Verizon suffers 150-plus fiber cuts on Northeast network amidst labor strike

Verizon (NYSE: VZ) has seen fiber cuts on its Northeast wireline network spike, leaving many customers without service amidst a contentious labor strike of its nearly 40,000 person union workforce.

While the telco has not been able to specifically confirm who or what caused the damage, local police and Verizon said that nature of the cuts may be related to the striking workers represented by the CWA and IBEW.

Reports have emerged over the past week in cities such as Boston, New YorkPittsburgh and Delaware, fiber cuts have cut off service for hundreds of customers.

In just the past week, Verizon reported that there have been 24 suspected incidents of vandalism on its networks in five states, where services were severed for thousands of residential and business customers, including a local police and fire department in New Jersey.

"These are just the latest of approximately 150 similar incidents that have happened nationwide since April 13, which also happens to be the day that the strike began," Mike Murphy, a spokesman for Verizon told Fox News in Boston. "I want to stress that we don't know who did this or why, but their agenda or motivation is irrelevant -- they may know enough to cut the correct wires to cause harm, but they do not know who or what those wires support -- whether it is an alarm system, a medical device, or a phone for someone elderly."

CWA said in a previous statement that it discouraging vandalism on the Verizon network, but has been outspoken about the replacement workers' ability to properly conduct necessary maintenance and installation on the wireline network.

For more:
- Network World has this article

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