To: The New Jersey State House, The New Jersey State Senate, and Governor Phil Murphy

Preserve "copper" phone service

We urge the Governor and the Legislature, with the Board of Public Utilities, to enjoin Verizon and AT & T from refusing to install, service, and maintain "copper" telephone service for those who wish to have it and to resist the powerful lobbies for the phone companies that are pressuring the public to use fibre optic services and cell phones only.

Why is this important?

After Sandy, hundreds thousands of people whose phone service is dependent on digital fiber-optic cables powered by electricity were cut off, and many cell phone towers were not functional, yet Verizon and AT & T are determined to stop offering and servicing the older, but more reliable "copper" service which has its own power source and is less likely to be affected by storms. Being without phone service poses a serious health and safety risk. The phone companies are public utilities whose priority should be to serve the public and not merely to enhance their already huge profits.