NY On The Hunt: AG Investigates Speed Levels From Internet Providers

10.27.2015 | Surge Wire |

Some Internet providers in New York are attracting the ire of the state’s top attorney over concerns about shoddy service.

In preparation for a potential investigation, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent letters requesting information about connection speeds to three of the largest U.S. telecommunications companies Oct. 23.

Verizon, Cablevision, and Time Warner Cable all received the letters after a string of customer complaints and a study on Internet service, conducted by Measurement Lab Consortium in October 2014.

“New Yorkers deserve the Internet speeds they pay for. But, it turns out, many of us may be paying for one thing, and getting another,” he said in a statement. (RELATED: Verizon To Buy AOL For $4.4 billion.)

The probe is focused on interconnection arrangements, which are contracts between service providers and other networks for the purpose of exchanging data.

Schneiderman is concerned the arrangements are leading to customers paying for a higher speed of Internet service they are not actually receiving from the companies. (RELATED: Disney, Time Warner Scoff At Verizon’s ‘Skinny Bundle’.)

The letter states: “This Office is concerned that, for reasons substantially within [each company’s] control, consumers may not be experiencing the speeds advertised. In particular, we are concerned that those paying for premium options, for various reasons … may not be experiencing proportional increases in experienced speeds.”

“In this respect, we are specifically concerned about disruptions to the consumer experience caused by interconnection disputes,” Schneiderman continued, “and also the possibility that interconnection arrangements may in some instances render irrelevant any benefit of paying for a ‘premium’ option.”

Representatives for all three companies were willing to work with Schneiderman on the request.

A Verizon spokesman told Reuters that the company “is confident in the robust and reliable Internet speeds it delivers to subscribers.”

Bobby Amirshahi, a representative for Time Warner Cable, said they were “confident that we provide our customers the speeds and services we promise them and look forward to working with the AG to resolve this matter.”

Cablevision spokesman Charlie Schueler said the company is “happy to provide any necessary performance information to the Attorney General as we do to our customers.

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