A modern supply chain is a complicated thing. That car you drive might be made in the U.S.A., but — as we learned from the Takata airbag recall — the parts inside it, from raw elements to fully-assembled electronic systems, come from a tangled web of companies all over the world. Which is why it’s a big deal affecting consumers all over the world when one company’s parts turn out not to be at all what they were supposed to be. [More]
copper
What The Big Verizon Worker Strike Means For Consumers
By 4.13.16
Tens of thousands of Verizon employees walked off the job this morning, when months of inconclusive contract negotiations between the company and the union representing those workers finally stalled out completely. [More]
Pennsylvania Investigating State Of Verizon’s Landline Service
By 2.23.16
Verizon is once again being accused of neglecting its copper-wire landline network. Following complaints from workers of damaged, sagging lines and unsafe utility poles, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has announced it will be looking into whether or not the telecom giant’s actions put employees and the public at risk. [More]
At Least 16 NJ Towns Left With Failing Phone Service While Verizon Dithers On Repairing Copper Wires
By 1.7.16
Verizon has made it very clear that they have no interest in maintaining or upgrading their aging, legacy copper-wire networks. If they were replacing them all with fiber that would be one thing, but according to residents and officials in at least 16 New Jersey towns, that’s not what’s happening. Instead, municipalities are just seeing their entire communications infrastructure left to rot, to the point where you can’t even make a phone call on a rainy day. [More]
Verizon: “People Are Going To Look Back And Laugh” At NJ Customers Worried About Their Copper Landlines
By 8.11.15
Copper wire might seem old-fashioned now, but after a hundred-year run of it being the way to get telephone service, you can imagine why consumers are attached to it. But still, there are indeed many good reasons for upgrades to be taking place. There are good arguments to be made for explaining to anxious consumers how change can benefit them — but mocking them simply for wanting their needs met is not one of those. [More]
Verizon’s Refusal To Repair Landline Service Leaves Elderly Man Without Phone For Months
By 7.30.15
While plenty of Americans rush to acquire the latest and greatest in new telecom technology, there are some that only need the basic phone service they’ve had for decades. But as we’ve seen on multiple occasions recently, a number of traditional landline users are being left out in the cold as Verizon tries to transition customers away from copper line service and to fiberoptic phone lines. And for one elderly New Yorker, Verizon’s apparent inflexibility resulted in months of having absolutely no service at all. [More]
FCC Proposal: Phone Companies Need To Offer Backup Power, Actually Notify You If They Kill Off Your Copper-Wire Landline
By 7.10.15
FCC chairman Tom Wheeler is introducing a new proposal to the commission today that would attempt to protect consumers’ interests while advancing the transition away from plain old copper-wire service and onto IP data networks. [More]
Verizon Threatens To Disconnect NJ Landline Customer Unless They Switch To Fiber
By 7.1.15
Copper wire is expensive and old-fashioned. Phone companies don’t want to maintain or use it anymore. Still, some customers like their reliable old land-lines, and the law creates certain obligations for phone companies to provide and maintain them. But Verizon is apparently so sick and tired of providing plain old telephone service that they’re threatening to disconnect customers who don’t “voluntarily” upgrade to fiber A.S.A.P. [More]
Verizon Accused Of Deliberately Neglecting Landline Service To Push Customers To FiOS
By 3.24.14
It’s no secret that companies like AT&T and Verizon look at their aging copper landline networks as expensive dinosaurs of a pre-Internet age. But one advocacy group alleges that Verizon has allowed its copper lines to fall into disrepair in the hopes of pushing landline customers to Internet-based phone service. [More]
New Jersey Island Won’t Get Its Landlines Back After Sandy Because Copper Is Too Expensive
By 10.15.13
Gather close, you young folk, and listen to a tale of times past, when everyone had phones that connected them to the rest of the world through wires. In days gone by, people relied on these so-called landlines especially in times of natural disasters or power outages. As such, one New Jersey island’s residents are none too pleased that Verizon won’t reinstall its landlines after Hurricane Sandy destroyed the original lines. [More]
Stolen 5,300 Pound Copper Church Bell Recovered Near Scrapyard
By 10.27.11
Ding dong, are you missing a bell? Acting on a tip, police recovered a 5,300 pound copper bell that was stolen last week from the garden of St. Mary’s Cathedral in West Oakland, California. [More]
Metal Theft Follows In Irene's Wake
By 10.4.11
As Tropical Storm Irene has receded, thieves have followed in its wake, and they’re hungry for metal. Several Vermont towns have been hit by metal thieves seeking to take advantage of the disarray as people try to clean up and get their lives back together. [More]
Copper Thieves Disable 40 Blocks Of Street Lights, Leading To Near-Fatal Car Crash
By 9.9.11
Miami police are placing partial blame for a car crash that threw a woman through a windshield on a recent spree of people stealing copper from street lights. In the neighborhood, there are 40 straight blocks where all the street lights are dark because of copper thieves. [More]
The Copper In Your House Is Worth Lots Of Money
By 9.20.07
I recently hired a plumber to do a rebuild on an existing small bathroom. During the demolition phase, the plumber remarked that he would be reclaiming the old copper pipe and that it was worth around $25.
Verizon Fios Could Leave You In The Dark When The Power Goes Out
By 1.29.07
Consumers who switch to Verizon’s new FiOS TV or Internet services will find a change to their existing Verizon phone service: Their copper-wire phone line will be replaced with a fiber-optic line.
Your Old Plumbing Can Help Pay For Your New Plumbing
By 1.24.07
- There are great alternatives to copper when it comes to re-piping your home, so there’s no real need to pay any premiums there. But why not take advantage with the old copper pipe you’re going to replace?
