The New York based telecommunications giant racked up top rankings in six our of nine reputation attributes: innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, quality of management, long-term investment and quality products and services.

“It’s an honor to have the dedication and innovative drive of our employees recognized by our peers and competitors,” said Tom Tauke, Verizon executive vice president of public affairs, policy and communications. “Every day, more than 100 million people around the globe communicate via Verizon’s advanced networks. It’s a responsibility we take seriously, and it’s what drives us to find brand new ways for people to communicate.”

A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of approximately 222,900 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $107 billion.

The complete list of the World’s Most Admired Companies is published in the March 22nd, 2010 edition of Fortune magazine.

Verizon has attracted consumer and media attention in the area of broadband Internet access as the first major U.S. carrier to offer such a service (fiber to the home/premise). In their rapidly expanding coverage areas, FiOS provides telephone, Internet and digital video services to the subscriber’s premises. Some areas do not have service due to franchise agreements, and some can only receive the Internet access, also due to franchising. Other service providers (e.g. cable) have fiber optics, but they only have fiber from station to station, not to the home/premise.

Verizon also offers analog service, or POTS (i.e. plain old telephone service), over FiOS. This would mean that the last connection of POTS which is copper, is replaced by a digital signal. FiOS phone is not VoIP, it is still POTS. The copper phone lines at the location connect to the ONT, which provides dial tone, just like a copper connection. FiOS “hooks up” with phone lines, but does not require a VoIP adapter. The common model optical network terminals have 2 or 4 analog phone jacks.

Power Outages May Affect Reliability

Standard copper phone lines carry a low-voltage electrical charge that sustains telephone service in the event of a power outage. Due to the nature of fiber-optic technology, any voltage available on the phoneline would have to be sourced onsite at the customer’s premises. This means that if there is no electricity at the premises, telephone service will be interrupted.

This may be an issue for sites that experience extended power outages that depend on analog phone lines for remote monitoring, alarm systems, and/or emergency calls. Verizon provides a rechargeable battery backup unit free with installation of the service. Older units allow for 4 hours of power to the optical network terminal during a power outage, while newer units installed as of 2008 allow for 8 hours.

Verizon May Monopolize Copper After FiOS is Installed

Verizon claims to not do anything that would affect or disable the pre-existing copper lines that carried phone service or DSL, though the official company policy is that customers cannot retreat back to copper service without higher level management approval.

However, there have in fact been reports in various markets that Verizon has physically deinstalled the copper lines (or the Network interface device, necessary for copper-line phone service) at the time that FiOS was installed, effectively removing any “path of retreat” to copper based services. Verizon is required by law to share copper media with competing service providers, but no such requirement exists for fiber media.

Delays in Making the Switch to FiOS over POTS

When you make this type of a switch, the copper lines have to be disconnected 24 hours in some or all cases, before the number can be moved to FIOS. The purpose is to allow them to build the numbers into the FIOS database and establish the FIOS equipment designation on site. Once that’s done, they send a tech out to connect the lines up to the assigned ONT/s.

Relevant links

Verizon FiOS Site

Google Map for Current Availability of Verizon FIOS

Forum Post Concerning FiOS over POTS

Two unions representing Verizon workers have agreed to continue negotiations without implementing a strike. They said that enough progress had been made to justify continuation of talks.

Members of the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers had earlier voted to strike if a new deal was not reached by last weekend. But on Saturday, CWA issued a statement saying “CWA, IBEW and Verizon are engaged in intensive negotiations in an effort to achieve a new collective bargaining agreement.” On Sunday, CWA said it agreed to “stop the clock” and postponed plans to strike.

“I believe they worked until 2 o’clock in the morning [Monday],” said Bob Mason, a CWA spokesman. “I haven’t heard anything since then.”

Mason said some union officials were hopeful that a deal could be reached sometime today.

“My experience with these things is it never goes as quickly as you hope,” Mason said.

The unions say the biggest remaining issues are job security and outsourcing.

The workers’ contract with Verizon expired Aug. 2.

More than 65,000 of Verizon’s workers are represented by Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Verizon has about 1,000 workers in the Albany, N.Y., area.

Union officials had said a strike by CWA and IBEW would be one of the largest in the United States in more than a decade.