Dennis Pappas, a director in Qwest’s network operations group, said Cox techs in some cases simply cut the phone company’s lines going into a dwelling and hooked up their own instead of burying a new drop, which would cost $150 to $300 per install.
“That makes it costly when we win the customer back, because to reconnect our drop we have to splice it or run a new one,” he said. According to Pappas, as many as 30,000 apartment complexes in Arizona may have been afflicted by Cox.
Cox director of media relations David Grabert said the company maintains it has taken an “ethical approach” to competition. “Both Cox and Qwest have had adjustments to make in the new competitive world of telephone, like completely sealing each other’s terminal boxes when establishing service, but Cox deals with operational issues responsibly as they are raised,” Grabert said.
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