Truth-squadding is a tough job, but somebody's gotta' do it

Former President Ronald Reagan was famous for saying “There you go again” when his political opponents brought up topics that were either off-base, or off-the-wall.

It’s probably the best term to describe some of the latest tactics that our New York Metro area competitor, Cablevision, has been using in its misguided attempt to trash our FiOS services. 

Cablevision has been running a series of Optimum TV and print ads that call into question Verizon’s advanced fiber-optics network, FiOS’ Internet speeds, the quality of our DVR, service appointments, and more. The problem is their contentions are both off-base and off-the wall. We told them to stop the nonsense, but they would not listen, so we had to ask a judge to help Cablevision separate fact from fiction.  

And just yesterday, a U.S. District Court in Cablevision’s own backyard on Long Island issued a temporary restraining order, meaning (for us non-lawyers out there) that Cablevision has to take that advertising off the air and out of newspapers, even the daily paper it owns on Long Island, Newsday.

“Verizon FiOS’s top three tiers, namely 150/150 Mbps, 300/300 Mbps, and 500/500 Mbps, all provide faster download speeds than Cablevision’s fastest plan, and five FiOS plans offer faster upload speeds than any of Cablevision’s offerings.”

Space doesn’t allow us to provide the litany of incorrect Cablevision claims. But despite Cablevision’s attempts to muddy the truth, the simple facts are that FiOS Internet is the fastest Internet service in each and every market in which it competes, including Cablevision markets. FiOS delivers fiber-optics directly to our subscribers’ homes or businesses; the Verizon DVR can record 12 shows at the same time; and that, when needed, our customers get a technician visit within 24 hours.

In a desperate attempt, Cablevision actually filed a lawsuit back in late January as one of its attempts at trickery – questioning Verizon’s claim that we had the “Fastest Available WiFi”. But that gimmick was shot down this past Friday by the court. 

In a direct comeuppance of Cablevision, the court unequivocally sustained Verizon’s “Fastest Available WiFi” claim. In fact, the court stated clearly that Verizon does offer significantly faster upload and download speeds. Our Quantum gateway supports the speeds that allow Verizon customers to experience faster WiFi than Cablevision customers. This is a perfect time to switch to Verizon, if you want the fastest WiFi based on facts.

The decision also notes: “There is no dispute that, once its router is connected to its WiFi network, FiOS does offer a faster connection to the Internet than Cablevision.”

The court goes further: “The evidence presented suggests that Verizon FiOS’s top three tiers, namely 150/150 Mbps, 300/300 Mbps, and 500/500 Mbps, all provide faster download speeds than Cablevision’s fastest plan, and five FiOS plans offer faster upload speeds than any of Cablevision’s offerings.”

The Court decision also considered Cablevision’s claims about 1.1 million WiFi hotspots throughout the region, and the fact that 1 million of the hotpots emanate from routers in the private homes of its subscribers. The decision stated: “Cablevision’s website included an incorrect formulation of this statement indicating that it maintained hotspots at ‘1 million public locations like train stations, restaurants, cafes and parks.’  Clearly such a statement would be misleading because the residential hotspots are not sited in public locations, even if, as discussed herein, they may be accessible from public locations.”

While the court’s actions are helpful to consumers in deciding which communications services to buy, Cablevision’s lawsuits and gimmicks have proven one thing:  it is a master at confusing consumers. 

Or, as our former President used to say, “There you go again.”